Otago Polytechnic Students' Association

Last updated
The logo of Otago Polytechnic Students Association.gif

Otago Polytechnic Students' Association is an independent organisation founded in the 1960s for Otago Polytechnic students, and is the sole students' association at OP.

Contents

OPSA's aims include:

Facilities and services

OPSA provides access to many facilities and services like the student ID card, Clubs & Societies Centre, a second-hand bookshop, UNIPOL Sports Centre, [1] a digital student newsletter/paper ( StudentNews ), free pool tables, free campus telephones, the Student Discount Directory, social events, and Student Job Search.

Student support

OPSA also provides support services like advocacy, campaigns, representation, financial assistance, [2] and advice. [3] OPSA is often involved with local authorities representing a student view, especially in transportation and housing issues. [4]

Education campaign

OPSA advocates everyone's right to tertiary education, and that user-pays education creates a significant barrier to this right. OPSA seeks a return to free tertiary education as it was before 1989. [5]

Structure

OPSA is governed by an annually elected body of students, and runs a class-representatives network.

History

OPSA was created two years before the 1966 opening of Otago Polytechnic. King Edward Technical College set up the Polytechnic Full-time Students’ Association in 1964 to organise social and sporting activities for full-time tertiary students in anticipation of King Edward Technical's split into Otago Polytechnic and Logan Park High School. [6] Membership was initially compulsory for all full-time students.

The Association's name was changed to the Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association in 1968. OPSA became an incorporated society in 1976, officially a not-profit making organisation in 1986, and was awarded charitable status in 1994.

OPSA was a founding member of NZTISA, the national student body of polytechnics and technical institutions, in 1971. During the 1970s OPSA expanded into the role of student representation and campaigning for student rights.

Recent events

Since 2011 membership of New Zealand students' associations was made voluntary by the government, at Otago Polytechnic any enrolled OP student may consider themselves a member. OPSA's income is largely from a service contract with the Polytechnic. [6]

OPSA campaigned against the Government's removal of student representation from polytechnic councils in 2009. [7] [8]

In 2008 and 2009 OPSA took the unusual move of threatening to expel any members involved in illegal violence at the Undie 500. [9]

Related Research Articles

University of Otago University in New Zealand

The University of Otago is a public university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It scores highly for average research quality, and in 2006 was second in New Zealand only to the University of Auckland in the number of A-rated academic researchers it employs. In the past it has topped the New Zealand Performance Based Research Fund evaluation.

Auckland University of Technology University in New Zealand

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university in terms of total student enrolment, with approximately 29,100 students enrolled across three campuses in Auckland. It has five faculties, and an additional three specialist locations: AUT Millennium, Warkworth Radio Astronomical Observatory and AUT Centre for Refugee Education.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is a wānanga in New Zealand. The organisation was established to improve the social and economic well-being of those who had previously had negative experiences with the secondary education system. As a Māori-led organisation grounded in Māori values, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is committed to the revitalisation of Māori cultural knowledge. It is also focused on breaking inter-generational cycles of non-participation in tertiary education to reduce poverty and eliminate associated social issues. The organisation works towards ‘whānau transformation through education'.

Southern Institute of Technology

Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) is one of New Zealand’s largest institutes of technology, with 13,758 students in 2017 for a total of 4,922 EFTs.

Undie 500

The Undie 500, originally named the Under 500, was an annual student-run car rally between Christchurch and Dunedin, New Zealand with multiple stops at drinking establishments along the way. The name comes from the original rule that a vehicle is purchased for less than NZ$500, and optionally decorated.

The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) is a representative body that advocates for the interests of tertiary students in New Zealand. Between 1935 and 2006, it was known as the New Zealand University Students' Association, until it merged with the national polytechnic students' association.

Otago Polytechnic

Otago Polytechnic is a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland.

Otago University Students Association

The Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) is the Students' Association of the University of Otago, New Zealand. OUSA was founded in 1890 to advance student interests on campus.

