The Christchurch Polytechnic and Institute of Technology (CPIT) has secured a huge surplus for the year by raising student numbers but not hiring staff to cover the increased workload, said Tertiary Education Union organiser Phil Dodds.

CPIT announced an $8.5 million surplus in its annual report for 2009, which it achieved primarily through an 8 percent increase in domestic equivalent full time students (EFTS) and a 17 percent increase in international EFTS.

At the same time, the total number of staff fell slightly between 2008 and 2009, meaning that the ratio of equivalent full time students to full time teacher equivalents rose from 14.4:1 to 15.6:1.

Mr Dodds says the polytechnic cannot continue to pile more students and workload on staff and also maintain the same quality of education.

“CPIT staff have worked really hard during the recession to give Canterbury people the chance they need to learn new skills and develop new opportunities. That has resulted in significant workload pressures for both teaching and general staff. We expect that the new CPIT management will recognise their success and productivity.”

Despite this increase in the EFTS-FTE ratio, student satisfaction remained high, with 92 percent of sampled students reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied with the teaching.

Outgoing chief executive Neil Barns praised teaching and allied staff for “continuing to demonstrate a strong sense of professionalism, pride and commitment.”

“As 2010 approaches, CPIT must continue to increase its productivity without compromising on educational quality,” he said.

Thanks to shadabad @Flickr for the photo