Vice-chancellors call foul over university claims

The heads of New Zealand universities have complained about the country's largest tertiary institution using the term "university".

The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee has told the Advertising Standards Authority Te Wananga O Aotearoa, based in Te Awamutu, is using misleading television advertisements.

New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee executive director Lindsay Taiaroa confirmed his organisation had last week complained about the advertisements.

A letter of complaint had also been sent to the Ministry of Education, asking that action be taken to prevent the wananga continuing to label itself a university.

Mr Taiaroa said his organisation had no particular beef with the wananga, but wanted to protect the word university.

Auckland's Unitec was applying through the correct channels to become a university, but the wananga was not.

A university was primarily concerned with more advanced learning, independent intelligence, and had a rigorous research component that was reflected by its place on the Performance Based Research Fund ladder, Mr Taiaroa said.

"The wananga is for remedial type people who didn't do very well at school, as far as I can see," he said.

But wananga chief executive Dr Rongo Wetere rejected the claims that his institution was using misleading advertising.

"I think we've mainly referred to it as a Maori university ever since it was first established.

"We don't seek to be a university under the narrow definition of a university."

If universities could call themselves wananga then why could wananga not call themselves universities? Dr Wetere asked.

"There is little difference between them."

- NZPA