Learning to Live

I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in an accreditation panel for an Auckland PTE and spent yesterday meeting management, academic staff and students as well as looking at documentation.  It was good to gain the perspective from the other side of the fence, as previously my involvement has been as an educational provider seeking accreditation and responding to panel requests. It was encouraging to discover that the panel took the view that they should work with the provider in a partnership that allows the accreditation to be granted while ensuring quality of delivery and capability of the institute. Having the opportunity to look at another institute and see what they do well and discovering areas where things can be done better made me think about my own institution and compare how it measures up.

The PTE had excellent track record for retaining international students and they had some great ideas that could be considered at EIT. The staff were all positive about the institute and the students and the students were happy with the staff. So in that area I think both institutes do well. Where EIT appeared strong in comparison is curriculum development, quality management and professional development of staff.  

Perhaps it is the size of the institute and the number of administrative and academic staff that makes the difference. EIT has a greater number of people to call on when developing programmes and procedures and as a result is able to produce quality systems and procedures.

Thinking about the two institutes, we are very different and I was reminded how lucky I am to be at an institute that recognises and encourages quality and has sufficient numbers of staff who are willing to share their expertise to produce a quality product. I was also a little envious to see how well the staff at the PTE worked so closely together with a common focus on ensuring a memorable educational experience for students.Looking back I feel a little disappointed that the polytechnic and PTE sectors have to operate in such a competitive environment. We both have things that we could share that would improve the performance of both different sectors which would result in a better experience for students studying in New Zealand.