Recognition for University of Waikato staff

11 April 2013

Recognition for University of Waikato staff

More than half of Waikato University’s research-active academic staff have been rated in the top two categories by the government in its 2012 quality evaluation for performance-based research funding (PBRF).

The University is also among the top four New Zealand universities in having recognised researchers available for teaching and supervising postgraduate students.

“Of the academics who are earning PBRF funding for the University, we have a very encouraging 9% of researchers at ‘A’ level and just over 45% of our researchers at ‘B’ level,” says the University’s Vice Chancellor Roy Crawford.

The largest number of the University’s academic staff are recognised for producing research of national and international significance (‘B’), and over the past decade the number of ‘A’ and ‘B’ researchers as a proportion of all academic staff has risen from a third to more than a half. ‘A’ researchers are defined as world-class.

“Ninety per cent of the University’s academic staff are research-active. Students can be confident that classes at Waikato University are underpinned by internationally-benchmarked, research-informed teaching, and in particular our postgraduate students have direct access to top national and international researchers,” says Professor Crawford.

“We put ourselves on the line publicly to say that nearly half of our PBRF-eligible staff would achieve ‘A’ or ‘B’ scores,” says Professor Crawford, “and we have more than achieved that goal. This is strong evidence that we are building for the future.”

He says the PBRF research quality evaluation has two purposes:
• To ensure the University’s teaching is “research-informed” as its charter requires, and
• To determine how the TEC (Tertiary Education Commission) distributes the PBRF contestable funding pool.

The PBRF is managed by the TEC and the size of the PBRF funding pool is determined by the Government in its annual Budget. In Budget 2012, the Government announced the PBRF pool would be boosted by $100 million over four years to bring the fund to $300 million per annum in 2016.

Waikato University currently receives about $15 million in annual PBRF funding, of which $9 million is generated by the quality evaluation of its research.

Read more information about the University of Waikato’s PBRF results.

ENDS

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