TEC and NZQA give Whitireia Polytechnic the top marks

TEC and NZQA give Whitireia Polytechnic the top marks

Students studying at Whitireia Polytechnic are more likely to succeed than at any other polytechnic in New Zealand, according to recent independent assessments conducted by the Tertiary Education Commission and NZQA.

The Tertiary Education Commission today released its annual Educational Performance Indicators (EPIs) for the country’s seventeen Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) for 2014. Their results show Whitireia tops the country for course completions for the second year running. This means Whitireia has a higher percentage of students completing courses and passing them, than any other New Zealand ITP. Whitireia was also among the top three nationally for qualification completions and retaining students in study.

NZQA also gave Whitireia its highest rating in an External Evaluation Review (EER) report released last month. These reviews assess an ITP’s ability to a) deliver and assess good quality education and b) self-monitor, review and continuously improve its educational provision, and confirmed the quality of qualifications obtained by students studying at Whitireia.

“These excellent results recognise and endorse the tremendous work of the academic and support staff at Whitireia,” says Whitireia Chief Executive Chris Gosling.

“Providing the support needed to help our students succeed is at the heart of what we do at Whitireia and this is showing up in these results,” Mr Gosling says.

“From the very first engagement, right through to graduation, Whitireia staff aim to ensure students have the information, support and encouragement to help them complete their chosen programme of study.

“We invest significantly in providing support services to meet students’ educational needs and, when necessary, give advice and practical support to students who have external issues that may impede their progress.

“In the classroom, the focus is on maintaining good attendance rates as well as providing quality applied learning that is motivating and engaging. As much as possible, Whitireia teaching staff work to build hands-on opportunities into study programmes for students to test what they’re learning in real world conditions.”

Chris Gosling cites examples of what the TEC results and NZQA report indicate, in the 100% pass rates for State Nursing Finals of the last three years by Whitireia Bachelor of Nursing Māori students;

the international reputation of the world class Whitireia Performing Arts programme; and the 80% of recent students of the Whitireia Journalism diploma programme who found related employment immediately upon graduation.

“Achieving these outstanding results doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels, however, and we continue to work to improve the service provision and quality education to meet the needs of our community and the economy,” assures Mr Gosling.

ENDS

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