The University of Sydney is staring down a legal battle from 60 students unhappy with the institution's proposal to close its visual arts school and merge it with a rival campus.
About 700 students enrolled in courses at the Sydney College of Arts in Rozelle would be forced to continue studies next year at a different university - the UNSW Arts and Design School in Paddington - following an announcement in June flagging a merger of the two tertiary fine art schools.
The sudden announcement has infuriated students, with some now seeking legal action under consumer protections.
The lawyer representing the students, Thomas McLoughlin told AAP that students would pursue the university for deceptive and misleading conduct under Australian consumer law.
He says the university engaged in deceptive conduct by backing out on their promises to provide the facilities originally offered in education services to students.
"SCA students are concerned that, should the move go ahead, the terms outlined in our enrolment agreement cannot be fulfilled by the University of Sydney," a petition from students reads.
The online petition, signed by more than 4000 people, also claims that teaching staff will be shunted, and students left without workshops, printing presses and kilns.
Mr McLoughlin says that if initial negotiations fail, he will file cases on behalf of 60 students in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
He accuses the university of failing to keep its obligations as a business provider of education services.
"Regrettably there may be a culture at USyd and probably other universities that these respected institutions do not have those consumer obligations and can say and do what they like in terms of management of the business," he said.
"But that is not the case under the ACL (Australian Consumer Law)."
Mr McLoughlin predicted the pool of student plaintiffs would grow and said some students had also approached commercial law firms for potential class actions.
"We've had emails from students on their break in Germany who want to get involved and are following the campaign online," he said.
A Sydney University spokesperson said that regardless of the outcome of the merger discussions, the university believed it has fulfilled its legal obligations.
Announcing the merger last month, vice-chancellors of both universities hailed the creation of `a national centre of artistic excellence' that would "build on the best qualities of both centres".
