A forum for University of Otago staff this week did not present any unpleasant surprises.
The university appointed a taskforce last year to find ways of cutting costs ahead of significant Government funding cuts next year, and several academic and general department reviews likely to result in job losses are already under way.
Asked if Monday's forum had been organised to announce further reviews or give the specifics of next year's funding cuts, vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg said it had not.
It was his practice to hold forums from time to time "to update colleagues on strategic issues and to invite feedback", he said in a statement.
"I summarised the various provisions in the Government's Budget that have implications for tertiary education and research.
We expect our funding to decrease in real terms next year, but there was no attempt to estimate this in percentage terms because some factors are not yet known; for example [student] tuition fees to be set later in the year."
The already-announced removal of the Government's tripartite adjustment fund, which enabled tertiary institutions to increase academic salaries and close the gap with salaries paid in Australia, was expected to remove more than $5 million from Otago's annual budget, he said.
Other matters discussed included Otago's enrolment limitation plans, likely developments in the tertiary system next year, the Matariki Network of Universities which was launched in May, and Otago's campus master plan, he said.
About 350 people attended the forum.
