University of Otago Quality Advancement Unit
The term 'quality' has generally come to mean that the University can reach the goals that it has set itself as an institution; that it not only says that it provides high levels of expertise and commitment to its stakeholders, but that it can also prove it and that, where necessary, processes will be put in place to address weaknesses via improvement initiatives.
2011 Academic Audit
The University of Otago was reviewed by the NZ Universities Academic Audit Unit (NZAAU) in October, 2011. For more information on the Academic Audit please check our Academic Audit section.
Recent Quality Forums
Journeys of Discovery - PhD Graduates Reflect on their Experiences
Graduate Research Services and the Quality Advancement Unit invited PhD candidates, prospective PhD students and supervisors to attend this Quality Forum where recent University of Otago PhD graduates talked about their experience as PhD candidates.
2011 Chamber Debate:
"The University is too big and is losing its special character!"
Convenor: Professor Helen Nicholson, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise)
Speaking for the Affirmative:
Professor Keith Hunter, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Division of Sciences
Emeritus Professor James Flynn, Department of Politics, Division of Humanities
Dr Gil Rutherford, College of Education, Division of Humanities
Speaking for the Negative:
Dr Craig Marshall, Department of Biochemistry, Division of Health Sciences
Ms Katie Reid, Education Officer, OUSA
Dr John Williams, Department of Marketing, School of Business
Current and Upcoming Reviews
2012 Reviews
- Food Science, 5 - 7 March 2012
- (Dr Rosemary Beresford)
- Pathology, including the BMLSc (DSM), 12 - 14 March, 2012
- (Ms Shelley Griffiths)
- Director's Office, Academic Services, 14 - 16 March, 2012
- (Professor Bob Knight)
- Audio Visual Support & Development Unit (Media Productions / AVSDU), 2 - 4 April, 2012
- (Dr. Bill Anderson)
- Studholme College, 2 - 4 April, 2012
- (Professor Margaret Baird)
- Marketing, 16-18 April 2012
- (Emeritus Professor Gerry Carrington)
- Humanities Divisional Office, 30 April - 2 May, 2012
- (Professor Doug Booth)
- Salmond College, 2 - 4 May, 2012
- (Professor Paul Trebilco)
- International Business Programme, 22 - 24 May, 2012
- (Professor Robert Hannah)
- Pastoral Care (Accommodation Division), 23 - 25 May, 2012
- (Associate Professor Donna Buckingham)
- Division of Sciences Office, 26 - 28 June, 2012
- (Professor Helen Nicholson)
- Pacific Islands Centre, 5 - 7 September, 2012
- (Professor D. Gareth Jones)
- Radiation Therapy, 10 - 12 September, 2012
- (Associate Professor Donna Buckingham)
- College of Education, 10 - 13 September, 2012
- (Emeritus Professor Gil Barbezat)
- Career Development Centre, 12 - 14 September, 2012
- (Professor Tom Brooking)
- Anthropology and Archaeology, 15 - 17 October, 2012
- (Emeritus Professor Carolyn Burns)
- University Library - Support for Teaching & Learning, 17 - 19 October, 2012
- (Associate Professor Selene Mize)
Reviews Reports Recently Released
To obtain a copy of any previous Review Reports please contact Megan Wilson.
We can also provide you with an example of good practice for Self-Review documents.
Please contact us to obtain a copy of the document.
Surveys News
The 2011 Survey Schedule is now available.
2011 Student Opinion Survey
The 2011 Student Opinion Survey closed on 30 September.
The response rate for the Academic Experience part of the survey was 58% and the response rate for the Support Services part of the survey was 50%.
Both these rates are exceptionally high for a student satisfaction survey and will ensure the representativeness of the data.
Thank you to the students who took time to answer the questionnaires. In total 3788 individual responses were received.
Two winners were randomly selected from the pool of respondents for each part of the survey.
Academic Experience Survey:
Sophak Kien, BCom in Marketing student, NZ$ 1000 worth of travel with Air New Zealand and the Star Alliance Network
Leander Schulz, BSc in Geography and BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics student, iPad 2 16GB with wireless capabilities
Support Services Survey:
Victoria Koszowski, PhD candidate in Bioethics, NZ$ 1000 worth of travel with Air New Zealand and the Star Alliance Network
Jessica McMillan, Bachelor of Teaching student, iPad 2 16GB with wireless capabilities
2011 Graduate Opinion Survey
The 2011 Graduate Opinion Survey closed on 10 June.
The response rate for the survey was 48%.
Thank you to the 383 graduates who took the time to complete our survey!