All but one New Zealand university has slipped in rankings in
the latest international survey of tertiary institutions,
with the University of Otago dropping 10 places.
Auckland University is the only New Zealand university in the
top 100 in the 2010 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World
University Rankings survey, which examines more than 600
universities and is regarded as one of the more reliable of
the surveys carried out by a variety of organisations.
Victoria University, Wellington, climbed to 225th position
from last year's 229th.
Auckland slipped seven places to 68 this year, while Otago
dropped from 125 last year to 135.
Canterbury fell one place to 189 and Massey was ranked 302,
down from last year's 299.
The top 10 positions were dominated by United States and
British heavyweight universities such as Cambridge, Harvard,
University College, London, Columbia and Yale.
University of Otago academic and international deputy
vice-chancellor Prof Vernon Squire said yesterday while Otago
"always paid attention to a downward trend", he did not
believe a drop of 10 places was a significant change.
Among the factors QS analysed was student-staff ratio, and
this appeared to be the factor which had led to Otago's lower
ranking, he said.
Even though New Zealand universities were subject to capped
rolls, Otago's roll had still grown in recent years.
"We've had an influx of students and we are addressing that
by taking on more staff - but appointing new staff takes
time."
In relation to its size and population, New Zealand "punched
above its weight" in all international university ranking
surveys, Prof Squire said.
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