Wintec Annual Report 2009

HIGHLIGHTS
ENHANCING ACADEMIC QUALITY
BACHELORS OF NURSING AND
MIDWIFERY KEEP PACE WITH
INDUSTRY CHANGES
Our Bachelor of Nursing was redeveloped in
response to numerous changes in the health
service and the profession of nursing over
the past fi ve years, together with the Nursing
Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) requirement
to increase practice hours in specifi c mental
health settings. Collaboration with nursing
staff from the Western Institute of Technology
at Taranaki ensured that our curricula are
aligned and students will be able to transfer
easily between the two institutions.
Our Bachelor of Midwifery was also
redeveloped to include expanded content
which meets current midwifery needs, and to
meet new Midwifery Council of New Zealand
Standards and Competencies for entry to
the Register of Midwives. It now also meets
the Standards of the Nursing and Midwifery
Council (UK).
STUDENT EXPERIENCE MORE
THAN JUST FUN AND GAMES
AT ORIENTATION
This year, we again put considerable
emphasis on student experience with
the goal of improving overall satisfaction,
reducing attrition and enhancing
student achievements.
Some of the work done in this area included:
Revising our induction and orientation
programmes to focus on those factors
that research has shown are more likely
to have a positive effect on student
retention and success. This included
activities that supported the social
integration of our students, highlighted
holistic student support and directly
combated student motivational issues.
A successful pilot of online attendance
monitoring, with ‘electronic roll calls’
enabling us to follow up student absences
in real time, offering comprehensive
support as needed to reduce attrition.
Of the three schools involved in the pilot,
each showed signifi cantly reduced overall
attrition rates.
FIRST NATIONAL DEGREE
DEVELOPED BY METROS GROUP
One of the fi rst tasks undertaken by the
Metros Group on their formation was the
development of a national Bachelor of
Engineering Technology, in line with the
Government’s goal to reduce duplication
and enable greater transportability of
qualifi cations in New Zealand.
Regionally, the degree is meeting industry
demand for highly trained graduates after
signifi cant growth in the electrotechnology
and infrastructure sectors in recent years.
It is also the fi rst time students will be able
to study a three-year engineering degree at
a campus in the Waikato. With the Waikato
investing more than $4 billion in the energy
sector over the next few years, and
a signifi cant number of large civil engineering
projects underway or being planned, there
will be no shortage of work for graduates.
Wintec Annual Report 2009 _ 17