Otago Polytechnic is urging the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to release unused student places from other institutions as soon as possible and allow Otago to increase its roll.
If the "exceptionally strong" enrolments seen to date continued, the polytechnic could have at least 300 more equivalent full-time student places (efts) this year than it was allowed, chief executive Phil Ker said in a report to be presented at a polytechnic council meeting tomorrow.
If Otago could not secure additional places, it faced slashing its semester-two enrolment quota by 40%, he said.
Tertiary institutions negotiate funded places for New Zealand students with the TEC and are allowed to go 3% over the total, although the extra places do not receive government funding.
Otago Polytechnic is funded for 3208 efts this year and is able to carry another 96 unfunded efts.
Unless Otago could gain extra places it presented a "potentially serious situation", Mr Ker said.
"TEC sanctions [for exceeding the 103% limit] could result in financial penalties.
To comply with the rules we will have to slash our semester-two intake by 40%."
Stronger than expected enrolments were signalled last month, with the polytechnic saying enrolments for several courses and departments had already exceeded the number of places budgeted for the entire year.
The areas showing the strongest enrolments were health programmes, hospitality, art, vet nursing and information computer technology.
There were two reasons for increased enrolments, Mr Ker said - pipeline growth as students stayed to complete multi-year courses, and strong year-one enrolments because of "the high level of unemployment and the dim prospects for school leavers to get jobs".
Mr Ker said he had been led to believe efts allocations would not be met at some other institutions, including universities, and had asked the TEC to reallocate some of those places to Otago Polytechnic.
If additional places were not available, he had asked the TEC to permit over-enrolments and not to impose financial penalties.
"While taking this level of unfunded efts will put strain on the polytechnic, it is preferable to denying people the opportunity for training, especially given current economic conditions."
