Whitireia's Kapiti campus to be sold

BY ALASTAIR STEWART - KAPITI OBSERVER

Whitireia Polytechnic is closing its Lindale campus and will offer courses online and at schools and community halls across Kapiti as part of a major restructure.

The polytechnic said the decision was not made to cut costs, rather to offer more flexibility to students.

"We're going to reorganise our resources to try and do a better job in the Kapiti area," said deputy chief executive Arthur Graves last week. "That means taking Lindale out of the mix and coming up with alternatives."

Whitireia's latest annual report, for the year ending December 2008, showed a deficit of nearly half a million dollars, against a budgeted surplus of $61,000, and down on 2007's surplus of $145,000.

The polytechnic said students wanted more flexibility, in terms of location and class times. That meant more night time and part time classes, increased online learning and lessons at alternative facilities, like local schools and community halls.

Kapiti's unique characteristics, including spread-out communities and a large numbers of residents who worked outside the district, meant it was unsuited for a stand-alone nine-to-five campus, Mr Graves said. "It's about customising delivery as much as we can to match the market. At the moment the campus is a bit rigid."

A smaller sub-campus would be built in Paraparaumu, at an as-yet unknown location, with facilities like the polytechnic library moved to Porirua.

Mr Graves said the move would, at least in the interim, not result in a reduction in staff or study options, and money used from the sale of the Lindale campus would fund the rejig. "The bottom line is that there will be no financial disadvantage to tertiary provision in Kapiti."

The Whitireia Independent Students Association declined to comment till it knew more details of the proposal.

Detailed planning would begin in February, with infrastructure in place by December 2011 and new-format classes beginning in 2012.