Forced redundancies from a proposed restructuring of the University of Otago social work department should come only as a last resort, department staff are urging.
University authorities have proposed restructuring the university social work and community development department, with some staff cuts, partly to reduce a recent $300,000 operating deficit for the department.
It employs about 10 full-time equivalent staff.
The Otago Daily Times has obtained a report which the department's staff submitted last month to humanities acting pro-vice-chancellor Associate Prof Sue Court, responding to a university proposal to bring social work and two other academic disciplines together in a new combined department.
Social work staff said any redundancies should be voluntary, until measures had been taken to make other savings and boost funding.
The necessity of retaining "practice expertise and administrative staff" within the new department should also be recognised.
The new grouping should be called the social work, sociology and gender studies department, social work staff said, and they were "perplexed" by the earlier proposed "sociology, gender studies and social work" title.
Social work was "the largest and most established" of the three disciplines at Otago and had been a standalone department for the past 10 years.
"Social work has significantly higher EFTS (equivalent full-time students) than sociology and gender studies, and an established postgraduate programme," staff said.
Despite that submission, the university senate last month recommended a new department be created, retaining the initially suggested sociology, gender studies and social work title.
The Otago University Council will consider the recommendation at a meeting next Tuesday.
Asked about concerns about the proposed name of the new department and about redundancies, university officials said no final decisions had been taken, and it was premature to comment.
Department staff said it was "vital to maintain the core functions" of the social work department in meeting the country's needs for social workers "educated to the highest university standards".
"Social work serves the disenfranchised and the vulnerable."
Producing qualified social workers in the present economic times was "more important than ever", and the country faced a genuine skill shortage and recruitment and retention problems in social work.