The number of students enrolled at Lincoln University has jumped by 16% this year, continuing a strong growth trajectory since the pre-Covid era.

The increase stands in stark contrast with the rest of the country where enrolments have dropped in all but a few of New Zealand’s universities - leaving a number of institutions considering staff and course cuts.

At the beginning of May there were 3288 enrolments, up from 2843 at the same time last year. The university expects enrolments to be close to 4000 by the end of the year.

While international student numbers have returned to 62% of pre-Covid levels, the number of Kiwis at the university had more than doubled (up 57%) since 2019.

Lincoln’s residences are all full, including 64 new self-catered units opened this year.

Vice-chancellor Professor Grant Edwards said Lincoln University was a specialist university focused on the land-based sector with courses on agriculture, business, environment, horticulture, landscape architecture, property, science, sport and recreation and tourism.

Part of the attraction of university was that it positioned students to contribute directly to these industries when they entered employment.

"This is evident in the university’s graduate employment rate of 84%, the highest of all the New Zealand universities," Edwards said.

A fee waiver scheme introduced in 2020 amid pandemic-related restrictions had contributed to the popularity of the university, he said.

"The scheme has been extended to cover postgraduate study options until the end of 2024."

Edwards said the fee waiver aimed to meet a growing demand for experts in the food, fibre, and environment management sectors, with the fee-free options including postgraduate certificates and diplomas, as well as taught master’s degrees and the taught component of research master’s programmes.

By Sharon Davis