Otago tops class for national educational performance

The University of Otago has once again topped the key Government indicators that measure the educational performance of students at New Zealand's universities.

Released today by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), the annual Educational Performance Indicators (EPIs) examine course and qualification completion rates, retention rates and progression to higher levels of study.

Qualification completion measures the percentage of students who have gone on to complete a full qualification (e.g. a degree) within a specified number of years of commencing their study. Course completion is the pass rate for the component courses/papers that make up a qualification.

According to these measures, Otago ranked a clear first for overall student qualification completion, first year retention, and progression. In the other measure, course completion, the university ranked third.

Assessing performance over 2020, this being the most recent complete academic year, this excellent result follows Otago topping all four measures in 2019, topping three out of four measures in 2017 and 2018, and earning a clean sweep of all the key indicators in 2016.

Otago also ranked first in this latest round for Māori in three of the four measures and second in the other. It ranked first for Pacific students in one of four, second in two and third in one.

Otago's acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Pat Cragg, welcomed the strong showing of Otago in the latest indicators.

“Supporting our students to achieve to their potential is an enduring point of focus here at Otago, as our ongoing EPI performance aptly demonstrates.

“It has been most pleasing to achieve such a strong result for 2020, a year so obviously disrupted by the COVID‑19 pandemic. Our latest result is testament to the huge amount of effort and dedication both staff and students put in during a year that was exceptionally challenging.”

Otago's showing in the latest TEC performance measures:

• Course completion rate (91.2 per cent)
• First-year retention rate (84.3 per cent)
• Qualification completion rate (73.3 per cent)
• Student progression rate to higher level study (95.2 per cent)

Educational performance indicator reports (TEC website)

For more information, contact:

Professor Pat Cragg
Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
University of Otago
Email dvc.academic@otago.ac.nz

Matiu Workman
Communications Adviser (Māori)
University of Otago
Tel +64 3 479 9139
Mob +64 21 279 9139
Email matiu.workman@otago.ac.nz