UPDATE: Senate Decides: WTR To Become Optional Gen-Ed

To summarise the previous article I published last week, on September 12th at 1:05pm, the Vice Chancellor's update, emailed to all students, detailed that the the feedback received from students and staff regarding the course would be discussed at a Senate meeting on September 15th, and that they would deliberate on whether the course should become an optional General Education paper, rather than a requirement. The email also stated that the final decision would be revealed in October. 

Well, as I’m writing this it’s still September and I already have the results. With 99% certainty, WTR will become an optional general education paper starting from next year.  

Matthew Lee, the Undergraduate Education Vice-President very kindly offered to meet with me just two days after the senate meeting had occurred to explain what had taken place, and also to give a bit more background as to how the decision actually came about.

What is the Senate?

To start off, we must first understand what the Senate actually is. As Matthew explained to me, the Senate is the highest academic board, and is composed of all of the professors at the University, along with the Vice Chancellor, and five members of the AUSA executive team as student representatives. The full list of members is quite long as I later found out in my research, and I’ve put the list below. Do with that information what you will. 

The Senate meets once every one-and-a-half months regarding academic matters such as the law and business merger which was paused indefinitely earlier this year. Matthew stated that the Senate is only advisory to the council, and their decisions on issues are not binding, however, the shadow of their influence is not to be underestimated. 

Okay, so… what is the Council? 

In contrast to the senate, the Council is not made up entirely of university staff. As well as the Vice Chancellor and several staff members from the University, two people are also appointed from Auckland Council, while one member has to be Māori in order to advise the Council regarding issues relevant to them. Additionally, there are also four members that are appointed by the Ministry. 

The Council, interestingly enough, is chaired by the Chancellor, who holds a position even higher than the Vice Chancellor. If you’re thinking, hold on, I didn’t even know there was a position higher than VC, don’t worry, I didn’t know either. 

Again, while the Council aren’t exactly obligated to listen and agree with the advice given by the Senate, it has been observed that they rarely disagree, and conclusions arrived at by both bodies are usually alike. 

How was this decision made?

The WTR course, while apparently having been in the works for multiple years, was only introduced and taught for the first time in semester one of this year (2025). Launching new courses and papers is most definitely not an easy task, and Matthew noted that it’s common to see new papers struggle at first, and that there was definitely an adjustment period. However, the SET evaluations and feedback receieved regarding WTR was low even with that factor being taken into consideration. 

The feedback received from the SET evaluations reported only a 35% satisfaction rate amongst students, which was immediately red-flagged for immediate attention and discussion, which gives more insight into why this discussion reappeared so suddenly and out of the blue. Following this concerning update, the Senate voted to create an evaluation panel comprised of academics from universities such as Otago and Victoria, and also from various Australian institutions. This panel would review and evaluate the course, and give their thoughts on how best to proceed. 

The result of this evaluation panel was a report which in summary suggested that the course continue but with major reviews and changes. This report was sent to the VC, and the deputy VC, however they apparently didn’t feel the need to share it with anyone else. Matthew noted that he’d raised concerns over not being able to see the report in full. 

Student’s Thoughts

In addition to the report created by the evaluation panel, AUSA also ran their own survey asking students their thoughts on WTR. Matthew shared that many of the students who participated in the survey did see the value in the course, and that many even wanted it to remain compulsory as they saw it as a way to honor Aotearoa’s history and Māori culture. Some students also held the view that as academia has the reputation of being very Western-focussed and eurocentric, WTR could help to create a balance and a new perspective. 

The concerns that students had, however, were also taken into consideration. Many students reported that the content of the course overlapped with other core papers they were required to take such as LAW121, or was repeating content that they had already learnt in high school. Degree planning was also mentioned as an issue, with some students finding it difficult to fit in a compulsory paper. One student apparently reported to Matthew that they would have to extend their time at university by a year, solely due to WTR. 

Lastly, course costs were arguably one of the most talked about issues regarding this course, even in articles published by legacy media. The paper, like most others, costs the regular approximate $1000 which ultimately would be added to a student loan should a person have one. This issue has been debated, with some pointing out that students would have to take another paper which would cost the same anyway, however the issue is still seemingly important to many. 

What Proposal did the Senate vote for?

Due to the concerns regarding flexibility and content overlap, the proposal put before the Senate recommended that WTR becomes an option general education paper for first year students. This will mean that the majority of students will have a choice on whether to take it or not, and the University is of the opinion that ultimately, most students will decide to. 

Some programmes such as medicine and architecture will still have the paper as a core requirement for their students, potentially due to not having any other papers that provide the same content. Ultimately, it will be up to each faculty to make the decision. 

The concerns about this move are not non-existent. WTR was a course created in conjunction and collaboration with the local iwi, and to many students, this move by the University feels almost like a slap in the face to that relationship. Many people, including myself, were also suspicious as to whether the University is just buckling under political pressure from parties such as ACT. 

When asked about this, Matthew expressed that it had been a concern of his as well, but that after the discussions at the Senate, he truly believed that the decision was made due to feedback and clear rationale. Despite this, he did question the speed at which all of these evaluations and decisions were made, and most importantly, who had created the proposal which had been put before the Senate. 

According to the University’s website, the next Council meeting will be held at 4pm on October 15th. Only then can we get an official decision. 

But I think we can all guess what it’ll be.