The granting of International Association of Universities (IAU) membership to the Auckland polytechnic Unitec Institute
of Technology is irrelevant to its status in this country.
The Executive Director of the NZ Vice-Chancellors’ Committee. Mr Lindsay Taiaroa, says Unitec remains a polytechnic and
will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
“Acceptance as an IAU member does not amount to much in the domestic context because most New Zealand universities do
not belong to that organisation, preferring the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
“The issue of university status in this country is governed by a process and legal requirements which Unitec has not yet
met. Consideration of that institution’s case has been deferred by Government pending its decisions on the Tertiary
Education Advisory Commission’s reports and the development of the tertiary education strategy.
“In the meantime, the reality is that in New Zealand Unitec is a polytechnic and it is breaching both the Fair Trading
Act and Education Act by suggesting otherwise,” Mr Taiaroa says.
For further information contact:
Lindsay Taiaroa
Executive Director
NZ Vice-Chancellors’ Committee