Enrolment surge at Massey’s Albany campus

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Enrolment surge at Massey’s Albany campus

Massey University’s Albany campus has had a growth spurt this year, with new domestic enrolments up nearly 25 per cent on last year’s numbers.

It is the largest increase in the number of new domestic student enrolments the University has recorded in recent years.

“With new campus facilities and additional academic programmes we are delivering, we are delighted so see the response from students in the region taking up studies at the Albany campus,” says Regional Chief Executive Professor John Raine.

“The opening during Orientation Week of the new Ferguson bistro bar, and the opening of the new library and information services building in November this year are further enhancements to the services we are delivering to students and staff,” he says.

Humanities, Science and Business courses experienced the biggest surge in new domestic enrolments. Popular study options this year are the Bachelor of Speech Language Therapy, the post-graduate diploma in Business Administration, and the Veterinary Science intermediate semester.

The Masters in Nursing programme has doubled its new enrolments this year, and the Bachelor of Construction – introduced last year at the Albany campus’ School of Engineering – has also shown strong growth in numbers.

The upswing in enrolments meant the University hosted its Welcome Reception this year at North Harbour Stadium where 800 new students and their supporters and families filled the venue in what was a record attendance for the University’s 16-year history.

New international student numbers are up 17 per cent on last year, says Professor Raine. The University has students from 93 countries across it’s three campuses in Albany, Manawatu and Wellington, he says.

Significantly, close to a third of students enrolled at Massey’s Albany campus are post-graduates.

Professor Raine says this confirms the University’s growing strength as a research hub with the presence of several prestigious research centres, including the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, and the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution.

The Human Nutrition Research Centre, which carries out collaborative research with health, education, and community agencies, opened last year.

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