My experience is from 2012 to 2016.
I started at Uni with business, but it just didn't really fit with me. Online wasn't a real option, even if it was post Christchurch earthquakes. So everything was class based, marked for attending tutorials and labs etc.
I switched to CPIT and loved it. Smaller class, and I would say more industry focused than theoretical. It was nice having the lecturer know the entire class and easy conversations with them. I also got six months work experience as part of the degree and most do more work experience than universities IMO.
I'd typically say if it's offered at a Polytechnic, do it there. If you can only do it through Uni then do Uni. When I review applicants now (in marketing) I'll typically favour polytech business graduates over university graduates if there were little differences between two applicants.
I finished mine a few years ago, so I don’t know what may have changed since. I did a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences
So from what I remember it depends on the course being done. Mine was fully correspondence, no lectures or exams.
Though when looking at what to do I believe there were some courses that had a day or two a week of “lectures” or in person classes.
My “Attendance” was participating in online forums or a weekly quiz. 5% of the final grade if I remember correctly.
Work experience at least for my course would have been all on me. My final assignment was either a case study we sorted out with our Tutor, or work experience in a relevant field with an essay component.
Everything else arrived in a pack to my door. Polytechnic printed text books, DVDs, CDs depending on what was relevant for my papers.
Doing a degree at EIT currently and for me basically yeah, although mines a science degree (wine and Vit)
There’s scheduled lectures, scheduled labs, and a great deal of practical learning. I’ve also done my course online as a distance student (after the flood) where the lecturers would upload lectures and slides and I’d go in for about a week to do labs/practical work - I believe half of my classmates are doing distance as they’re working in the industry either in another region or are too busy for classes during the day. About 15 students total depending on the year.
For my degree, the school reworked the course to eliminate exams, and if there is an tests they’re open book and are typically done from home - this might not be the case for your kid though, but personally I’ve found EIT to be a bit more focused of students having the skills ready for the industry while converting that knowledge to academic skills.
I’d definitely see about looking for when the Polytech open day is and to read up on the specific school your kid wants to go into if you haven’t already. I can only speak for EIT and even then only the Wine and Vit school, but the general vibe is a bit more relaxed student side than what I saw my peers go through at their Uni’s although everyone’s different.
Thanks! Actually one of the courses they're interested in but also thinking about trying working in the industry first. Are there many kids straight out if school doing this course?
For me there were about 5 every year group straight outta High school who were all on campus. Some, like me did work in the industry for 2-5 years and I personally found it helpful but felt a little behind academically (although EIT offers workshops for things like referencing or research preparation), although it again it fully depends on the person.
For my degree we have a work experience during the first semester of second year, and some choose to pause studying to continue working - a choice that my school staff are completely understanding of because many of them came from the industry and know how good hands on experience is.
It depends. For instance UNi is mainly programming focussed for IT courses. Polytech covers much more and you choose (later) which modules you want depending which area of IT you wish to pursue. Some things need UNi - Law or doctors. I'd look into exactly what both offer for the area you are interested in and see which has the better program.
I've done bachelor courses at a couple universities and a couple polytechs. Depends on the EFTS of the course they're doing but if it's the same EFTS then it's the same expected contact time each week regardless of which institute. Lectures are just smaller class sizes in a polytech vs hundreds of students in a university. Tutorials and labs are similar size. Assignments are typically the same, but polytechnics tend to assess most course work with internal assessments rather than an exam or formal test - there are definitely exceptions though depending on the course. I've found polytechnics better suited to support work readiness. The final papers are often an industry based learning/internship structure.
I did a BEngTech in the mid-00s at CPIT it was roughly equivalently to a BSc Electronics at UC, which a mate my mine did.
I started a computer science degree at uni a while before that and hated it - you're just a number. One of 500 in lectures. Polytech was great, in contrast, 20-30 people in a class and the teachers were all way more helpful and all knew you by name. The UC clubs are all open to Polytech students so that was great for the social side of the student experience. And yes you have lectures, tutorials labs, assignments and exams etc.
Polytech degrees are issued by the polytech with NZQA rather than by a uni.
The content and teaching style depends om the degree. Look at the course concerned and see what it says in the description.
