Public urged to have their say on Lincoln University and Telford Rural Polytechnic merger

The Minister for Tertiary Education, Steven Joyce, today announced he is calling for submissions from the public over the proposed merger of Lincoln University and Telford Rural Polytechnic.

The proposal is that Telford would be incorporated as a division of Lincoln University.

"The merger has the potential to create a stronger base to support the education, research and knowledge transfer needs of the land-based sectors, and to improve value for money from existing government investment in the institutions" said Mr Joyce.

"The proposed merger offers benefits for both institutions and for the tertiary education capability for the land-based sectors, which are strategically important to New Zealand. 

"I welcome the enthusiasm of the management teams and Councils of Lincoln and Telford for the merger. I am encouraging them to continue to work on the details of the key initiatives" said Mr Joyce.

If the merger goes ahead, nearly 1000 Equivalent Full Time Students will transfer from Telford to Lincoln University.  The plan is that, in the next two or three years, some of the Telford students would staircase into Lincoln's undergraduate courses.  Lincoln currently has approximately 2000 funded Equivalent Full Time Students, plus a further 750 international students.  The merger with Telford would provide a significant increase in scale for Lincoln University.

"People who have a view on the proposed merger should take the opportunity to make a submission by 17 September 2010.  I propose to make a final decision in October 2010 to give effect to any merger from 1 January 2011," said Mr Joyce.         

Lincoln and Telford are both specialist providers of tertiary education for the land-based sectors.  Lincoln is a teaching and research university based in Canterbury with an international reputation in land-based learning and research outcomes.  Telford is a specialist land-based polytechnic, recognised for its practical approach to tertiary education supporting the rural sector.  Telford is based at its campus in South Otago, near Balclutha.

Lincoln University and Telford Rural Polytechnic will have consultation documents available to members of the public and key stakeholder groups.  Submissions can be sent to the Tertiary Education Commission at PO Box 27 048, Wellington.