An academic audit of the University of Otago is to be
conducted by an independent body charged with scrutinising
New Zealand's top tertiary institutions.
New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (NZUAAU) quality
enhancement and communications manager Heather Kirkwood said
a panel of auditors would visit Otago next month.
The five auditors would carry out an on-site visit as part of
the academic review, which is scheduled to be released
publicly in a report next year, she said.
The academic audit is part of an ongoing review of New
Zealand's universities, which is entering a fourth cycle of
scrutiny of the tertiary institutions' teaching, quality
assurance, and student experiences.
The unit has conducted 21 audits of New Zealand universities
between 2000 and 2010, which had resulted in 650
recommendations.
An audit of Otago's academic practices was last conducted in
2006 as part of the regular national review.
University of Otago staff and council members were briefed
about the audit by deputy vice-chancellor of academic and
international Prof Vernon Squire earlier this month at a
meeting which the Otago Daily Times was stopped from
attending because of "privacy" reasons.
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