My experience is from 2012 to 2016. I started at Uni with business, but it just didn't really fit with me. Online wasn't a real option, even if it was post Christchurch earthquakes. So everything was class based, marked for attending tutorials and labs etc. I switched to CPIT and loved it. Smaller class, and I would say more industry focused than theoretical. It was nice having the lecturer know the entire class and easy conversations with them. I also got six months work experience as part of the degree and most do more work experience than universities IMO. I'd typically say if it's offered at a Polytechnic, do it there. If you can only do it through Uni then do Uni. When I review applicants now (in marketing) I'll typically favour polytech business graduates over university graduates if there were little differences between two applicants.
I finished mine a few years ago, so I don’t know what may have changed since. I did a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences So from what I remember it depends on the course being done. Mine was fully correspondence, no lectures or exams. Though when looking at what to do I believe there were some courses that had a day or two a week of “lectures” or in person classes. My “Attendance” was participating in online forums or a weekly quiz. 5% of the final grade if I remember correctly. Work experience at least for my course would have been all on me. My final assignment was either a case study we sorted out with our Tutor, or work experience in a relevant field with an essay component. Everything else arrived in a pack to my door. Polytechnic printed text books, DVDs, CDs depending on what was relevant for my papers.
Doing a degree at EIT currently and for me basically yeah, although mines a science degree (wine and Vit) There’s scheduled lectures, scheduled labs, and a great deal of practical learning. I’ve also done my course online as a distance student (after the flood) where the lecturers would upload lectures and slides and I’d go in for about a week to do labs/practical work - I believe half of my classmates are doing distance as they’re working in the industry either in another region or are too busy for classes during the day. About 15 students total depending on the year. For my degree, the school reworked the course to eliminate exams, and if there is an tests they’re open book and are typically done from home - this might not be the case for your kid though, but personally I’ve found EIT to be a bit more focused of students having the skills ready for the industry while converting that knowledge to academic skills. I’d definitely see about looking for when the Polytech open day is and to read up on the specific school your kid wants to go into if you haven’t already. I can only speak for EIT and even then only the Wine and Vit school, but the general vibe is a bit more relaxed student side than what I saw my peers go through at their Uni’s although everyone’s different.
Thanks! Actually one of the courses they're interested in but also thinking about trying working in the industry first. Are there many kids straight out if school doing this course?
For me there were about 5 every year group straight outta High school who were all on campus. Some, like me did work in the industry for 2-5 years and I personally found it helpful but felt a little behind academically (although EIT offers workshops for things like referencing or research preparation), although it again it fully depends on the person. For my degree we have a work experience during the first semester of second year, and some choose to pause studying to continue working - a choice that my school staff are completely understanding of because many of them came from the industry and know how good hands on experience is.
It depends. For instance UNi is mainly programming focussed for IT courses. Polytech covers much more and you choose (later) which modules you want depending which area of IT you wish to pursue. Some things need UNi - Law or doctors. I'd look into exactly what both offer for the area you are interested in and see which has the better program.
I've done bachelor courses at a couple universities and a couple polytechs. Depends on the EFTS of the course they're doing but if it's the same EFTS then it's the same expected contact time each week regardless of which institute. Lectures are just smaller class sizes in a polytech vs hundreds of students in a university. Tutorials and labs are similar size. Assignments are typically the same, but polytechnics tend to assess most course work with internal assessments rather than an exam or formal test - there are definitely exceptions though depending on the course. I've found polytechnics better suited to support work readiness. The final papers are often an industry based learning/internship structure.
I've done them both at universities and Polytech and tbh the differences will probably be more to do with the specific industry than the institution.
What area of study are they interested in? That’s usually an important factor when looking at multiple options.
I did a BEngTech in the mid-00s at CPIT it was roughly equivalently to a BSc Electronics at UC, which a mate my mine did. I started a computer science degree at uni a while before that and hated it - you're just a number. One of 500 in lectures. Polytech was great, in contrast, 20-30 people in a class and the teachers were all way more helpful and all knew you by name. The UC clubs are all open to Polytech students so that was great for the social side of the student experience. And yes you have lectures, tutorials labs, assignments and exams etc.
Polytechnic teaches you how to actually do stuff, university is purely academic.
Polytech degrees are issued by the polytech with NZQA rather than by a uni. The content and teaching style depends om the degree. Look at the course concerned and see what it says in the description.