By Millie Muroi
The consultation period for the School of Social Sciences proposal has been extended by a week, with UWA Vice-Chancellor Amit Chakma conceding a data error in an email to staff.
This comes following the announcement of staff cuts, abolishment of the Anthropology & Sociology major, and criticism of the proposal by members of the staff, public, and student body.
“(I)n response to the volume of feedback, we have extended the consultation period on this proposal until Tuesday 27 July, 2021,” the email read.
Dr. Chakma wrote that feedback had questioned elements of the data used in the proposal.
That includes criticism of data and points made in the proposal in a rebuttal document from Save Social Sciences UWA.
“(A)nalysis of the enrolment data that was provided to the Head of School has identified an unintended error in data extraction and subsequent processing concerning the quoted enrolments in the Anthropology and Anthropology & Sociology Majors…as measured by completion data.”
“I acknowledge and regret this error.”
But Dr. Chakma wrote this did not alter the basis and need for strategic change.
“(W)e can confirm that the aggregate drop in completions of these majors between 2016 and 2020, inclusive, was 40%, not 77% as previously reported.”
“The error overestimated the number of students in the program in 2016.”
“While the reduction in the completions of these majors is less than originally reported, it remains significant.”
The email outlined the University’s rationale for organisational change.
“For too long we have been deeply underinvesting in core aspects of our campus and living beyond our means in others,” Dr. Chakma wrote.
He wrote that while external commentators noted the 2020 operating result of $55 million and the balance sheet appeared strong, this position was due to the University having assets it could not actually spend.
“(M)ost of that came from restricted-use funds and investments, which means it cannot be used for operational purposes.”
“Considering this, we actually finished 2020 $2.4M in deficit.”
Dr. Chakma wrote he would be considering further input before a final decision was made.
Image Courtesy of Charles Fedor.