Otago Polytech willing to fill gap left by Aoraki

Phil Ker.
Phil Ker.
Aoraki Polytechnic may withdraw from its Dunedin campus following a proposed merger, but Otago Polytechnic could pick up the slack, the latter's chief executive says.

''We're on the sidelines, waiting for the decision to be made,'' Phil Ker said.

Aoraki chief executive Alex Cabrera said ''no decisions have yet been made'' about the proposed merger with the Christchurch Polytechnic and Institute of Technology and its possible effect on Aoraki's Dunedin campus.

The polytechnic received 20 submissions during consultation on the merger, and was ''considering the feedback received''.

''I appreciate that this review period may be somewhat unsettling for all staff and I would like to thank them for their patience and ongoing professionalism.''

Alex Cabrera.
Alex Cabrera.
He said if Aoraki went ahead with the merger, and ''on the basis that the [Tertiary Education Commission (TEC)] does not want them to continue delivery in Dunedin, we would want to continue ... the programmes that are delivered by Aoraki in Dunedin and that are meeting a clear set of needs within Dunedin''.

Mr Cabrera said, ''Aoraki operates in Dunedin to complement ... Otago Polytechnic. Aoraki will discuss programme provision as part of the investment plan negotiations.''

Aoraki's Dunedin campus has 160 equivalent full-time students (Efts) and 14 full-time staff, and offers courses in journalism (12 Efts), photography (19), film (9), beauty (59), hairdressing (25), massage (21) and early childhood study (16).

The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) said it was worried some programmes might no longer be offered in Dunedin following the merger.

TEC had said certain courses, including hairdressing and ''arts'' courses, were not ''high priority as they do not offer good employment outcomes'', a TEU press release said.

Dunedin-based union vice-president Phil Edwards said graduate outcomes were important for the Government but there were some courses, such as photography, in which graduates might not find traditional employment right away but might find freelance work that could lead to other outcomes.

''It's a pretty narrow focus, focusing on purely graduation outcomes directly out of school.''

Mr Edwards said the union would be amenable to Otago Polytechnic taking on courses previously taught by Aoraki.

''As long as staff are retained with the programmes, then that would be a good outcome for us.''

Mr Cabrera said the polytechnic decided on programmes to offer based on several factors, including demand and ''outcomes for the students''.

Aoraki announced the proposed merger on June 23, saying things had been ''tough''.

Mr Edwards said yesterday ''Aoraki ... is being underfunded, and driven into the ground financially. This is the Government's doing.''

TEC chief executive Tim Fowler declined to answer questions about funding, saying only ''should a decision be made to accept a proposal for merger, the TEC would work with the new organisation to identify courses or programmes of study for funding as part of the TEC's regular investment planning process''.

Mr Ker said if a decision were made to carry out the Aoraki-CPIT merger, Otago Polytechnic ''would be interested in a 2016 timeframe'' for picking up courses.

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