GSC research stacks up well

Good Shepherd College — Te Hepara Pai in Ponsonby in Auckland has been ranked along consultor side much larger New Zealand tertiary education organisations in terms of the research output of its faculty, given the number of degree-level and above students at the
institution.

Lincoln University topped the “research intensity” category derived from Tertiary Education Commission surveys,
which take place every six years.

A report on the 2018 survey (titled “Improving Research Quality: The interim results of the PBRF Quality Evaluation”) stated the Lincoln result was “alongside the University of Otago and Good Shepherd College — Te Hepara Pai”.

Fr Mervyn Duffy, SM, acting principal of Good Shepherd College, said that he was delighted to have their small academic institution ranked alongside such heavyweights.

Five faculty members had published steadily and been rated as “research active”, leading to this “impressive” result.

Fr Duffy explained that “research intensity” compares research outputs to the number of students at degree level
and above.

The small number of students studying at Good Shepherd College in proportion to the size of the faculty had contributed to the outcome, Fr Duffy said.

He praised the faculty who were making a contribution to scholarship, mentioning that several of them had authored
books as part of their research: The Eros of the Human Spirit by Sr Elizabeth Snedden, RSCJ, on the writings of the Jesuit theologian Bernard Lonergan; Canon Law in
Action by Msgr Brendan Daly; Alianza de Amor en sus Fuentes (Covenant of Love — Sources) by Dr Rocío Figueroa Alvear; Verguet’s Sketchbook by Mervyn Duffy and Alois
Greiler.

The tertiary organisations covered in the survey included the eight universities, fourteen or so polytechs and a dozen
Private Training Establishments.

The results of the TEC surveys are used to help allocate some funding.

The report stated: “The average result across all participating TEOs in 2018 was 0.64 . . . Again, all eight universities scored above 1.00, alongside two PTEs — Carey Baptist College and Good Shepherd College — Te
Hepara Pai.

“Lincoln University continues to be the top performer, alongside the University of Otago and Good Shepherd College — Te Hepara Pai.”