Transition to new faculty arrangements: Staff FAQs

Thu May 15 2025 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Transition to new faculty arrangements: Staff FAQs

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Why?

What evidence have you seen on similar faculty arrangements overseas?

We are seeing similar approaches across the world, including the UK, US and Australia. These trends suggest that bringing arts, humanities, and social sciences into one faculty can lead to a more dynamic and responsive academic environment that is better equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Much of this is driven by the need to support greater interdisciplinarity, improve resource optimisation and strategic capacity and enhance student experiences. This approach enables institutions to address complex societal challenges more effectively, differentiate themselves strategically, and adapt to changing educational needs by offering a more holistic and innovative academic environment.

Is this just really CAI and EDSW being taken over by Arts?

No, the creation of a new faculty is not about one faculty being taken over by another. Instead, it is about bringing together complementary disciplines/fields of study to promote collaboration while preserving the unique identities and strengths of each. The new faculty will aim to leverage the strengths of all programmes involved to create a more robust and innovative academic environment.

Staffing, workload

Will the new faculty arrangements recognise the essential role of strong, well-resourced and well-remunerated operational teams, ensuring administrative tasks remain with area experts to avoid overburdening academics?

Ensuring we have the right support capability is essential and this process is not intended to disrupt current best practice, or the support currently provided.

We envisage the greater scale offered by the new faculty arrangements will help in this regard. We'll learn from the best practices of our current faculties and apply them to the new grouping. This can help us build better leadership and focus on important goals. The new faculty will also have a stronger leadership and resource base, so we can also leverage resources more effectively and streamline operational processes, making it a more cohesive experience for students and staff.

How will embedded positions be impacted?

At this stage, it is not fully determined how this process will impact embedded positions (e.g., HR, Connect business relationship managers, programme portfolio managers, etc.) as it will depend on the needs and priorities of the new faculty. Importantly, embedded roles typically support a portfolio that can include more than one faculty and/or service division. The proposed changes are aimed at optimising resources and maximising the strategic opportunities a new faculty may bring, and this will require consideration alongside the unique requirements of each position.

Will there be job losses?

At this stage, our focus is on the creation of new faculty arrangements. Any decisions regarding the final structure, including staffing, will be part of the transition activity. While we cannot predict the outcomes at this early stage, we are committed to transparent communication and will provide updates as the process unfolds. Our primary goal is to future-proof our institution, ensuring we can continue to deliver world-class education and research opportunities for our students and staff.

Has any consideration gone into 'freezing’ some new employment to reduce risk to impacted staff?

We want to ensure minimal disruption and are not looking at freezing recruitment activities. An approach for recruitment in line with the proposed new faculty arrangements has been communicated to key faculty leadership and the Professional Staff Leadership Team.

For professional staff roles reporting to the DFO, DFF, or dean:
Recruitment for roles that could be impacted by the proposal will be permitted on a fixed-term basis only, with the fixed-term period extending until the end of February 2025. This applies across all eight faculties and two large-scale research institutes.
For all other professional staff roles in the faculty:
Recruitment can proceed as normal for roles that may or may not be impacted by the proposal, with permanent replacements being allowed.

Transition

What will the process be to select a new dean for the new faculty?

An internal expression of interest process will commence in June for the dean of the new faculty.

What will the new faculty be called, and will Engineering be changing its name?

No decisions have been made on that as yet. The transition leadership teams will be supporting brand, culture and identity activity, including naming. This will be enabled through engagement and input from staff, students and external stakeholders.

What are the main objectives of the transition?

The main objectives are to:

Establish the new faculty arrangements seamlessly
Build confidence among stakeholders
Enable the achievement of identified benefits in the proposal

What principles will guide the transition?

The transition will be guided by the following principles:

Ensuring effective business-as-usual (BAU) activities during the transition
Clarity of direction
Confidence and trust-building
Unified Way-of-Working (WOW): We will collaboratively determine and adopt best practices from Arts, EDSW, and CAI to create a cohesive, standard operating model for the new faculty, ensuring reduced complexity and student-centred approaches. Much of this work will extend beyond 1 January 2025.
Reducing complexity
Building for the future
Respect for legacy and identity
Collaboration and innovation
Student-centred or student-focused
Recognising the importance of partnership with Māori and Pacific people and the diverse communities of students and staff who work and study in these faculties

What are the critical success factors for the transition?

Critical success factors include:

Early appointment of the new faculty dean and leadership team
Transparent communication and substantial engagement with stakeholders
University-wide and executive support
Strategic investment and funding for the transition
Minimising impact on student recruitment for 2025 and 2026
Amplified strategic voice within the University
Effective rebranding and launch of the new faculty
Delivering early wins

What are some of the workstreams involved in the transition?

Workstreams will cover areas such as:

Operations continuity
HR and organisational design
Content management
External engagement
Brand and identity
Finance, data and reporting

Can you provide clarity on metrics for success?

