High rankings for UCOL

Educational performance at UCOL is above the national polytechnic sector median in three out of four categories, and at the median for the fourth measure.
  

UCOL student qualification completion rates, pathways into further study, and students retained in study are strong.  

UCOL Chief Executive Leeza Boyce said this is a great result, and improving student success remains a strategic priority for UCOL.  “The results reflect a combination of initiatives introduced from 2013 and strengthened over the last year.  Examples of what we are doing differently include having a kōrero with students when they are enrolling to prepare them for the year ahead.  This kōrero sets expectations and ensures students are prepared for the level of study they are entering, and often involves family and support people.  We follow up on attendance in class, and we know exactly where each student is at academically throughout the year.  A relationship based approach to teaching, Te Atakura, has been expanded and is improving the educational experience and outcomes for all students, particularly our Māori students.  With an increasing number of programmes and teaching staff participating in and adopting Te Atakura, we are getting more positive feedback from students. Staff professional development has also contributed, and led to increased literacy and numeracy rates for our foundation students.” 

UCOL’s Youth Guarantee students consistently receive excellent results, with three of the four measures in the top three rankings of all polytechnics.   

The Tertiary Education Commission’s Educational Performance Indicators (EPIs) for 2015 examine areas such as overall course and qualification completions, retention rates and progression to higher levels of study. This year the usually-used four indicators have been supplemented by a new indicator looking specifically at first-year retention and a revised qualification completion indicator.