A removal of honours rooms in the Department of Humanities is proving a bone of contention for those pursuing postgraduate study this year.
Honours students from Political Science, Philosophy, International Relations and English Literature have voiced displeasure with the removal of tailored honours rooms as part of Victoria University’s budget cutbacks.
A number of students have said the loss of the rooms put undue pressure on students faced with the rigours of an honours workload.
Political Science student Conrad Reyners noted that without having access to special rooms and computers, honours students were forced to use computers in computer labs and the library, adding pressure to an already stressed network.
Reyners also felt the removal of the rooms stole away students ability to congregate and share ideas.
“When completing over 40,000 words worth of written material, constant feedback is always sought. Not having an honours room severely restricts this,” Reyners said.
Unprecedented stress has been placed on the Department of Humanities this year following a hefty budget cutback.
A new agreement reached between the Post Graduate Students Association (PGSA) and the new Faculty of Graduate Research has set the grounds for minimum resources. However, the agreement only pertains to Masters and PhD students.
PGSA Executive Member Annette Bolton said the current economic climate was restricting the way the university catered to postgraduate students, but hoped changes would happen.
“It is something that the PGSA would like, as we can see the benefits of having study space to work and interact with other students,” Bolton said.
A recent survey sent out by the PGSA asking current postgraduate students about the quality of their postgraduate study was still undergoing analysis and will be released in the not too distant future.