The list below is not exhaustive, but some of the measures of success would include:

Improving strength and health of disciplines
Maintaining/improving high rankings in key subject areas
A comprehensive university with strong disciplines
Resilience and vibrancy in disciplines
Attractiveness of new innovations to students

For the new faculty, cohesion and integration of student cohorts, bringing together cohorts of Māori students/staff and Pacific students/staff, which will be the largest concentration in the University.

How will staff, students and the external community be engaged during the transition?

Engagement will be facilitated through transparent communications and involvement of staff, students and the external community in the transition process. Regular updates, feedback mechanisms, and engagement sessions will be organised to ensure inclusive participation.

What are the potential risks and challenges associated with the creation of a new faculty, and how will they be mitigated?

This change can bring about risks such as staff morale challenges and retention, particularly if there is uncertainty about roles or responsibilities. The changes will be supported by a comprehensive transition framework and plan to engage staff and mitigate potential risks. Strong leadership within the two faculties, coupled with a clear vision, will guide the integration process and address potential integration challenges stemming from differences in culture and practices.

Launching the new faculty arrangements with their own identity and uniqueness will help mitigate concerns about the potential loss of the identity and uniqueness of the current schools and faculties. Integrating systems, processes and operational functions from different faculties can be complex and time-consuming, so having a considered transition plan with input from key areas will be essential. Additionally, ongoing communication plans with staff, students and external partners will help manage the transition process, ensuring minimal disruption and uncertainty during the transition period.

Māori and Pacific studies, staff engagement

Given Taumata Teitei's commitments around Te Tiriti o Waitangi, how will the new faculty's leadership reflect this commitment?

We will be seeking feedback from staff on how best to ensure that Māori and Pacific perspectives are embedded in the leadership structure of the new faculty, so that their needs are given the attention they require. We will ensure there is representation on various transition teams and workstreams.

Grouping, collaboration, and difference

What consideration will be given to ways to mitigate any loss of agility and functionality that many small schools/programmes currently have?

This will be an essential consideration during transition planning.

Strategies will be developed to ensure that the unique strengths and nimbleness of these smaller units are understood, and where practical, integrated into the new faculty structure, allowing them to continue thriving and adapting quickly to changing needs.

Will the new faculty arrangements allow for majors to be reconfigured and/or combined?

While the primary focus of this change is not on immediate programme or course changes, the formation of a new faculty could provide a platform for future collaborations that align closely with evolving student needs and emerging trends in teaching and research.

What benefits would the proposed new faculty bring to small programmes?

Small programmes may benefit from being part of a broader set of subjects and disciplines and exposure to a larger group of potential students. Access to a broader group of academic colleagues could potentially bring new opportunities for inter- or trans-disciplinary collaboration in research projects and supervision of doctoral students. This will assist small programmes to be more resilient and responsive to student needs.

A significant benefit is that the new arrangement allows staff from vocational postgraduate programmes to have greater opportunities to engage in teaching key parts of the new faculty's undergraduate programmes, thereby broadening students' awareness of a wider range of postgraduate options within their faculty.

How will the new faculty arrangements improve access to subject specialists for students?

It has the potential to improve access by creating more opportunities for joint academic appointments across programmes and for interdisciplinary collaboration. This will allow students to benefit from the expertise of a wider range of academic staff.

How will collecting these disciplines together help them?

Committing to the new faculty arrangements provides the opportunity to enhance collaboration, provide greater scale to withstand volatile external challenges, and enable the creation of new degree programmes, while improving access to specialist expertise and resources. It offers the ability to enhance interdisciplinary opportunities, provide shared resources and expertise, amplify research potential, align disciplines strategically, foster innovation and creativity and offer new professional development opportunities. There are some natural synergies across disciplines that can be explored more easily, e.g., art/art history, social practice/sociology etc.

Will there be degree changes/course changes/programme changes/teacher/school changes?

The tertiary landscape is constantly evolving, and as such, programme and course changes occur naturally as part of our regular academic processes. We envision that the creation of a new faculty could offer the opportunity to create new world-leading programmes, but programme and course changes are not the focus of this change. Any decisions on the final structure will form part of ongoing work.

How will the preservation of school and programme identities be ensured?

School and programme identities will be preserved through inclusive decision-making processes, transparent communication, and ongoing engagement with stakeholders. While the new faculty arrangements aim to promote collaboration, they also recognise the value of preserving the unique identities and reputations of existing schools and programmes, ensuring their continued relevance and contribution to the University community. Not all schools will likely remain in their current form long-term because there could be potential opportunities to form new schools and create better synergies.

Waipapa Taumata Rau course

How will the new faculty arrangements impact the development of the Waipapa Taumata Rau course as part of the Curriculum Framework Transformation?

Following discussions with the four faculties (Arts, EDSW, CAI, Engineering), it has been agreed that there will be one course for each under the new faculty arrangements. Course design and delivery considerations are being worked through to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive approach. This includes aligning course content to provide a unified and enriched learning experience that reflects the diverse strengths and perspectives within each of the faculties.