Introducing a six study period year is one of the changes Southern Cross University (SCU) intends to trial next year as part of a new way of doing things in the future.

SCU vice chancellor Adam Shoemaker announced the trial in an address to all staff via video conference today.

Prof Shoemaker said the changes would be trialled locally next year and would allow students to study one subject at a time and better juggle work and life with study.

With the university in financial trouble and facing a budget shortfall of more than $40 million over the next two years, the address to staff outlined key measures that were intended to build the university’s financial sustainability.

Some of the proposed measures were to ask staff to voluntarily drop to a 90% workload with 100% superannuation; and to also not take the next two wage increases of 1.4%.

Prof Shoemaker said that alone would save the university $6 milllion and the proposal would be taken to a staff vote.

“Negotiations are under way with the unions around the details of this,” he said. 

“We have already made 10 million in non salary savings.”

The University, with main campuses at Lismore, Coffs Harbour and Gold Coast, has been hit hard due to the Covid-19 crisis closing borders and impacting on international student numbers.

“International numbers are down, but domestic interest is up,” Prof Shoemaker said. 

He said the health sciences were “rocketing up in demand” in areas such as science regenerative agriculture and the SCU naturopathic medicine centre had also just launched. 

“Despite the challenges, we are on the up,” he said. “Last year we broken even and had no debt, but that’s already eroded. 

“Some restructuring and job losses will be inevitable; however we will do everything possible to safeguard the positions of staff.

“Each of these measures has been proposed after deep consideration of all available options and will enable Southern Cross to withstand the worst financial impacts of the Covid-19 crisis.

“Last week, the University took the incredibly hard decision to close its football centre at Lismore.

“We share the community disappointment around that but it was costing the University more than $500,000 a year to run and in these difficult times we just couldn’t continue with it.”

Southern Cross University has the equivalent of about 10,000 fulltime students and 1100 staff, and more than 65,000 alumni worldwide.