This group exists to promote discussion and action around issues related to the corporatisation of higher education in New Zealand and its impacts for students and staff at Victoria University of Wellington. For years, government funding of tertiary education in New Zealand has stagnated or been actively reduced, forcing university administrators to raise fees and make significant cutbacks. Our fe
es continue to rise each year, while the quality and diversity of our education is routinely attacked. The closure of two valued International Relations papers, a Philosophy paper, and the closure of the Crime and Justice Research Centre are only the most recent developments in a sustained campaign of cutbacks at VUW. A few years ago the entire school of Gender and Women's Studies was axed despite opposition from students and staff. Our highly valued Film Studies programme was saved only by a sustained campaign of direct action by committed students. Major cutbacks to the Sub-Lecturer Pool in 2009 have further diminished the quality of our education by reducing tutorial contact hours and over-burdening lecturers, and more people are excluded from access altogether with the termination of the Certificate of University Preparation (CUP). The funding that VUW does receive is through the Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) model of funding, introduced in 2004. This funding model prioritises individuals and departments who are producing research that serves commercial interests, at the expense of teaching and research that might be considered socially important, like Gender and Women's Studies and other schools in the Humanities. This is why the set of disciplines known as the Humanities are being attacked at VUW and, in fact, internationally. The trend is towards higher education that serves corporate interests, and away from education that exists to enrich our communities and serve as critic and conscience of society. This group exists to give students at VUW a voice. Students have no real say in governance and decision-making at VUW. The 'Consultation Process' used to justify cutbacks is a farce, student submissions are mostly ignored and there is no meaningful student representation on high level executive boards. We Are the University at VUW works with the Tertiary Education Union and VUWSA, and coordinates closely with its Auckland and South Island counterparts.
