Universities’ Position on Mining Degree Misreprese

Media Release 27 November 2007

Universities’ Position on Mining Degree Misrepresented

In response to a statement by the Industry Training Federation that university leaders are out of touch on industry degrees, NZ Vice-Chancellors’ Committee Executive Director Lindsay Taiaroa says the issue is not about the mining industry or industrial qualifications.

“The NZVCC is interested in protecting the integrity of degree standards in New Zealand. It is responsive to the needs of industry and for many years the University of Otago and later the University of Auckland offered degrees in mining which were eventually discarded because of lack of student demand and employer interest. A wide range of current university degrees are relevant to industrial employers in New Zealand..

“The issue is essentially whether the NZ Qualifications Authority is prepared to register degrees on the National Qualification Framework which neither meet the statutory requirements for a bachelor’s degree nor have a provider with accreditation and approval to deliver them. The issues are complex as NZQA realizes and at this stage the universities, along with other interested bodies, are being consulted on their views.

“No other tertiary education provider is allowed to get away with this approach and gain public funding so it is difficult to see why an industry training organisation should be exempted.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media