Hawke's Bay's Eastern Institute of Technology student numbers hit record levels

Eastern Institute of Technology Chief Executive Chris Collins is pleased to see student numbers growing. Photo / Supplied

Eastern Institute of Technology is experiencing record numbers, with increased admission of national and international students.

The 2018 academic year had 10,330 students enrolled in a number of courses - 1000 students more than the previous year.

Official figures show that EIT had 4820 equivalent fulltime students (EFTS) - 300 more than 2017.

Last year 41 per cent of all students were under 25 years of age.

Chief executive Chris Collins said he is pleased to see EIT academic programmes attracting strong demand from students and industry.

He puts the continued growth, when many others have experienced a downturn in student numbers, to several factors.

"First the continued growth in international students choosing EIT as their institution of choice.

"Second the flexible opportunities to study either online, in work, or via a blended mix of face-to-face/in work/online, and either as part-time or full-time students.

"A third factor is the extensive off-campus delivery outreach EIT does into communities, such as on farms and marae".

"A key final factor has been the strong partnerships and support of industry," Collins explained.

Achievement for Māori students is strong and rates have hit new record levels.

"Last year half of our domestic students were Māori, and up in Tairāwhiti it is up over 70 per cent, one of the highest levels of Māori participation in the NZ tertiary sector".

Last year 1400 international students representing 46 countries chose EIT for their tertiary study, selecting one of the 140 programmes, either in Hawke's Bay or at EIT's international graduated school campus in central Auckland.

This resulted in an increase of about 300 international students compared to the previous year, with most students at the graduate and postgraduate levels.

Learning Hawke's Bay manager Wenhua Yang said it was two-fold approach; strengthened marketing efforts and region-wide programmes to enhance students' experience in the region.

"As a region, we have raised our profile in the international education market, following our international marketing mission to China and a number of digital marketing measures."

While still early in the year, Collins says the forecast for 2019 looks strong with the latest enrolment numbers tracking ahead of last year.