The National Tertiary Education Union fears the campus’ future is under a cloud with student numbers about 700. Two years ago, the campus had 1166.

The demise of the School of Communications and Creative Arts comes as the university develops a strategy for 2020.

The union rightly fears that without journalism, literature and public relations units at Warrnambool, other streams like education might not be as appealing for students, who seek diversity in their courses.

It’s chicken and the egg stuff. Without a variety of course offerings, numbers will be compromised. Without numbers how can you afford to run the course?

But the world as we know it today is vastly different from 10 years ago. Our series of stories which reveal the sobering prospect 60 per cent of students are training for occupations where at least two-thirds of jobs will be automated says it all.

Deakin has to move with the times, it has to re-position itself so that it is sustainable but any losses have to be countered with gains. That’s the union’s point.

An even bigger issue with Deakin Warrnambool is how much do we really value the campus?

It injected $53 million into the economy in 2013. It is a selling feature for the region, helps resource our businesses with graduates, provides direct employment and adds to our cultural diversity with overseas students.

But when the south-west has one of the lowest year 12 attainment rates in Victoria, it’s hardly surprising student numbers are dropping. If locals aren’t utilising the asset, then what hope has Deakin got of attracting sustainable numbers?

When Deakin announced in June this year it needed to position Warrnambool differently, campus chief executive officer Grant Sutherland promised: “We will explore closer connections to school retention and TAFE pathways through new thinking and leadership that will work for Warrnambool, the region and Deakin in the long term."

As he engages with the community and industry on shaping the campus’ future, his message has to be clear that Deakin is here to stay. As a community we need to support that message because there’s a lot at stake.