UTS announces major restructure as teacher education and public health schools face closure

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has announced a sweeping restructure that will see its teacher education programme and public health school closed, as the institution attempts to cut $100 million in annual expenditure and return to financial surplus.

Under the proposal, UTS will discontinue 167 courses and 1,101 subjects, reducing its 24 schools to 15. The move follows five consecutive years of deficits and a $300 million bond repayment, with the university citing escalating costs and policy shifts as key pressures.

The school of professional practice and leadership and the school of public health will be disestablished, with the latter absorbed into a newly named “school of health and human performance.” The restructure also proposes merging the faculty of law, business school, and transdisciplinary school.

Student and staff reactions have been sharp. UTS Students’ Association president Mia Campbell described the plan as “shocking” and said it undermined the university’s academic mission. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has criticised the decision as unnecessary, claiming UTS could return to surplus by 2029 without such deep cuts.

NSW upper house inquiry chair Dr Sarah Kaine condemned the closures as “indefensible” amid teacher shortages and ongoing public health needs, saying universities “must serve the public good, not short-term financial targets.”

Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt defended the restructure as essential to ensuring UTS’s “sustainable future,” promising current students will be able to complete their courses and that consultation will continue.

For details on the university’s strategic overhaul, read the full article here.