The collaboration will see VUW lead the delivery of teaching German for students at both universities, and Otago lead teaching of Latin and Greek.
VUW vice-chancellor Nic Smith said it was an exciting prospect to have two high-quality universities seeking to combine their talent and expertise.
“This kind of collaborative approach, with the two universities contributing their individual distinctive strengths and not competing with each other but working together, has enormous potential benefit both for the young people of Aotearoa and the future of our country as an island nation in the Pacific."
Prof Smith said with so many New Zealand universities experiencing significant financial challenges, it was clear the current university funding model in a number of areas is serving neither the country nor university staff and students well.
University of Otago Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Helen Nicholson says it relished the opportunity to work closely with VUW.
“We have appreciated the opportunity to work closely with VUW and we look forward to jointly delivering an innovative and enriching teaching programme to our students.”
Under the pilot, students will enrol at their home university which will continue to provide them with pastoral care, course advice and student support services. Teaching will be provided online by the other university.
Earlier this year, Otago University disestablished the German language department amid declining rolls and funding difficulties.
Prof Smith said university funding derived from a competitive pursuit of student numbers, which has led to universities often offering the same courses sometimes in the same locations.
“In the current climate of financial difficulties, universities are now also cutting the same courses even though these decisions might not ultimately be valuable for the prosperity of the country as a whole,’’ he said.
“We hope the government will provide funding to support this initiative between VUW and Otago.
‘‘We would also like to see this collaboration inform the university sector review that has been announced by the government as it could offer both tangible study opportunities for our students and economies of scale across the country’s university sector.”
- Staff reporter
