(June 2020) A newly signed partnership between Eton College Canada and top globally ranked Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) in New Zealand is set to provide students with pathway programs to obtain a bachelor’s degree, as well as explore new programs in business, tourism, and hospitality management.

Under the agreement, students can choose from three diploma programs offered by Eton College – namely business administration, hospitality management, and travel and tourism management – and gain direct entry to the partner university to pursue their undergraduate studies.

Eton College and VUW will also collaborate on designing scholarships and postdoctoral programs, along with further funding opportunities to serve their students and campus communities better.

QS-Ranking Institution

Kalai Ponniah, Eton College Campus Director and Vice President for Educational Services, partnered with VUW mainly for his longstanding relationship with its top leadership team and the institution’s outstanding accomplishments.

“The Victoria University of Wellington is the only educational institution to have topped New Zealand’s main measurement of research excellence twice. It will be an honor to be associated with one of the world’s best universities,” said Ponniah.

VUW is among the top one percent of universities in the world for 19 subjects based on the 2020 QS World University Rankings by Subject. This is a huge leap after sitting on the top two percent in the previous year. Its undergraduate program on hospitality and leisure management also ranks among the top 50 in the world.

Since 1897, Victoria University of Wellington has grown from a single campus in Kelburn into a network of campuses, centres, and partnerships across the globe. It currently serves more than 22,000 students, including some 3,600 international students from 116 countries.

Towards Advanced Standing

Victoria University of Wellington’s Assistant Vice Chancellor Julia Innocente-Jones and Victoria University of Wellington’s International Business Development Manager Isaac Brosna shared that their institution is keen to provide students with pathways to advanced standing through their partnership with Eton.

“By transferring to Victoria University of Wellington, students can join a globally-ranked university with a proud tradition of research and teaching excellence that stretches over 100 years,” they said.

“We and the team here in the international department look forward to welcoming Eton students to our warm and open community of students from New Zealand and all over the globe.”

Ensuring Partnership Success

As “articulation agreements are not successful in a vacuum,” Ponniah said both Eton College and Victoria University of Wellington will ensure that the agreement is nurtured, updated and maintained.

Eton College is looking to a strong academic advising support network to help its students navigate the new pathway, with the school’s faculty helping in promotions. Kalai pointed out that Eton college students, upon receiving information about the pathway, will ideally begin making plans to complete their two-year diploma course at Eton College, then move to the VUW campus in New Zealand for their undergraduate degree.

After forming the articulation agreement with VUW, Eton will lay out details to formulate a transfer credit policy for Eton College and other schools managed and owned by MSM Higher Ed, an education management business headquartered in British Columbia, Canada. It will also build a strong commitment to pathway programs and to the collaborative partnership of Eton College and VUW via credit transfers.

“We work in partnership with universities and colleges around the world for the benefit of students, whether for their career advancement or progression into the world’s prestigious universities,” Ponniah said.