NZQA Confident in Tai Poutini Polytechnic’s Performance

The high value of Tai Poutini Polytechnic’s programmes for its students and stakeholders, and the dedication of its tutors, has been recognised in an NZQA External Evaluation and Review report which has just been released.

A team of evaluators from NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) spent a week in September visiting Tai Poutini Polytechnic (TPP) sites in Auckland, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Greymouth to assess the Institute’s educational performance, and capability in self assessment.

“I am very pleased that the Greymouth-based Institute’s good course completion rates have been recognised by the evaluation team, as has its connection with industry; its work-ready graduates; and the “willingness of staff to provide academic support both within and outside office hours,” says the Chair of the TPP Council, Graeme McNally.

He also pointed out that the evaluation team had found “the Council has a strong commitment to ensuring educational achievement is high, but also that the programmes and courses offered continue to be relevant to the specialist needs of industry, both nationally and on the West Coast, and provide for West Coasters’ employment and staircasing opportunities to the higher qualifications offered by other tertiary education providers”.

NZQA now requires educational institutions to be able to assess their performance and make sound judgments on improvements for students.

The evaluators found that although TPP had put in place a number of evaluative processes over the past 12 months these had not yet been thoroughly tested and the team could not be confident the Institute was far enough along the self assessment “journey”.

A 2013 re-visit is planned by NZQA to assess the impact of self assessment on TPP but in the meantime Mr McNally says “we will continue to provide good, and continuously improving, tertiary education on the West Coast and at our other sites around the country”.

ENDS

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