Lincoln’s future remains unclear

Lincoln University appears to have evaded a merger with another university.

Lincoln has battled falling enrolments and a decade of financial deficits, prompting a request by Education Minister Chris Hipkins for expressions of interest from other universities.

It is understood three universities considered submitting, but their positions had shifted by Friday evening, sources with knowledge of the situation claimed.

A University of Canterbury spokeswoman said she could not comment on ‘‘rumours’’, while Massey University did not return a request for comment.

A source said a Cabinet announcement regarding the ‘‘direction of a large scale change’’ for Lincoln is expected as soon as early next week.

However, Hipkins’ office said he was ‘‘not planning any announcement’’ and declined to answer further questions.

When contacted, a Lincoln University spokesperson also declined to comment.

Stuff understands vicechancellors have rallied behind Lincoln, expressing a strong belief that the institution should be in charge of its own future.

Several sources said Lincoln was not underperforming academically, nor was it in enough financial trouble, to merit disestablishment.

Vice-chancellor Professor James McWha recently disclosed to some university staff the possibility of integration with another institution.

One source described the proposal, as it stood then, as an ‘‘umbrella operation’’, in which the university would retain its campus and academic programmes.

The university reported a $17 million surplus in 2016 after a decade of deficits. The surplus dropped to $7.5m in its 2017 annual report.

An independent report, jointly commissioned by Lincoln and the Tertiary Education Commission, and released in June last year, said merging with another institution presented ‘‘the lowest risk and highest reward’’ for the university.

Auditors EY advised steps towards a merger should be made, even if Lincoln did not intend to follow through.

‘‘In moving to undertake analysis of an integration now, Lincoln maintains a high degree of control over its own destiny, while exploring structures that will ensure the things that are important to it over the long term can be maintained, or even enhanced,’’ the report said.

Lincoln’s vice-chancellor at the time, Professor Robin Pollard, called the idea of a merger ‘‘naive’’.

He said EY’s report assumed small universities were not financially viable.