University of Auckland

The University of Auckland
Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau
Motto Latin: Ingenio et labore
Motto in English By natural ability and hard work
Established 1883
Type Public
Chancellor Roger France
Vice-Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon
Students 39,940 total, 31,689 full-time equivalent (2009) [1]
Postgraduates 6,410 full-time equivalent
Location Auckland, New Zealand
Campus Urban, 16 hectares
Affiliations Universitas 21, AMBA, EQUIS, AACSB. APRU
Website www.auckland.ac.nz

The University of Auckland (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau) is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings,[3] having been ranked 82nd worldwide. Established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand, the university is made up of eight faculties over six campuses, and has more than 39,000 students at April 2010.[4] Over 1,300 doctoral candidates were enrolled at the University of Auckland in 2007.

It also provides the most conjoint combinations in New Zealand, with over 50 combinations. Conjoint programs allow students to achieve multiple degrees in a shortened period of time.

Contents

History

Early history

The University of Auckland began as a constituent of the University of New Zealand, founded on 23 May 1883 as Auckland University College. Stewardship of the University during its establishment period was the responsibility of John Chapman Andrew (Vice Chancellor of the University of New Zealand 1885–1903). Housed in a disused courthouse and jail, it started out with 95 students and 4 teaching staff; by 1901, student numbers had risen to 156. Most of the students were training towards being law clerks or teachers and were enrolled part-time. From 1905 onwards, an increasing number of students enrolled in commerce studies.

The University conducted little research until the 1930s, when there was a spike in interest in academic research during the Depression. At this point, the college's executive council issued several resolutions in favour of academic freedom after the controversial dismissal of J. C. Beaglehole (allegedly for a letter to a newspaper where he publicly defended the right of communists to distribute their literature), which helped encourage the college's growth.

In 1934, four new professors joined the college; Arthur Sewell (English), H.G Forder (Mathematics), C. G. Cooper (Classics) and James Rutherford (History). The combination of new talent, and academic freedom, saw Auckland University College flourish through to the 1950s.[5]

Recent events

Professor Stuart McCutcheon became Vice-Chancellor on 1 January 2005. He was previously the Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington. He succeeded Dr John Hood (PhD, Hon. LLD), who was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

The University opened a new business school building in 2007, following the completion of the Information Commons. It has recently gained international accreditations for all its programmes and now completes the "Triple Crown" (AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB).

On 1 September 2004, the Auckland College of Education merged with the University's School of Education (previously part of the Arts Faculty) to form the Faculty of Education. The faculty is based at the Epsom Campus of the former college, with an additional campus in Whangarei.

The North Shore Campus, established in 2001, was located in the suburb of Takapuna. It offered the Bachelor of Business and Information Management degree. At the end of 2006, the campus was closed and the degree relocated to the City campus.

Administration

The head of the University is the Chancellor, currently Roger France, however this position is only titular (a figurehead). The actual chief executive of the University is the Vice-Chancellor, currently Professor Stuart McCutcheon.

Admission

Since eliminating open entry in 2009,[6] all applicants must have a university entrance qualification. Domestic students are required to achieve the NZQA University Entrance Standard,[7] while international students must achieve an equivalent approved qualification in their country.[8] Admission to the University also requires applicants to meet the preset academic and English language entry requirements specific to the degree for which they are applying.[9] Some programs also have a preset number of places available within the degree.

All students who did not complete their high school education or equivalent in English are also required to provide a valid IELTS score (minimum of 6.0) or equivalent.[10]

Accommodation

The University provides a range of accommodation options for students. Several hundred live in Residential Halls, which provide food, accommodation, social and welfare services.

The university ceased leasing Railway Campus in November 2008.[11]

Campuses

The University of Auckland is spread across 7 campuses, all situated in Auckland Region and Northland Region in the upper North Island of New Zealand.

  1. The City campus, in the Auckland CBD, has the majority of the students and faculties. It covers 160,000 m².
  2. The Tamaki campus, established in 1991, covers 320,000 m² in the suburb of Glen Innes, 12 km from the City campus. The degrees available are based on Health, Sports Science, Environmental Science, Wine Science, Information Technology, Communications and Electronics, Materials and Manufacturing, Food and Biotechnology and Information Management.
  3. The Medical and Health Services Campus, established in 1968, is located close to the City Campus in the suburb of Grafton, opposite Auckland City Hospital. The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Department of Optometry are based here.
  4. The Epsom Campus is the main Faculty of Education campus, offering programmes in teacher education and social services. Established in September 2004, this faculty comprises the University's former School of Education, and the former Auckland College of Education.
  5. The Faculty of Education offer courses at the Tai Tokerau Campus in Whangarei.
  6. The Leigh Marine Laboratory is effectively the “marine campus” of The University of Auckland, which offers opportunities for postgraduate teaching and research at the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve (Goat Island), near Warkworth. Situated on the northeast coast of New Zealand, about 100 km north of the city of Auckland, it has access to a wide range of unspoiled marine habitats.
  7. Some courses under the Faculty of Education are offered at Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT). Visual Arts students also live at MIT. Located in Otara, the Institute provides full amenities for students, including cafés, health services, a library, and limited parking.

