Email from Swinburne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson about TAFE cuts and job losses

Dear Student,

Today I announced some significant changes that Swinburne
will make to take the university forward on its journey to be Australia’s leading
university for science, technology and innovation.

Swinburne is the highest-rated university in Melbourne for teaching
quality in The Good Universities Guide 2012. We have been recognised as
the highest-rated university in Melbourne for teaching quality for the
past six years.

Our strong links with industry, our student-focussed approach, our
adoption of new educational technologies and our innovative research
programs will continue to underpin the high quality education we offer.

Next year, we will be expanding our offerings of science and health
science courses in higher education and adding new double degrees. We
will also be reshaping our TAFE course profile to ensure that students
have clearer pathways between Swinburne’s TAFE and higher education
programs.

The changes we are making will continue to improve the quality of
education and the experience you have as a Swinburne student.

There are also some specific changes that will affect students who
study at Lilydale and Prahran.

Lilydale

Swinburne has taken the decision to cease offering TAFE and higher
education courses at our Lilydale campus from 1 July 2013.

This has been a difficult decision for the university to make as our
Lilydale campus has been strongly supported by the local community since
it opened 18 years ago in 1994.

However, fewer TAFE courses that can be viably offered, coupled with a
decline in demand for higher education at Lilydale, means it will no
longer be financially sustainable for the university to continue to
offer TAFE and higher education courses at Lilydale.

Teaching for the remainder of 2012 will continue as planned with new
arrangements to come into effect in 2013.

We will offer support, assistance and advice to all Lilydale higher
education students through this transition period about the continuation
of your studies. A dedicated service had been established to provide you
with the information you need as we move towards July 2013.

Next week you will be contacted by our transition team to begin the
process of working through the changes and opportunities that will be
available.

Prahran

Swinburne will also pursue the relocation of the Faculty of Design from
its Prahran location to our Hawthorn campus.

There are growing links between the work done in Design at Prahran and
the disciplines that are based at Hawthorn – engineering and industrial
sciences, life and social sciences, information and communications
technologies, and business and enterprise.

The work that we do in Design has significant applications for each of
these other areas. This has been recognised in creating the Swinburne
Design Factory that will be based in the Advanced Manufacturing Centre
at Hawthorn.

Geography is holding us back from achieving better connections between
design and our other areas of teaching and research strength.

Moving our Faculty of Design to Hawthorn will improve educational
opportunities for our students and harness greater opportunities for
industry-focused research collaboration.

Significant planning will be required to achieve this move and staff
and students will be consulted throughout the process. Teaching for the
remainder of this year and for 2013 will continue as planned.

Students will be provided with ongoing information about these
significant changes to our university as we move forward.

Best wishes for your continuing studies at Swinburne.


Professor Linda Kristjanson
Vice-Chancellor