There are fears proposed staff cuts to the Australian National University's respected culture, history and language school could dent its international reputation.
The university is considering shedding a third of the school's staff, as part of an external review initiated after it posted a $1.5 million budget deficit in 2014.
Academics teaching less popular languages - Hindi, Thai, Sanskrit and Vietnamese - are being moved on to three-year contracts from permanent positions.
There are concerns courses in the more widely studied Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian may be moved online after 2017.
Students and staff made origami dinosaurs and signed a calligraphy scroll petition at a protest at the university on Tuesday.
"It's about the entire fabric of the school being decimated, not just certain language programs being moved online," an academic told AAP.
"When people look at ANU, they think Asia."
He worries reputation damage will discourage interstate students from enrolling in Asia Pacific studies at ANU in the future.
A final decision is due in April.
Dean of the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific Veronica Taylor said the university has had extensive consultations with staff and students about proposed changes.
"I confirm that the university remains committed to languages programs and if staff and students wish to present an alternate model to that presented in the change proposal, we will listen," she said in a statement.
It was the university's intention to keep all its language programs, including lesser-taught languages.
"I acknowledge that this continues to be a difficult time for both staff and students with uncertainty about the future," she said.
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