Making the most of a franchised degree agreement

Abstract

In 1997 a franchise agreement was confirmed between Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) and UNITEC Institute of Technology (UNITEC) for specific Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) majors to be offered at the EIT Hawke 's Bay campus. The key outcome of the agreement was that EIT students would graduate with a UNITEC BBS degree and this therefore required consistency in delivery and quality of the programme. This paper outlines how the BBS degree Programme Committee has implemented the agreement in order to achieve this outcome and meet its statutory obligations. The paper highlights the importance of defining within the contract the role of each of the parties in terms of the junctions of the Programme Committee as set down in the Academic Statute. It also compares the quality systems of the two institutions and identifies the situations when each system should operate. The delivery of the courses at the two sites posed a range of operational issues to be addressed and these are also discussed. As with any contract some practical implications are not always foreseen - this contract was no exception! Potential and actual problem areas are identified and suggested improvements which could be applied to similar arrangements or where delivery occurs at satellite campuses are provided.