Faculty of Rural Management, Orange – sample letter re proposed transfer

Sydney University is trying to get rid of the Faculty of Rural Management at its Orange Campus. They want Charles Sturt University to take over.

You can amend the sample letter and send your version to the media (local, state, or national), your state and federal Members of Parliament, and the Vice Chancellor of Sydney University. (The version below has been circulated by staff at the Orange campus.)

There are many unanswered questions about the proposed transfer which need answers - how will undergraduate courses be affected in a CSU amalgamation, how long will post-graduate studies remain under Sydney University (Sydney says it will keep them for a "defined period" and have guaranteed current post grads will graduate under the Sydney banner, but after that who knows?), what funding will be available, what jobs will be retained/lost (in Orange in particular but also across all CSU campuses), and so on.

The proposal to transfer Rural Management is a major public issue. Not something to be confined to the universities and their paymasters in Canberra. Have your say on this rural education institute.

SAMPLE LETTER TO MEDIA, YOUR MP, &/OR THE SYDNEY UNIVERSITY VICE CHANCELLOR

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and I work as a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at the University of Sydney, Orange campus. I am writing to draw attention to the potentially fatal future that awaits the Orange campus.

The Orange campus currently has over 150 general and academic staff teaching close to 4,000 students across disciplines as diverse as Rural Management, Nursing, Pharmacy and Business studies. This has a significant role in providing educational opportunities, and a source of social and economic benefit to the Orange region.

The University of Sydney is currently proposing to transfer the ownership of the Orange campus to Charles Sturt University. The University of Sydney seems to believe that the Orange community do not deserve a University with Sydney's reputation in a regional community. There is the imminent possibility that the Federal Government will approve the transfer.

I am worried that the transfer will mean cuts in staff, and the loss in future enrolments that will impact on the Orange community.

CSU already offers Pharmacy, Business Management and rural studies type courses on other campuses and any takeover of the University of Sydney Orange campus could result in the loss of these prestigious courses from the Orange campus to the detriment of potential students from the region.

CSU centralises many of their support functions and this management policy will impact on existing support staff at the Orange campus. I am worried that these services will go from Orange, and take with them the jobs and on-site support that they provide.

On top of the loss of the Canobolas Wooltop manufacturing plant and 1,000 jobs from Electrolux can the Orange community support another round of job losses and the flow-on these losses have on the community at large?

The 'sale' of the Orange campus needs the approval of Government and this is an obvious opportunity for Government to take a stand and ensure the University of Sydney Orange campus remains a viable and flourishing asset for the Orange community.

The public need satisfactory answers on all aspects of the proposed transfer before the Government gives approval.

Yours sincerely,