Faculties and institutes

Schools and faculties

Research institutes

Faculty

Until his death in 2009, the longest serving staff member was Emeritus Professor of Prehistory, Roger Curtis Green, BA BSc (New Mexico), PhD (Harv.), FRSNZ, MANAS. He had been on the staff 1961-66 and from 1973 onwards. The longest serving, non-'retired' staff member is Bernard Brown, ONZM, LLB (Hons) (Leeds), LLM (Sing.). He has been a full-time senior lecturer in the faculty of law 1962-65 and 1969 onwards. William Phillips, the influential economist largely famed for his Phillips curve, taught at the university from 1969 until his death in 1975.

Auckland UniServices

Auckland UniServices Limited is the commercial research and knowledge transfer company for the university.[20]

Rankings

THE - QS World University Rankings

The University of Auckland was the only New Zealand institution ranked in the top 50 in 2007 of the THE-QS World University Rankings (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings), ranked at number 50. It was ranked at number 61 in 2009. In 2011, it ranked at number 145 (in 2011 Times Higher Education World University Rankings).

QS World University Rankings

In 2010 QS World University Rankings[21] ranked Auckland 68th overall in the world, scoring very consistently in the subject rankings: 51st in Arts & Humanities, 55th in Engineering & IT, 41st in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, 68th in Natural Sciences and 38th in Social Sciences.

In 2011 QS World University Rankings[22] ranked Auckland 82nd overall in the world. In the subject rankings it ranked less than the previous year: 55th in Arts & Humanities, 62nd in Engineering & IT, 50th in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, 73rd in Natural Sciences, 41st in Social Sciences and 33rd in Accounting & Finance.

PBRF rankings

The University of Auckland is a research-led University, and had the second highest ranking in the 2006 Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) exercise conducted by the government that evaluated the quality of researchers and research output of all tertiary institutions in New Zealand. With only 18% of PBRF-eligible staff in New Zealand's 33 tertiary institutions Auckland has 33% of the country's A-rated researchers and gained 30% of PBRF funding.[23]

In the previous PBRF evaluation in 2003, when the University was ranked the top research university in New Zealand, the Commission commented: “On virtually any measure, the University of Auckland is the country’s leading research university. Not only did it achieve the highest quality score of any TEO [tertiary education organisation], but it also has by far the largest share of A-rated researchers in the country.” [24]

Students' association

The Auckland University Students' Association (AUSA) represents students at the University. AUSA publicises student issues, administers student facilities, and assists affiliated student clubs and societies. AUSA also produces the student magazine Craccum and runs the radio station bFM. The name of the alumni association is the University of Auckland Society.

CECIL

CECIL (CSL, short for Computer Supported Learning) is the university's learning management and course management system and was developed in house. It has more than 44,000 logins per day (2008 April). Cecil support staff work with academics on research into cheating detections during online assessment,[25] productivity improvement using a learning management system (LMS),[26] and effectiveness of tools in LMS.[27] Cecil contains many of the features of similar systems such as Sakai Project and WebCT. Cecil also provides interactive tools for collaboration and other tools specific to the University.[28] CECIL is currently run on a Microsoft SharePoint 2007 based system, but preparations are underway to upgrade to a Microsoft SharePoint 2010 based system. [29]

Prominent alumni and alumnae

References

  1. ^ 2009 Annual Report
  2. ^ Heritage Sites to Visit: Auckland City. New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  3. ^ http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011?page=1
  4. ^ Dye, Stuart (26 April 2006). "Auckland University worth $4.4 billion to the region". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10378967. Retrieved 25 November 2011. 
  5. ^ [1]. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 18 July 2009.
  6. ^ [2]. Scoop.co.nz Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  7. ^ [3] The University of Auckland. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  8. ^ [4] The University of Auckland. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  9. ^ "General information about entry requirements". The University of Auckland. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  10. ^ "English language requirements". The University of Auckland. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  11. ^ Gibson, Anne (7 November 2008). "Uni quits Railway Campus over repairs". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10541542. Retrieved 25 November 2011. 
  12. ^ Faculty of Arts. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  13. ^ Faculty of Business and Economics. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  14. ^ Creative Arts and Industries. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  15. ^ Faculty of Education. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  16. ^ Faculty of Engineering. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  17. ^ Faculty of Law. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  18. ^ Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  19. ^ Faculty of Science. The University of Auckland. Retrieved on 6 November 2008.
  20. ^ Auckland UniServices. Auckland UniServices Limited. Retrieved on 18 July 2009.
  21. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2010 Results". http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010/results. 
  22. ^ http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011?page=1
  23. ^ PRBF report. See figure 5.4 and table 8.3PDF (2.25 MB)
  24. ^ Full reportPDF (174 KB)
  25. ^ Detecting Cheaters using a Learning Management System. Cecil. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  26. ^ Increasing Teaching Productivity with EuropeMMM. Cecil. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  27. ^ On-Line Course Surveys: Do Incentives Work. Ed/ITLib Digital Library, AACE. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  28. ^ Cecil Training. Cecil. 6 November 2008.
  29. ^ Cecil 2010. Cecil. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  30. ^ Bath, Richard, ed (1997). Complete Book of Rugby. Seven Oaks Ltd. p. 111. ISBN 1862000133. 
  31. ^ "The Hon. Tuilaepa Malielegaoi". University of Auckland School of Business. http://www.alumni.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/alumni/photo-galleries-and-video/distinguished-alumni-lectures-and-speeches/disguished-alumni-speaker-day-2009/the-hon-tuilaepa-malielegaoi. Retrieved 2009-10-05. 

External links