The Minister for tertiary education, Steven Joyce, has announced that 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. Mr Joyce has signalled in his media statement that he strongly supports the merger.

“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. 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,” said Mr Joyce.

Mr Joyce aims to make his final decision in October, once he has heard peoples’ submissions. The merger, if it proceeds, then will take place on 1 January next year. It will mean nearly 1000 EFTS from Telford will transfer to Lincoln University, with the aim that, over the next two or three years, some of the Telford students would move into Lincoln’s undergraduate courses. Lincoln currently has approximately 2000 domestic EFTS and 750 international students.

Telford chief executive Jonathan Walmisley told the Otago Daily Times that, with Telford being one of the smallest polytechnics in the country, there were real advantages in merging, such as technological transfers down to the farmers, staff having greater access to professional development, and more opportunities for students to progress to higher qualification.