Up to 55 jobs are hanging in the balance after The Open University announced plans to close its Birmingham office.
Unions have threatened strike action after the distance-learning educator confirmed its Harborne office was to shut.
While workers will be offered an option of voluntary redundancy or relocation to a centre in either Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham or Milton Keynes, the University and Colleges Union (UCU) has branded that “unrealistic”.
UCU said to lose such huge amounts of expertise would be a devastating blow and questioned why so many centres were being hit at the same time.
A spokesperson added: “The total number of people working in the Birmingham centre is 55 and they will all be affected.
“They are offering various things, like early retirement and relocation, but for the majority of people that is not a realistic alternative.”
The Birmingham office, on Harborne High Street, is one of seven earmarked for closure as part of an efficiency drive.
It helps thousands of students, many of whom combine their studies with employment and other commitments.
Offices in Bristol, Cambridge, Gateshead, Leeds, London and Oxford are also to go with 494 jobs under threat.
Staff in these offices evaluate and support students with disabilities, provide course materials, assign tutorial groups, run examination arrangements and manage the hugely popular degree ceremonies.
UCU representatives called the plan “catastrophic” and say it spells the loss of vital services, such as careers counselling, study advice and support for disabled students.
It comes amid a Government review of further education that will see many providers move to fewer and larger centres. OU is shedding almost 500 jobs nationally.
A union meeting is planned for Wednesday, and the UCU said it is not ruling out industrial action.
Peter Horrocks, vice-chancellor at the OU, said the announcement followed a “difficult decision”.
He added: “The OU’s mission has always been about embracing innovation and providing our students with the best possible experience. With developments in technology changing how we work, the student’s experience of the OU has not been limited by geography for some time.
“This is a difficult decision and I fully recognise the impact it will have on many of our staff, but we cannot afford to stay still. This recommendation, if approved, would allow us to enhance student support in a way that’s simply not possible in our current office network, and offer our students the sort of support they expect and deserve.”
