The University of Waikato is back, and all it took was the promise of a medical school. For the second year in a row, the University has record-high Equivalent Full Time Student Numbers in Hamilton, Tauranga, and distance learning.
Tauranga campus has seen an incredible increase in student numbers this year, with its in-person cohort up 9% and its online cohort doubling since 2025. The domestic numbers for the Hamilton campus have seen an increase of 6%, while the domestic students who are returning for another year have gone up by 8.4%. Onshore EFTS numbers have seen a rise of 4%, with the number of school leavers coming into the University of Waikato showing an increase of 6.% All
With all these new students coming in, we thought it best to ask someone if the campus space and development could keep up. Luckily, Vice-Chancellor Neil Quigley found time for a quick chat in between graduation ceremonies. Unfortunately, he had ditched the Toga and beer cap for some more graduation-appropriate regalia.
NEXUS: Were you surprised by the enrolment figures in 2026?
QUIGLEY: I was not surprised by our strong enrolments, and that is for two reasons. First, over the last two years a lot of people across the University have really been putting their shoulders to the wheel to implement our recruitment-focussed strategy, and I think that the enrolments that we are seeing are reward for all of that hard work. Second, the University acquires a lot of information on the application to enrolment pathway, starting with our Future Student team and their engagement with careers advisers in schools and individual students, and then as we receive formal applications for scholarships, halls of residence and enrolment. Over time more students are applying to multiple New Zealand universities, so more applications does not necessarily mean more enrolments, but looking at the patterns over the summer we were pretty confident that our 2026 enrolments would be strong.
NEXUS: The trend across the board seems to be upward for the University in a number of metrics including research rankings, the management school and more, where do you think we sit now as a tertiary option in Australasia?
QUIGLEY: We are an increasingly credible option against the top half of the Universities in Australia, and we are attractive because of both our programmes and the distinctive and positive aspects of New Zealand society which many people see Waikato as representing. But we still have work to do. The best Australian universities have resources that we could only dream about, draw from much larger domestic populations and have been much more aggressive in international student recruitment than any New Zealand university. The Australian universities have often also been more innovative in the programmes that they offer. A key part of our continued efforts to climb up the rankings over the next few years will be looking closely at the best of what happens in Australia and adapting those innovative approaches to our context (as we are with the medical school curriculum).
NEXUS: Do we have the resources to cope with growth at this rate not just in the classrooms, but in the halls?
QUIGLEY: We have undertaken a range of modelling that suggests that we can cope with substantially more students without needing to make large investments in new classrooms. A key aspect of this is the timetabling project that DVC Academic Jennifer Milam is leading, since we are at present well short of making the most efficient use of the classrooms that we have.
The campus itself still has great potential to accommodate more students: in both Hamilton and Tauranga we have fantastic spaces for students inside and outside, and for the next few years the aim is to keep building on the buzz that all those extra people create around the campus.
Halls of residence are a different story: we will need to invest. However, we have options here that will not require university resources. Waikato is unique in that we own almost all of our student halls, where other universities are largely managing halls where the bricks and mortar are owned by third parties. We are actively seeking potential external investors in new halls of residence on the campus, and have the potential for a lot more beds funded by external capital.
NEXUS: What sort of growth can we expect when the Medical School is completed?
QUIGLEY: Unlike Auckland and Otago, our model is not to require students to enrol with us as part of the pathway into medicine. But what is certain is that by the time it is in its fourth year of operation the medical school will account for almost 500 additional enrolments. How many more will be here in undergraduate programmes attempting to prepare for entry to medicine is a guess at present, but conservatively double the actual medical school enrolments.
NEXUS: Is it finally time to consider giving people what they want and bringing Starbucks on campus to really chase that international student?
QUIGLEY: I thought that what people wanted was for the Warriors to win the NRL grand final. We are working on it.
A survey done last year showed that out of all the students who answered the questions, 94% were either very satisfied or satisfied with the university and their experience. We are pretty sure that number goes to at least a 97% if they Astro Turf the green, put a new Starbucks and bakery in and kill Moosey but for now we will take being popular as a good start.
