Federation University has announced major changes to its campuses in Ballarat, Ararat and the Wimmera in a bid to secure its future.
The new campus vision comes after the university announced a restructure last November.
The ABC understands Federation University's forecast for 2022 student numbers has decreased by nearly 40 per cent on pre-COVID enrolment figures.
In Ballarat, the university's footprint will be consolidated to two sites — Lydiard Street and Mt Helen — with the Camp Street Campus to be "gifted" to the community.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Bentley said the university would consult with the government agencies who own the land to decide how the Camp Street Campus could be used.
"We are quite comfortable to remain the custodians [of the Camp Street Campus] or for the city to take it over," Professor Bentley said.
Under the plan, all classroom-based teaching activities will take place at the SMB Lydiard Street Campus, which will feature a new Arts Academy, car park, and Centre for Business Excellence.
Professor Bentley said the construction of the Centre for Business Excellence should be completed by the end of the year, with the other projects to follow.
The Technology Park at the 110-hectare Mount Helen Campus will be expanded, giving students more opportunities for "hands-on practical learning" and industry placements, Professor Bentley said.
Some surplus land at the Mount Helen Campus may be sold, but Professor Bentley would not say which areas.
"What we want to do is to find out the best partnership to be able to drive things like health and ageing and technology in the Technology Park," he said.
"So we're certainly not selling off the heart of the campus or anything like that."
Professor Bentley said the campus changes will allow the university "to provide the pipeline of skills to meet the jobs, particularly in regional Australia".
Voluntary redundancies under discussion
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) industrial organiser at Federation University, Colin Muir, welcomed the increased investment by the university but said he wanted to see a detailed plan.
He said a number of staff and students were concerned about a lack of consultation through the planning process, and how increased industry collaboration and work placements would affect the curriculum.
In November, Federation University began offering voluntary redundancies, as part of a restructure from six to three academic schools, in a year when the university suffered a loss of revenue from international students.
In December, the NTEU lodged a notification of dispute with the university over the legality of the voluntary redundancy offers.
Professor Bentley said discussions about voluntary redundancies are ongoing.
Wimmera and Ararat expansion
Professor Bentley said the Ararat Jobs and Technology Precinct, which is currently under construction, would be transformed into a "research hub that would focus on agribusiness, with the potential to expand into advanced manufacturing".
A new campus director position to increase vocational education offered in the Wimmera has been advertised.
Professor Bentley said he would like to reinstate undergraduate courses at the Horsham campus, but that would need to be done in conjunction with employers.
"We've got to have a significant enough cohort, more than sort of one or two students for that to happen, so we'll work with employers to find where is the need," he said.
"We are positioning Wimmera Campus to grow TAFE and work more closely with local industry to meet the skills needs of the region."
Federation University will be seeking community feedback on the campus vision through community consultations sessions in early 2022.
