Arts heads given cuts deadline By Sean Daly Heads of departments in the ANU's Faculty of Arts have until mid-September to advise their Dean on a restructuring plan to counter this year's estimated $3.1 million deficit. Under the plan released this month, the faculty faces cuts to academic and general staff to fight funding problems caused by falling student numbers, salary increases and a cut in government funding. The plan proposes losing 24 academic and 8.7 general staff positions by next year, with the Department of Modern European Languages facing the heaviest cut - from 20 academic positions to 11 in 1998, mostly through voluntary redundancies. The report identifies the academic areas facing the greatest problems, with Modern European Languages projecting the biggest costing shortfall. Classics and Political Science are also identified as problem areas, with the report questioning the future of Classics as a separate department due to insufficient enrolments. Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of the Faculties, Richard Campbell, stressed the changes would not disadvantage students. "We will need to address the question of how the faculty is able to fulfil the implicit contract that's made with currently enrolled students - that they will be able to finish their degrees, including majors in those areas. It can be done but it's going to require attention to detail and it's probably a little bit early to flesh things out." Professor Campbell said the mid-September deadline gave enough time for the changes to be made public and give those who might be affected the eight weeks agreed under the Award and the Enterprise Bargaining scheme to consider their positions. He said the faculty's financial trouble arose out of the coinciding of several negative impacts on funding. The faculty's projected deficit for this year includes a carried-over loss of $1.49 million last year (reduced by a payment of $760,000 from capital funds), plus restructuring costs of $819,000 and an annual excess of costs over income of about $1.6 million. Prof Campbell said the other five faculties were in a better position, because comparable problems could be met through the University Restructuring and Retirement Scheme, a different age profile or higher natural staff turnover. He said the fall in student numbers in Arts was also part of a wider trend. "There is evidence of a countrywide fall-off of interest in arts and there are a number of faculties of arts around the country that are in financial difficulty. What's particularly sad about this is that just two or three years ago the Chair of the Australian Research Council Max Brennan said the ANU was the place which was strong in humanities."