NZ arable farmers face global profitability pressures
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
The new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robin Pollard, says this has been achieved through increases in both domestic and international students.
"The overall New Zealand demographic trend shows fewer high school leavers and a lower UE pass rate nationwide. Lincoln has taken several steps to achieve this growth. For example, the qualifications portfolio was reviewed in 2014 and a new approach to marketing included an emphasis on world rankings and implementation of a new student relationship system enabling staff to maintain contact with students to ensure they had the right information to make the decision to study at Lincoln University.
"The growth in numbers is welcome at Lincoln University to address skills shortages in the land-based sectors – as well as to meet the University's own targets to continue to strengthen the institution post-earthquakes".
There continues to be strong interest in Lincoln University's traditional programmes including the Bachelor of Agriculture, Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) and the Bachelor of Agricultural Science. A number of new programmes have also continued to show steady growth since their introduction. The Bachelor of Commerce is showing the single biggest increase this year with a 51% increase. This programme is a primary area of growth for international and domestic students.
International numbers have also increased in such programmes as the Master of Management in Agribusiness and the new Diploma in University Studies. This diploma programme enables students to undertake first year bachelor courses with assistance from specialist staff to enable them to move into the second year of their chosen degree. The programme has also seen an increase in domestic students as an entry option for those who narrowly missed out on UE.
Domestically, the Bachelor of Land and Property Management (BLPM) has also seen an increase in enrolments. Lincoln's BLPM enables students to choose an urban property specialisation or a rural property specialisation, as well as having room in the timetable for further tailoring to interest areas eg marketing, environment, agriculture. It is a key programme for the property sector, which is in need of more graduates entering the profession.
"Although Lincoln University is a specialist university serving the country, this is also a local story. Overall applicant numbers from the Canterbury region have increased by 15%, with subsequent enrolments at undergraduate level rising by 10%. Lincoln put time and resources into showing 'urban' students the opportunities in the land-based sector beyond the farm gate", says Pollard.
"For any university, the new-student numbers are a significant part of the picture but not all of it. Total student numbers – new plus returning students – are those that we also look very closely at to ensure that we are providing the right student experiences on campus. Our total EFTS for Semester 1 – new plus returning students – are up 4.7% in comparison to last year".
