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.