The Robertson Library is a shared library run by the University of Otago's College of Education and Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is named after Bill Robertson, who taught at Otago Polytech and also chaired the College of Education Council and the Otago Education Board. The Robertson Library also shares books and resources with Otago Polytechnic's Central Campus in Cromwell, Central Otago and International Campus in Auckland.

Gyro is the official publication of its owners the Otago Polytechnic Students' Association (OPSA) at Otago Polytechnic in Otago, New Zealand. Gyro is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA), and was the first polytechnic publication to fully join.

King Edward Technical College Former school in Dunedin, New Zealand

King Edward Technical College is a former school and technical college in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was established in 1889 as the Dunedin Technical School when the Caledonian Society instigated night education classes.

Wellington Institute of Technology

The Wellington Institute of Technology, also known as WelTec, is a New Zealand polytechnic based in Petone, Lower Hutt. WelTec was formed in 2001 by an amalgamation between the Central Institute of Technology and the Hutt Valley Polytechnic In 2020, WelTec, along with 15 other national polytechnics, became subsidiaries of the New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology.

Chris Hipkins New Zealand politician

Christopher John Hipkins is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of the Sixth Labour Government's Cabinet as Minister of Education, Minister for COVID-19 Response, Minister for the Public Service and Leader of the House. He has served as the Member of Parliament for Remutaka since the 2008 election.

Colleges of the University of Otago

The majority of first year students at the University of Otago's Dunedin campus stay in one of the fourteen residential colleges, alongside a smaller number of senior students and postgraduates. These colleges provide food, accommodation, social and welfare services, as well as some degree of additional academic support, particularly for the largest papers.

Takoradi Technical University is a public tertiary education institution (university) located in Sekondi-Takoradi, the capital of the Western Region of Ghana. Takoradi Technical University was established as a Government Technical Institute in 1954, and became part of the State Tertiary Education System. Later after the passage of the Polytechnic Law of 1992. It was replaced by Polytechnics Law in 2007. In 2016, the Bill to convert six out of the 10 polytechnics into a fully fledged university received a unanimous approval of Ghanaian legislators.

Tertiary Education Union

The New Zealand Tertiary Education Union is the main trade union in the New Zealand tertiary education sector, and represents the interests of more than 10,000 workers employed within the sector across New Zealand. Its membership includes academics, researchers, teachers and workers employed in all occupations in universities, polytechnics, institutes of technology, wānanga, other tertiary education providers and allied organisations.

Tertiary education in New Zealand

Tertiary education in New Zealand is provided by universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics, private training establishments, industry training organisations, and wānanga. It ranges from informal non-assessed community courses in schools through to undergraduate degrees and research-based postgraduate degrees. All post-compulsory education is regulated within the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, a unified system of national qualifications for schools, vocational education and training, and 'higher' education. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) is responsible for quality assuring all courses and tertiary education organisations other than universities. Under the Education Act 1989, The Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP) and the Academic Quality Agency (AQA) have delegated authority for quality assurance of university education. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is responsible for administering the funding of tertiary education, primarily through negotiated investment plans with each funded organisation.

Ara Institute of Canterbury New Zealand tertiary organisation

Ara Institute of Canterbury, often simply referred to as Ara, is an institute of technology in Canterbury, New Zealand. It was formed in 2016 from the merger of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) and Aoraki Polytechnic.

References

  1. ↑ Rudd, Allison (26 September 2009). "Unipol stake under review". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Rudd, Allison (26 June 2010). "Hand-to-mouth existence harsh fact of student life". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  3. ↑ url=http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/students/student-hub.html >
  4. ↑ http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/__data/assets/minutes_agenda/0011/72479/ma_r_fsc_tertiaryupdate---2009_06_22.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-02. Retrieved 2010-01-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. 1 2 Ian Dougherty (2014). By Students For Students: A History of the Otago Polytechnic Students' Association. OPSA. ISBN   978-0-473-13620-8.
  7. ↑ Rudd, Allison (24 November 2009). "Chance of no representation stuns staff and students". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2010-01-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "Students face expulsion over rogue Undie 500 disorder". Stuff.co.nz . NZPA. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.