05 May 2005
Poll shows support for Unitec university bid
Colmar Brunton conducted a research project for Unitec New Zealand in April 2005 to gauge the awareness and support of
Unitec’s efforts to gain “University of Technology” status.
Key Findings Support for University of Technology vs Traditional University for West Auckland 87% favour a University of
Technology over a traditional universit
y (60%) NB: The term “University of Technology” was fully explained to the respondents
Support for Unitec’s efforts to be recognized as a University of Technology 75% of people from West Auckland and
Waitakere support Unitec’s efforts 53% support these efforts “strongly”, 22% support these efforts “a little” Just 9%
oppose Unitec’s efforts, with the remainder (16%) expressing no opinion (either “a little” or “strongly”)
If Unitec received “University of Technology” status, how much more able to meet the educational needs of West
Aucklanders would it be? 72% think that Unitec would be more able to meet the educational needs of West Aucklanders 46%
think much more able, 26% a little more able 4% think they would be less able to meet the educational needs of people
from West Auckland
Awareness of Unitec’s efforts to be recognised as a University of Technology 58% of people from West Auckland and
Waitakere are aware of Unitec’s efforts
Methodology A telephone survey was conducted between the 23rd and 24th of April 2005 that was based on a sample size of
500. The sample was created from randomly generated telephone numbers in the West Auckland and Waitakere region. 330 of
these were taken specifically from the Waitakere region and 170 from Mt Albert and other West Auckland suburbs.
Respondents were those aged 18 and over from these regions. This research has been weighted to the age and gender
population as per the 2001 census to ensure the sample is representative.
ENDS