News

The University of Otago has been ranked New Zealand’s top university in all four measures of the Educational Performance Indicators (EPIs) released by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) last Wednesday. It is the first time any university has been the top in all four measures, although the EPI system was only introduced four years ago. The four EPIs consist of course completion, qualification completion, student progression and student retention for 2012.

“These results are a real tribute to our exceptional staff and the ability and diligence of our students. The consistent high quality of teaching at the University of Otago has once again been underscored by independently-assessed factual data,” Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic and International, Professor Vernon Squire said.

This was the first year Otago had been included in the student progression measure, as the University has only recently included sub-degree students – such as those undertaking Foundation Studies – in its student database. This measure shows progression from sub-degree courses (equivalent to NZQA levels 1-4) to higher levels of tertiary study.

Otago boasted a course completion rate of 89 per cent, beating the University of Auckland by less than 1 per cent. A qualification completion rate of 88 per cent beat Canterbury’s 85 per cent, Student Progression to Higher Level Study of 92 per cent beat Canterbury’s 86 per cent, and the rate of students retained in study, at 90 per cent, beat Auckland’s 88 per cent. The median rate for these four measures was 86 per cent, 79 per cent, 85 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.