Courses to stop at NorthTec campuses

The future for NorthTec's Rawene campus does not look bright, although the door has not closed on its use by the wider community. PICTURE / PETER DE GRAAF

NorthTec has made its decisions regarding the restructuring it gave warning of in October, confirming on Friday that five programmes will cease in part or in their entirety, once students currently enrolled have completed them.

Three more courses may be continued in 2018 if there are sufficient enrolments.
The campuses at Kerikeri and Rawene will be closed, or "rested".

Business administration and computing programmes will not be offered face to face next year, apart from Level 4 business administration and computing in Whangarei, to meet contractual obligations.

Construction and painting courses will not be offered at Awataha Marae next year. Students interested in those courses will be offered alternatives at Auckland-based institutions.

The marine adventure and eco tourism programme will not be delivered in 2018 either, but will be reviewed as part of a future redevelopment plan to grow the organisation against its strategic direction.

Students currently enrolled in visual arts would be supported through to completion of their degrees, and a Year 1 intake would be accepted next year if there was sufficient student demand and stakeholder support. Stakeholders had committed to assisting with student recruitment and successful student outcomes.

The polytechnic says the visual arts programme team had done an excellent job of mobilising staff, community and stakeholders in response to the proposals for change.

Hospitality - Manaaki Marae programmes will not be offered next year, as 2017 enrolments were insufficient to cover costs. Discussions will be undertaken with the polytechnic's partners to assist them in continuing to deliver the programme.

The information systems will be 'rested' for two years, until there is increased demand. Student demand has decreased over the last two years, making the programme financially unsustainable.

Some delivery would be reinstated if there was sufficient student demand in Safe Trades, Sport and Recreation, where current students would be supported through to completion of their degrees.

A Year 1 intake in 2018 would be confirmed if there was sufficient student demand and support from stakeholders. Details of the student numbers required, and the date at which decisions would be made, would be advised shortly.

There was some hope for the campuses at Rawene and Kerikeri. The Rawene campus was a community asset, and NorthTec would consult with the community on longer-term options of becoming a community campus. Short-term it would remain open to community groups.

Where viable, transport would be offered to provide access for local students to a wider range of courses. Where suitable alternative delivery sites and viable numbers of students could be secured, carpentry, painting and te reo programmes would be made available in Semester 1 of next year.

Kerikeri may re-commence a range of programmes in 2019, subject to student demand and stakeholder support. An appropriate delivery site for Foundation Studies and Business programmes, which would continue, would be determined once there was a better understanding of where the enrolled students lived and confirmation of sufficient student demand.

It was also possible that limited use of the Kerikeri site would be made available to external parties, pending discussions with iwi/hapu and other community groups.

"Ultimately, this is difficult news, but these are decisions that need to be made to strengthen NorthTec's viability and ability to provide high-quality, relevant education to the people of our region, and to produce graduates who successfully go on to achieve great outcomes for themselves, their whanau and our communities," an unnamed spokesman said in last week's statement.