The University of Otago is pleased to have maintained its place as the second-ranked New Zealand university on an international list of the world's top universities.
The Times Higher Education World University rankings showed Otago University remained in the group of 226-250th. Academic and international deputy vice-chancellor Prof Vernon Squire said the university was happy with its ranking.
''We welcome [the] announcement and it is pleasing that Otago has maintained its place in the 226-250 band,'' Prof Vernon Squire said.
Otago University was behind Auckland University, which slipped three places to 164. The drop was not a major concern for the tertiary institution.
Auckland University deputy vice-chancellor Prof John Morrow said a variation of three places was of no ''real significance''.
''The more important thing is the trend over time in these rankings, and the tendency there is for all New Zealand universities to increase their scores [but] to decline in the rankings, which means we're doing better but other people are doing better than us,'' he said.
Issues around funding and resources in universities had to be addressed, Prof Morrow said.
To be competitive and attract overseas students, New Zealand universities needed to be well-resourced, he said.
Results for New Zealand's other universities were mixed, with Victoria University in Wellington dropping a ranking band, moving from 251-275 in 2012-13 to 276-300 in the new list.
Canterbury and Waikato Universities stayed put, falling somewhere between 301 and 350.
The list, which is released annually, uses 13 separate performance indicators to test a university's strength against its core missions.
The new results were likely to be a blow across the Tasman - with several Australian institutions slipping places.
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce said the new rankings reflected the ''increased competitiveness of the international university market''.
''The Government has increased its investment in universities by 16.5% over the last four years, despite tough financial times.''
Mr Joyce said New Zealand universities had to be able to respond more quickly and effectively to the ''competitive challenges'' set against them.
This included attracting more international students, expanding research links, and investing more in disciplines where they had a competitive advantage.
- Additional reporting by APNZ.
