New Zealand’s tertiary education system was the flavour of the week for two forums held at Otago University and Manukau Institute of Technology on the 8 and 13 August respectively.
The future of tertiary education in New Zealand was the focus of both forums, with topics of discussion including tertiary funding, the ‘dumbing down’ of qualifications, and the increasing use of online teaching.
Tertiary Education Union National President Sandra Grey said that changes in government funding to tertiary education have led to less democratic decision-making, increased workloads for staff, and a lack of creativity and collaboration in the tertiary education sector.
Panels were in agreement that if the tertiary education environment is to improve, providers need to be given more autonomy over programmes and funding.