Waiariki Institute of Technology
Waiariki Institute of Technology (
Regional campuses existed in
Waiariki was divided into three faculties, which offered masters, graduate, postgraduate and degree qualifications, as well as diplomas and certificates in several subject areas. They were the Faculty of Applied Technology and Primary Industries - Te Kura Takawāo, the Faculty of Business, Information Technology and Creative Arts - Te Kura Taki, and Te Pākaro a Ihenga: Faculty of Health, Education and Humanities.
Qualification subject areas included
Tangatarua Marae
Waiariki has an on-site
Academies
The Waiariki Academy of Sport offered talented athletes the opportunity to prioritise their sporting careers while gaining a tertiary education. Similarly, the Waiariki Academy of Singing and Music supported talented young singers and musicians to reach their musical goals while studying.
Waiariki also offered teenagers interested in trade areas the Bay of Plenty Trades Academy, which allowed secondary students to get a taste of trade subjects and tertiary life while still at high-school.
History
Waiariki Community College was born in 1976, after the Rotorua Boys’ High School Technical Institute Division was merged with the Rotorua Girls' High School Business College to form a Senior Technical Division under the Rotorua High Schools' Board of Governors. Building on the Mokoia Drive site commenced that year, and the Waiariki Community College was opened two years later on 1 April 1978.
Tokoroa's 'outpost' opened in 1973, and subsequently became Waiariki's first regional campus in 1978.
By the time Waiariki Community College changed its name to Waiariki Polytechnic in 1987, it was the largest polytechnic outside of the main city centres. The first two degree-level qualifications in tourism management and nursing were launched in 1995, and three years later, the name finally changed to Waiariki Institute of Technology.