The Peer Review Process for the Approval of New Programmes in New Zealand Universities: The experiences of one university

Abstract

On 1 January 2000, the Auckland Institute of Technology (AIT) became the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), the only polytechnic so far in New Zealand to achieve university status. This change of status presented a number of challenges and a major culture shift for AUT. One of these was the requirement to move from the approval processes of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to those of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee. All new academic programmes offered by any New Zealand tertiary institution must first obtain approval by an external quality validation body before they are eligible to receive government funding. These validation bodies differ for universities, polytechnics and private training providers, and each one has its own processes. The validation body for New Zealand universities is the Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP), a subcommittee of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee, on which all eight universities in New Zealand are represented. CUAP uses a peer review process as part of its validation procedure. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is the approval body for degree-level programmes developed by polytechnics in New Zealand. This paper will briefly examine: the processes for the accreditation and approval of new programmes, programme majors and significant changes to programmes with which AIT as a polytechnic had to comply and which AUT has subsequently incorporated into its own Quality Management System; the processes used by universities in several other countries; and the CUAP peer review process that is used to approve universities' programmes in New Zealand. The paper will then examine, from a central and a faculty perspective, the CUAP peer review process as experienced by AUT during the first 18 months of its existence as a university. Recommendations will then be made for addressing the most urgent shortcomings of this process, as experienced by AUT.