By Sarah-Jane Collins
MONASH University has approved more than 300 redundancies as part of budget cuts brought on by the downturn in international students.
More than 800 staff applied for the voluntary redundancies.
The number of international students wanting to study at Monash is down 10 per cent, and it is hoping for a drop-off in beginning students of no more than 5 per cent. But the percentage could be significantly higher.
International education is a major source of funding for Monash, making up about 20 per cent of annual university revenue.
The redundancies were offered in October, and the first group finished at the end of last month.
About a third of the departing staff were academic staff, vice-chancellor Ed Byrne said. The number of equivalent full-time positions lost was 359.
The university council approved a pool of $30 million to fund redundancy packages, drawn from university reserves, Professor Byrne said.
In an all-staff email circulated before tonight's final council meeting of the year, Professor Byrne said: ''2010 has proved a most challenging year for staff across Monash University. Circumstances have necessitated difficult choices and no part of the university has remained unaffected. It is understandable that staff may feel unsettled by your close colleagues leaving or changing roles.
''A drop in demand (and therefore revenue) from international students has necessitated measures to protect the university's financial position into the future,'' the email said.
The Age reported in October Monash planned to cut $45 million from next year's budget to cope with the downturn.
Professor Byrne said yesterday that Monash was now in a good position. ''The university is in very solid shape going into the new year, we've taken a lot of pain quickly and it's been very, very hard for our staff - but we've got it through quickly and we're now on an even keel …
''We haven't accepted any redundancies in areas that appear to interfere with the quality of education that we offer. That's been strictly protected,'' he said.
National Tertiary Education Union branch vice-president (academic) Sandra Cockfield said there was strain on staff who were left to pick up extra work. ''They are struggling a bit, it has left some holes. We've got restructures going on all over the place,'' she said. ''There was some pressure put on people in certain areas and that has left a bitter taste and there are some morale issues. I think when you have a big downsizing it impacts on the people left behind.''
Professor Byrne said he expected 2011 to be a better year for the university, which for the first time was the first choice in Victoria for the top 5 per cent of Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre applications. ''I've got no doubt that with the support of the university community - [I know] these times of change are difficult for everybody in institutions - that Monash will enter 2011 as a stronger quality global university,'' he said.