Tertiary students say Waikato University’s $55m campus in central Tauranga is “pretty empty”, with some often choosing to study online rather than take long bus commutes or pay for CBD parking.

It comes after slower-than-expected roll growth at the campus, which opened in Durham St in 2019. It aimed to have 1800 students by this year but was at 1467 by June, adding almost 120 since 2020.

A university spokesperson said growth had been hampered by Covid-19 pandemic impacts and changes in demand for some programmes. It remained committed to Tauranga and was playing an “active role” in efforts to revitalise the CBD.

Recent Waikato University graduate Franz Grutzmacher was among several students the Bay of Plenty Times spoke to who highlighted the perceived lack of CBD nightlife, but he also said transport was an issue.

Living in Pyes Pa, he said his commuting options before graduating last year were choosing between an hour-long bus commute and expensive CBD parking.

Grutzmacher said he chose to watch his lectures online whenever possible, coming to campus only when itwas compulsory.

Tauranga's Franz Grutzmacher graduated from the University of Waikato last year with a Bachelor of Business. Photo / Alex Cairns

“Campus was pretty empty when I went there. There have been times when it was busy which felt nice because you would feel that everyone’s doing the same things you are,” Grutzmacher said.

The Bachelor of Business graduate said the number of his class cohort who were physically present shrank each year of his degree, which he attributed to a mix of students leaving the course and a growing number of online learners.

Law and arts student Molly Allen studied for two years in Wellington before moving home to Tauranga to save money.

Molly Allen studied and tutored students at the University of Waikato.

While she liked the “community feel” of the small campus, she believed commuting difficulties put students off visiting it.

“It’s shocking, especially coming from Wellington where the public transport is so much better and it’s such a walkable city.”

She tried to come to campus as often as possible but said it usually cost $20-$30 for a day of CBD parking.

The university campus has no parking. Tauranga City Council on-street parking rates start at $2 an hour and increase to $5 an hour for three-plus hours. After a July 1 price drop, the closest parking building starts at $2 an hour and goes up to $17.50 for 7-8 hours. There are cheaper off-street options further afield in the CBD.

“When you are paying for costs, you want to be at campus all day. Being a student is like a job and you want to put the time in and be using the resources that are there for you,” Allen said.

She said it was the “price to pay” as it was harder to make new friends and experience university life studying at home.

This semester, three out of four of her papers were taught both online and face-to-face through flexible delivery, with tutorials on campus and lectures online.

Allen said she appreciated the university’s efforts to put on events for the students, despite there not being the same youth culture as in other cities.

“I think they really do their best to make things good for us.”

Roseline Thetty moved from Auckland because Waikato University offered her preferred course.

Roseline Thetty is in her fourth year of studying for a Bachelor of Social Work in Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns

The social work student said while she would not have chosen any differently, she would not recommend the city to her younger sister because she would miss out on the “uni life”.

In her opinion, “nothing has been done” to make the city centre student-friendly, with expensive parking and shops that appeared more targeted at older generations..

She believed a student parking subsidy was one way to improve this and encourage students to spend time in the CBD.

Thetty preferred to study on-campus but said it was usually “pretty empty”.

Some classmates left halfway through class because they could not afford the parking to stay for three hours, she said.

As a result, students were not hanging around the CBD after class, instead driving to Mount Maunganui.

“Ideally it would be great to have more spaces people could go to between their classes with more of a community feel.”

More “young-people” stores and entertainment venues would help achieve this, she said.

Scarlett Nicholson, 18, said she considered studying at the university but elected to do a real estate course online.

Nicholson said she used to spend more time in the CBD but after stores she liked left, she spent more time at Mount Maunganui.

“The sun shines brighter there.”

Sir Paul Adams at his graduation ceremony. Photo / Sarah Adams

Sir Paul Adams, who advocated for the campus, said he was “vitally aware of the shortcomings of Tauranga City in providing civic amenities for our university student cohort”.

He said to attract more students, Tauranga needed to provide civic amenities available in other major New Zealand cities.

“Tauranga’s natural assets such as a magnificent beach and some of the warmest and best weather are an attraction, but don’t cut it when we lack a stadium for sports events and major concerts.”

‘A city centre needs a heart’

A Tauranga City Council spokesperson said it was working hard to transform the city to be a place where people of all ages could spend time.

“Over $1.5 billion worth of private and public investment will committed over the next few years and the transformation of our city centre is progressing at pace,” said city development and partnerships general manager Gareth Wallis.

Some projects had already been completed and others were under way, including 10 on the waterfront.

“A city centre needs a heart, and we are well under way to getting Tauranga city centre beating once again.”

Tauranga City Council general manager for city development and partnerships Gareth Wallis. Photo / Alex Cairns

He said free parking was a challenge when it was filled early in the morning and the council was working with the university on other solutions.

A University of Waikato spokesperson said the university was working with the council and economic development agency Priority One to play an active part in plans to revitalise the city centre and attract more people to the campus.

“It has been a focus for the university to attract students and the broader community to the campus, both for education and community events.”

The university worked with the Waikato Students’ Union and student representatives to organise activities that added to the student experience.

She said no students at the campus were enrolled as full-time online learners but some papers could be taken flexibly.

Pandemic impacts, including on international student arrivals, had affected expected growth and the tertiary education sector at large.

The university had added popular new programmes in science, engineering and law, but overall growth was hit by lower demand for previously popular programmes – notably teacher education programmes nationwide.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council public transport director Ollie Haycock said the focus for public transport was maintaining an effective and reliable bus service.

He said factors like weather, traffic, and unexpected disruptions could cause delays, especially with Tauranga’s growing traffic volumes, but services were generally a reliable and cost-effective alternative to driving for students.

Harriet Laughton is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.