Labour Auckland Central MP Judith Tizard has welcomed the announcement that the Auckland Institute of Technology has been granted university status but has criticised the government process which led to the announcement.

"AIT is a hugely successful tertiary institution which offers a wide range of courses to students from throughout Auckland and the rest of the country," Judith Tizard said.

"As local MP I have been welcomed on to their campuses many times and have always been impressed with the quality and standards of programmes they offer.

"As part of the next government, I look forward to working with AIT and my colleagues to define more carefully what a university of technology is. It is a pity that the Government did not do this work years ago. AIT has clear and focused ideas what they want to achieve, but there is a need to incorporate the term into education legislation.

"It's a cop out for the Government to grant AIT university status without doing the work necessary to include 'university of technology' status on the tertiary education sector framework," Judith Tizard said.

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