Speech and language therapy students at Massey University are speaking out about the national significance of their qualification, after staff were asked if they wanted to volunteer to be made redundant.
The Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy with Honours is based at the university’s Albany campus in Auckland, but students can also study remotely, which is unique in New Zealand.
“Being able to get to campus on a daily basis wouldn't have been possible for me because that would have meant that I would have had to make some very drastic changes within my own personal life,” student Harmony Sills says.
Without travelling hours each day, Miss Sills can save money and work more around her study.
She’s concerned a reduction to the group of nine staff members could affect the quality of her qualification and the remote learning offering.
The university said in a statement there are no current proposals to close the course.
Speech and language therapy students learn how to assess and treat people with communication or swallowing issues.
Nearly 73 equivalent full-time students are part of the four-year course.
“Keeping the distance offering of this programme open is really important because it will allow people to not have to think twice about what sort of sacrifices they need to make to pursue this career of their dreams,” she says.
Tracy Karanui-Golf, Kaiakiaki Māori programme advisor, says Massey University has covered the shortfall for the course for years but can’t continue for much longer as the university is financially constrained.
“Losing staff means that we lose that specialty area of teaching, it's not just about the time pressure which will be significant as well,” she told 1News.
Last year, the university achieved a deficit of $8.8 million after enrolments dropped.
Karanui-Golf says the course is expensive to run, with clinical student placements a significant cost.
"We need the Government to support the program.
"It will be difficult for any institution to fund without the additional support,’ she said in a statement.
Karanui-Golf works with staff to ensure students receive training that is appropriate for the country’s unique context.
She says the course’s remote offering has seen greater diversity in student participation and greater representation from around the country.
"During these times of vulnerability people should have the ability to receive service from people who see the world and their place within in similar ways to them.
"Culture often has principles and values that influence engagement," she said in a statement.
Māori student participation has increased because of the remote learning option, which is significant as of the 1042 registered speech and language therapists in the workforce, fewer than five per cent or around 50 identify as Māori, according to the New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association.
“If you don't have the opportunities for the different cultures to come and study then you won't get that out in the workforce,” Taranaki-based student Gabrielle Lloyd says.
The grandmother is pursuing her career while supporting her whānau, and plans to work locally after graduating. She says uprooting her whānau to study in Auckland wasn’t an option.
Wairarapa-based student Samantha Hayes is studying full-time while raising three toddlers.
"Like many other small towns, the Wairarapa is facing a shortage of speech therapists," she said in a statement.
"The distance education provided by Massey University is vital for regions like ours, as it allows all communities, big or small, to train and develop new members of the workforce while retaining local staff who understand the community and know the people."
She said she struggles to see how the course could continue to run with fewer staff.
"For the tamariki who need speech services, the babies with swallowing difficulties, those who have experienced stroke, TBI, neck or head cancers, individuals with dementia and many, many others, I sincerely hope the Government steps up and funds this vital degree," she stated.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti says she’s waiting to see if speech and language therapy is discussed in a review into whether the country’s university job cuts threaten the national provision of any subject and the future workforce.
“That advice is coming back very shortly, and we'll be taking that through to Cabinet but if it's not there, I'll be asking those questions,” she says.
In June, the Government announced $128 million in extra funding for education providers of degree level courses and above over two years.
At the time, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in a press release the financial situation of some providers reflected the need for a review into how the tertiary education system is funded.
What will be covered in the review and how it will be conducted will be decided before the end of the year, he stated.
Massey University Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Cynthia White said in a statement the university acknowledges the contribution the course makes to the national need for therapists, but the current cost of the programme is unsustainable longer term.
"Professor Alison Kearney, the Head of Massey’s Institute of Education, will meet with NZSTA (New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association) when she returns from leave next week, to discuss the situation," she said.
The university did not provide a timeline for when decisions on voluntary redundancies would be made and declined to be interviewed.
Student Harmony Sills says while staff have been reassuring students and supporting them with their study, the situation has affected everyone.
“We can't help but feel quite scared and worried during this time,” she said.
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