Proposed cuts to the College of Creative Arts really mean an authority shift, lecturer explains

A proposal obtained by Massive reveals that the College of Creative Arts may see 25 technical staff roles cut. A preliminary decision is set to be released tomorrow.  

The change would see technical staff work across multiple disciplines, rather than being tied to one subject area like Music, Screen Arts, Design, Māori Arts, and Fine Arts.   

However, a lecturer said the change won’t necessarily mean job cuts, but instead means an authority shift so tech staff can work on more commercial projects without lecturers having a say on the lost student assistance time.  

Massey currently rents out tech staff, equipment and facilities to external users, with tech staff left working weekends at events. In exchange, they get days off during the university week.  

The CoCA lecturer Steven* believed the commercialisation aspect was “highly problematic” and would strip resources away from students. 

“They’re forgetting about the core business of the university — which is learning.” 

Technical staff play a vital role in working with lecturers to help students use specialised equipment and facilities.

The proposal released to staff on April 11th said 25 existing roles would be disestablished, and six new positions would be created unlinked to individual subject areas.  

The proposal indicates that job losses could be avoided by not replacing vacancies. Of the 25 permanent roles proposed for disestablishment, three are currently vacant — leaving 22 filled positions at risk.   

Steven said there were already disagreements within the school about renting tech staff out for external reasons, and this proposal removes that barrier as they won’t have any say on how the staff and equipment will be used. 

Steven believed this was not saving Massey money, but it was instead helping them make money at the expense of students. 

Steven acknowledged that external projects can be good, as it allows some students to be hired on a casual basis and be paid for their work.  

However, he said that the proposed changes won’t benefit students overall, and instead, highlights a bigger money-making scheme.  

“Remember, you’re still running a school here.”  

“There’s a 95% chance it [the proposal] will go through the way it is.”  

A Massey University spokesperson said, “Fundamentally, the Proposal for Change proposes a fit-for-purpose, centralised structure for technical staff that could better support the academic endeavour and reputation of our creative programmes.”   

They stressed that the changes are not yet final, and that the university is consulting with affected staff and representatives, including the Tertiary Education Union.   

If the proposal was to move forward in its current form, Massey claims there would be positions for all staff to remain employed.   

CoCA lecturer, Melissa* told Massive that removing programme-specific technical staff may harm the quality of student support.  

“Removing technicians from schools where they are more closely aligned with majors might mean valuable niche skills are overlooked, undervalued, and lost,” they said.  

Lecturer Melissa questioned how commercial use of resources aligned with Massey’s educational purpose.   

“The point of a university is learning and research, not providing commercial facilities for businesses.”  

Melissa worried that making technical services available to external users means students might miss out when they need to hire a space or equipment.    

The proposal also indicated that technical staff would be made to teach informally, signaling a shift in expectations.   

This concerned Melissa: “Teaching and technical demonstration/technical skills are different — both important and necessary. We should value our technicians for their skills, not try and use them as cheap teachers.”  

*Names changed for anonymity.