Northern Ireland's new Assembly has voiced concern over the massive revamp planned at Queen's University.
But managers at the Belfast campus have refused to take part in a joint delegation to the province's embryonic legislature with the Association of University Teachers.
Instead the university is to brief Assembly members who sit on its ruling body, the senate, and AUT is going it alone with initial discussions involving the education spokespersons for all the parties in the assembly, including Sinn Fein and the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists.
Meanwhile, Queen's vice-chancellor, George Bain, has attended another meeting with the union at which the AUT said important concessions were made.
The university promised to hold another formal period of consultations after its second phase review (which concludes in December), during which individual academics are able to argue their personal cases for retention.
The final consultation phase could then take until next Easter. Queen's has also made clear that while departments are to close, the subjects involved - geology, Italian and geography - will still be taught as part of other degrees.
Professor Bain made it clear, however, he could not rule out some compulsory redundancies eventually. AUT assistant general secretary, Brian Everett, said: "Queen's has come to us demonstrating a great degree of flexibility in that they are attempting to adapt their plans to meet the needs of our members. Their plan may still be on-line, but the manner in which they are going to deliver that plan has changed."
More than 100-plus academics have been targeted for possible redundancy in the Pounds 25 million investment and restructuring plan.
The latest meetings came as a survey conducted by the AUT showed two-thirds of the academic staff at Queen's feel they have a high or very high level of work-related stress. It is based, however, on a response rate of only per cent.
Around three-quarters of those who responded said they had a very low opinion of management as a result of the restructuring plan. Just over half the staff said they had low or very low morale, and three-quarters had a high or very high workload.
Professor Bain said the response rate did not indicate a representative sample and he believed those with more negative views were likely to take part in such an exercise.