Victoria University enrolments steady

Victoria University enrolments steady

The first week of lectures has finished and orientation is in full swing at Victoria University of Wellington. Enrolments this year are at a similar level to 2004 with 15,881 students already enrolled. By year end, the total number is expected to be around 20,000.

“We’ve seen a levelling off after four years of very rapid growth,” said Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pat Walsh. He said that the national trend of static or declining domestic university enrolments has finally started to influence the Wellington market.

“We are also now experiencing the planned effect of Victoria's self-imposed limit on international enrolments which last year led to the imposition of higher entry standards for international students.” Victoria University’s internationalisation strategy has a desired level of international enrolments being no more than 16 percent of all enrolments.

“We have experienced an increase in the total number of applications for University admission (5% more than in 2004), however there is evidence that a range of issues associated with data processing, student expectations, understanding and achievement of University entrance requirements, and timing associated with recounts, has slowed our ability to actually enrol some students in trimester one,” he said.

In 2004, almost 97 percent of school leavers applying for admission prior to having received NZQA examination results were subsequently accepted as having met University Entrance requirements. This year only 87 percent of applicants met the requirements. “This has meant that an additional 194 students were turned away, assessed for special or discretionary entrance or redirected into our sub-degree programme to qualify for entrance at mid-year.”

In contrast, the applications for entry for general admission have increased and remained relatively stable at 99 percent acceptance rate.

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