Lecturers have threatened to bring Oxford Brookes University to a standstill by striking over planned job cuts.

Academics are furious that four courses are to be axed to help rescue the university from an expected £1.6m budget deficit.

The phasing out of chemistry, geology, civil engineering and cartography will affect 25 posts, but the number of redundancies has not yet been announced.

Members of the National Association of Teachers of Further and Higher Education union (NATFHE) have called for a ballot for industrial action unless the university agrees not to impose compulsory redundancies. More than 100 lecturers could take part, which would close down the university.

Oxford Brookes is suffering because of a withdrawal of Government cash, which has seen its income fall by 36 per cent over the past 12 years.

The selected courses have struggled to attract enough students. More cuts are expected in April. NATFHE activist Dr Mick Jardine said: "The employer has behaved in an outrageous way. We want the university to back off with its threats. If not, we'll ballot for industrial action and close the institution down."

Union spokesman Dave Fysh said: "The success of Oxford Brookes over the last decade is a result of the efforts and dedication of staff across the university, considerably over and beyond their contracted responsibilities.

"Now those same staff are being told that they must bear the brunt of the sacrifices to fund the changed priorities of management.

"It is management that should face the axe, not the academic staff at the core of the institution."

The university's deputy vice-chancellor, Jim Bradshaw, said: "We will make every effort to avoid compulsory redund- ancies.

"We have put in place a generous voluntary severance scheme, but if some staff don't want to take it, we'll have to work that through with them."

The institution has been running civil engineering courses for more than 20 years.

Prof John Raftery, head of the School of Architecture -- which includes civil engineering -- said: "Unfortunately, there has been a huge drop in the pool of applicants. It doesn't matter how good you are, if people don't want to do the course.

"We are completely committed to ensuring that students can graduate with a good degree, and will retain sufficient staff to do that."

Although students studying the affected courses will be allowed to complete their degrees, there are fears teaching quality will suffer, as lecturers take redundancy or move to other institutions.

Oxford Brookes Student Union president, Mr Nick Adams, said: "The quality of teaching is bound to suffer. Even if lecturers stay, they are bound to be demoralised.

"The majority of students would support industrial action, especially those on the courses which are set to go."

One of the students affected is second-year geology student, Hugh Datson, from Spelsbury, near Chipping Norton.

He said: "The university is treating staff and students exceedingly badly. Everyone here is shocked. The news has been sneaked in before exams and people are extremely upset. We feel lecturers have been stabbed in the back."