FUNDING worth $1.31m, six jobs and 251 fulltime students - that is what's been lost at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in cuts described by its chief as "perverse".
In New Zealand's most dramatic tertiary education funding overhaul in 17 years, certificate courses in floristry, security, boatbuilding and outdoor recreation have
also been axed.
The Bay of Plenty Times first revealed in October that the polytechnic was likely to face significant cuts but the full extent can now be revealed.
Chief executive Dr Alan Hampton said the growth of students had been "perversely" capped when the Bay was one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.
The polytech is feeling the aftermath of the decision made by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to approve the first investment plans of 110 tertiary education organisations, under a scheme that will constrain growth and see the funding focus move from a "bums on seats" model to one focused on meeting economic and social goals.
New Zealanders are being promised better tertiary education and more value for money under the new funding plan.
Dr Hampton said management at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic supported "the general thrust" of the tertiary reforms but believed the baseline imposed for both polytechs and institutes of technology (ITPs) was flawed.
"It is inconsistent with other tertiary education sub-sectors like universities and wananga. It doesn't reflect TECs acceptance that ITPs play a leading role in providing vocational and applied education for the country," he said.
ITPs and polytechnics have been told to raise the number of higher-level qualifications offered and improve student retention and completion rates.
The focus on servicing their home region - the reason many faced funding cuts - aimed to reduce duplication and better support students to progress onto further education.
But Institutes of Technology & Polytechnics of New Zealand said the sector's forecast 1.2 per cent funding rise next year was half the rate of inflation and left providers well short.
"Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in particular retains very little of our 2007 growth and with allocated growth levels over the three years, it will take until 2010 to get back to where we currently are in 2007," Dr Hampton said.
"This seems quite perverse for one of the consistently fastest growing regions in New Zealand."
He said over the past 10 years, the polytech had operated in a surplus every year and still maintained impressive growth in equivalent full-time student numbers.
Dr Hampton said the consequences of TEC's investment plans mean they were "forced" to pull out of a number of certificate level programmes, and six jobs have been lost, and more likely to go by mid-2008.
"We are confident Bay of Plenty Polytechnic will rise to the challenges and will be seeking negotiation of improved allocations for 2009 and 2010," he said.
