In line with a nation-wide focus on improving student retention, increasing educational achievement and
extending the reach of core courses to distance and distributed learners the Waikato Institute of Technology has
made significant investments in the development of information and communication technology systems and
infrastructure to support students engaged in learning and to enhance the student learning experience. In 2010,
Wintec received two reports, 'Report on the e-Learning Maturity Model Capability Assessment of Waikato Institute of Technology, 2010', and the internal report 'Master of Nursing Programme Self-Assessment, 2009'.

These reports identified two areas of concern/deficiency firstly, there was a lack of detailed information on the potential needs and current capabilities of students to inform the design of the provision of technological support and secondly, there was a critical need for the institution to improve its processes around preparing students for
engagement with the ICT systems and infrastructure.