We are the UTS Animation Guild (UAG), a society centred around supporting animation students at UTS and preparing them for a global creative industry by hosting panels, workshops, social and networking events. As a student organisation, we advocate for the voices of our fellow UTS animation students, their right to access university resources and in extension their university education, enacting policy statement 4.11g of student rights as outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy: “The opportunity to provide feedback on UTS teaching and learning activities and facilities via student organisations”.

UTS has made a decision that ultimately neglects UTS animation students and their right to access vital university facilities. As of 25th May 2025, Building 6 will close between the hours of 10pm and 6am, seven days a week. [EDIT: the closure date has since been changed to 1st June.] While the university reassures us that Buildings 1 & 2 will remain open for those wishing to access university facilities, they ignore the many resources that animation students require to complete their studies, all of which are unique to the CB06.07 Animation Labs.

This closure directly impacts all students who use the labs as a facility to complete work at night, including but not limited to the over 100 animation students who have given their testimony in support of this petition. Additionally, the closure to be enacted from 25th May 2025 coincides with peak production periods for students preceding their assessment submissions, thus impeding their capacity to complete their final assessments for the Autumn semester.

This is in direct violation of our student rights, as detailed in policy statement 4.7 of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy: "Students will have access to properly maintained and accessible resources and facilities (classrooms, library, study facilities, online teaching and learning information and necessary technology)."

The following grounds are given in opposition to this closure, and in petition to negotiate a solution that will minimise its impact on the well-being of UTS animation students.

 

1. The CB06.07 Animation Labs are required by animation students every week of the semester, and occupancy rises in the evenings and nights during assessment weeks. Students will need extended access to the labs during busy production periods close to assessment due dates.
   In particular, the small Bachelor of Animation Production (Honours) cohort are known to frequently use the honours dedicated lab CB06.0749 well into the night and early hours of the morning whilst completing their thesis films. 
2. In addition to the abundance of both 2D and 3D animation-specific software that is available via the CB06.07 Animation Labs, the DAB Renderfarms are a crucial, campus-only resource for 3D animation students that cannot be accessed via any other means. There is no VPN access from home or from other UTS computer labs, and this resource is essential for completing 3D rendering, as it accelerates render times by days compared to a student's home laptop or PC. Students of 3D animation who use the DAB Renderfarms include a minimum of all second-year students, 3D stream third-year students and Honours students using 3D animation. The DAB Renderfarm and, by extension, the Animation labs must remain accessible 24/7 for these students, as despite the reduced render times, shots may continue to render overnight.
3. The decision to close the CB06.07 Animation Labs ignores the needs of disadvantaged students with no home computers and limited access to animation-specific software, which are known to be expensive and are thus provided exclusively in the Animation Labs. Jumbunna students are particularly impacted in this regard, and limiting their access is an issue of ethical equity. This violates policy statement 4.11 of student rights as outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy: “Students have a right to expect, in line with relevant legislation and university policy, full participation in the UTS community and campus life generally, including that all students, without exception, will be treated equitably and with courtesy and respect.”
4. Daytime classes for all animation cohorts consume much of the CB06.07 lab open access time, restricting students to hours outside of timetabled classes for access to lab facilities. All animation core subjects have weekly tasks to be completed outside of class time to practice the industry-standard software exclusively available on the lab computers, necessitating their use throughout the week. Furthermore, students who balance their university studies with day jobs rely on returning to the labs in the evenings and nights to work on their class and assessment tasks.
5. Open 24/7 access to the UTS Animation Labs, equipped with industry-level software and hardware, has always been communicated to new students and prospective students at Open Day as a primary reason to study with the UTS animation degree over competitors. Changing this breaks a promise to enrolled students, and violates policy statement 4.9a of student rights as outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy: “Students have a right, subject to the normal limits of such provisions, to fair, accessible and efficient administrative procedures including accurate information and advice about university activities and facilities.”

Given the provided reasons and the testimonies of current UTS animation students, the UAG endeavours to arrange improved night access to animation-specific resources for UTS animation students.

While ideally all students should have 24/7 access to the labs, as has been the case for years, we understand that this may not be feasible. We instead propose alternative opening hours for assessment periods and the two weeks preceding them, when the Animation Labs would normally be at their highest occupancy.

This would include the following dates, for 2025:

Semester 1 2025:

• Week 12: 12th May - 18th May
• Final StuVac: 19th May - 23rd May
• Final Assessment Period: 24th May - 14th June

Semester 2 2025: 

• Week 12: 20th October - 26th October
• Final StuVac: 27th October - 31st October
• Final Assessment Period: 1st November - 22nd November

These dates account for the 2025 assessment periods, and we request that extended access to the labs accounting for these periods be granted annually. 

We furthermore propose alternative minimum opening hours of 6am-12am for consideration as opposed to 6am-10pm, with emphasis that 3D animation students using the DAB Renderfarm may require all-night access to the labs during these assessment periods and exemptions to any strict curfews. Given opening hours of 6am-12am, 3D animation students rendering their films overnight would be forced to leave their work unattended in the DAB Renderfarm for 6 hours as opposed to 8 hours.

While these proposed times would still impact the work of UTS animation students, and particularly that of 3D animators and disadvantaged students, we hope that they provide grounds for negotiation with the university to improve the issue of accessibility associated with the current plans for the Building 6 night closure. We hope to achieve outcomes that meet the requirements of all parties, prioritise the education of students and attend to their voices about the issue at hand.

By signing this petition, you are actively defending current and future UTS animation students by facilitating their continued free access to a vital resource. Your support is instrumental in driving this initiative and speaks to the importance of upholding student rights. 

Thank you for your support!

- UTS Animation Guild (UAG)