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The Australian National University will cut 230 general staff, offer a voluntary early retirement scheme to ageing academics, raise parking fees and overhaul its administration as part of sweeping savings to cover a $51 million federal government budget cut.
But incoming Tertiary Education Minister Senator Kim Carr has given ANU Vice Chancellor Ian Young a ''glimmer of hope'' that the government may be able to ''reprioritise'' funding within the portfolio to lessen the budget's impact on the ANU and other universities facing similar shortfalls.
Between budget cuts revealed in October's midyear economic forecast and the efficiency dividend in the federal budget, the ANU is forecast to lose $23 million next year and $28 million in 2015.
Senator Carr said on Tuesday in response to the ANU's announcement that it was disappointing the ANU had been forced to make such cuts but that he understood ''the government has made decisions and the university has been directly affected''. Senator Carr, who returned to the ministry on Monday replacing outgoing Julia Gillard supporter Craig Emerson, spoke with Professor Young on Monday evening about the financial difficulties facing the ANU and other universities as part of a two-week intensive consultation period.
Senator Carr has hinted at placing temporary caps on massive enrolment growth across the sector and said ''while I can't pull money out of thin air, if there is a better way to administer the higher education sector then I am happy to discuss it''. Dr Emerson slashed $2.3 billion from universities to help pay for the Gonski school funding reforms.
Senator Carr said: ''While we always need to expand the system we do seem to have reached the point where we've largely addressed the demand question for the initial time and the take-up has been a little larger than anticipated. I now want to have a conversation as to how to manage demand into the future to preserve quality,'' he said.
Professor Young said any change to Commonwealth support for the ANU would see an immediate ''adjustment'' to the number of general staff job losses.
The package of budget measures announced by Professor Young at a meeting with staff and students on Tuesday included a student recruitment drive, increased fees for international student and energy savings.
Professor Young told the meeting the university was approaching the budget cuts ''as a catalyst for change, renewal and growth'' and he
announced an immediate pay increase of 2 per cent for all ANU staff, and a further 2 per cent increase to be paid next year at a cost of $15 million each year.
For his part, Professor Young will donate $50,000 of his $670,000 salary to the university and the entire executive will donate 2 per cent of their salaries.
A voluntary early retirement scheme would be open to academic and professional staff aged over 55 and professional staff numbers would be cut by 10 per cent, or 230 staff, to deliver savings of $20.9 million to the recurrent budget by 2015.
A student recruitment drive to increase undergraduate student numbers to 2550 commencing students by 2015 will generate $7 million, while international students will pay an extra 5 per cent to study at the ANU from next year and an extra 10 per cent by 2015.
An energy review and implementation of a campus-wide energy reduction scheme, and changes to purchasing and managing travel, computers, software, phones, cars, printing and publishing, and use of recruitment agencies are aimed at saving $2 million a year.
Reserved parking charges across campus will rise from $800 a year to $1400 a year. Rates that students and staff pay for display ticket parking will remain unchanged, as they are linked to ACT rates.
These changes are estimated to generate an additional $2.2 million each year but will hit only staff.
The university spends $22 million on travel and accommodation each year, and could save $1.3 million next year and $1.95 million in 2015 through whole-of-university competitive selection and using a small panel of travel agents.
The travel policy would also require economy class to be used for all flights of less than six hours for all staff.
The ANU will try to save $1 million a year by implementing a whole-of-university purchase arrangement for its more than 12,000 desktop computers while another $1.95 million in savings will come from contracts for mobile and fixed-line telephones, staff recruitment agencies, publications and printing and temporary staff agencies.
''This package has been a community effort,'' Professor Young said.