The student union says there’s been inadequate communication from UOW to residents over a decision to sell three student accommodation sites.
UOW announced last week it will sell International House, Weroona College and Marketview to private buyers by early 2022.
A university spokesperson told the The Tertangala current Marketview residents will be offered places at other UOW accommodation.
“Students currently residing in Marketview will not be disrupted and will have certainty of accommodation for the period of their current contract,” the spokesperson said.
“Students who choose to move from Marketview to another UOW residence before the end of their current agreement will have their current rate honoured until the end of their current contract and efforts will be made to accommodate those residents in a similar room/unit type to their current accommodation if possible.”
UOW had closed International House and Weerona last year due to low occupancy rates.
General Secretary of the Wollongong Undergraduate Students’ Association Imogen Draisma said she is disappointed by what she sees as a lack of communication with residents and the wider student population.
“I think it’s very telling that the university is not being transparent about these decisions,” Ms. Draisma said.
“They say that this is to support the university’s strategic priorities and we don’t really know what their strategic priorities are. If they are having to make these decisions on the basis of real facts and figures that we as a student body and wider student population don’t have access to then I guess there’s a failure of responsibility.”
As reported by the Illawarra Mercury on Tuesday, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) NSW have questioned UOW’s financial stability after Macquarie University accounting professor James Guthrie analysed that the university’s reported $48 million deficit was only the result of an accounting trick that allowed the university to claim millions of dollars in expenses against assets acquired for free.
A UOW spokesman told the Mercury that Prof. Guthrie’s analysis contained “a number of incorrect observations and conclusions.”
Ms. Draisma said that with ongoing public discussion of the university’s financial position, such as the closure of Campus Clinic, WUSA would like to see to a “transparent” consultation with students in decision making.
“It would be really wonderful if they were clear and transparent and clear about why they are making these decisions, if there is the case our finances are so dire then we’d rather have a transparent process with the university to ensure that they’re making the right decision and at this point there really isn’t that transparency at all,” Ms. Draisma said.