A sudden and dramatic fall in overseas enrolments has forced Central Queensland University to slash more than 200 administrative positions with academics fearing they could be next.
More than 200 staff contracts will not be renewed when they expire, most on June 30.
The university has the highest proportion of mostly Asian overseas students of any other in Australia and relies heavily on their fees to maintain its campuses in Brisbane, the Queensland Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne.
Last year, foreign students comprised 53 per cent of the nearly 21,000 students enrolled on CQU's Australian campuses in the first semester.
But after a 25 per cent decline in their numbers this year, the proportion has dropped to less than 47 per cent of the 17,650 enrolled. CQU deputy vice-chancellor Angela Delves said other regional universities across Australia were facing similar problems.
This was especially so in 'resource-rich locations' where high salaries and plentiful jobs were attracting potential students directly to the full-time workforce. 'That's the reality and we need to respond to that,' Professor Delves said.