The University of New Zealand was

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

's sole degree-granting

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

from 1874 to 1961. It was a

collegiate university A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...

embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 1961 New Zealand had four independent degree-granting universities and two associated agricultural colleges: the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

(Dunedin),

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

(Christchurch),

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

(Auckland),

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kn ...

(Wellington), Canterbury Agricultural College (Lincoln) and

Massey Agricultural College Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...

(Palmerston North).

History

The University of New Zealand Act set up the university in 1870. At that time, the system's headquarters was in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

. The

negotiated to keep its title of "university" when it joined the University of New Zealand in 1874, but it agreed to award degrees of the University of New Zealand. The colleges in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington were known as "university colleges" rather than "universities" throughout most of the history of the University of New Zealand. The Universities Act of 1961 dissolved the university and granted degree-conferring powers to the former constituent colleges. The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee assumed certain administrative functions exercised by the University Grants Committee which in turn assumed some functions of the University of New Zealand on its demise.

Entrance to the university

The university set its own entrance examination and awarded scholarships to provide financial assistance for students. When the university was dissolved matters concerning entrance to New Zealand universities became the responsibility of the Universities Entrance Board, a subcommittee of the University Grants Committee. The Universities Entrance Board was in turn merged into the

New Zealand Qualifications Authority The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA; mi, Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is the New Zealand government Crown entity tasked with administering educational assessment and qualifications. It was established by the Education Act 1989 ...

in 1990.

Other use of the name

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is an indigenous tertiary education provider with over 80 campuses throughout New Zealand. As a Māori-led organisation grounded in Māori values, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is committed to the revitalisation of Māori cult ...

, founded in 1984, used "The University of New Zealand" as an English translation of its name, although it had no connection with the former university. After objections from bodies such as the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee (the heads of the universities) and the Ministry of Education over illegal use of a protected word (in this case, "university") and thus possibly misleading advertising, the effective co-branding of the

wānanga In the education system of New Zealand, a wānanga is a publicly-owned tertiary institution that provides education in a Māori cultural context. Section 162 of the New Zealand Education Act of 1989 specifies that wānanga resemble mainstream ...

was phased out. The institution is now formally registered as a ''wānanga'', one of five types of Crown-owned tertiary institutions under New Zealand law, the others being universities, colleges of education, specialist colleges and polytechnics.

Alumni

References

External links

New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand, University of University of New Zealand, Universities in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1870 Educational institutions disestablished in 1961 Defunct universities and colleges in New Zealand 1870 establishments in New Zealand 1961 disestablishments in New Zealand