centre also became involved in community projects, including renovating marae throughout the country and producing carving and weaving to adorn these buildings. During the 1980s, a time of high unemployment in New Zealand, the (philosophy) of the Waipā Kōkiri Arts Centre was to increase Māori participation in tertiary training by taking education to the people, particularly those without qualifications. With travel a major barrier for many, the founders began opening campuses in other areas, including Te Kuiti, Hamilton and Manukau. In 1987, Buck Nin, a leading New Zealand educationalist and artist, and Mr Wetere advanced the concept of creating a tertiary education institute, or wānanga. Dr Nin believed that, by gaining tertiary status, Aotearoa Institute would earn recognition for its qualifications throughout New Zealand and the world. In 1988, the pair submitted an application to the Ministry of Education and the following year the government changed the Education Act to open the way for recognition of wānanga as tertiary education institutions. The same year (1989), Waipā Kōkiri Arts Centre changed its name to Aotearoa Institute and shortly afterwards became the first registered private training establishment (under NZQA) in the country. The Aotearoa Institute lobbied government for a further five years before being granted tertiary status in 1993. This gave the organisation statutory recognition as a wānanga and placed it alongside universities, polytechnics and teachers' training colleges. In 1994, Aotearoa Institute changed its name to Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to reflect this change in status. Te Wānanga o Aotearoa experienced phenomenal growth during the early 2000s (growing from 3,127 students in 2000 to 66,756 students in 2004) and quickly become the largest tertiary education institution in the country; however, there was a price to pay for this rapid expansion. The organisation became mired under the weight of its own popularity; it was struggling to keep pace with the insatiable desire for learning amongst those who had previously been sidelined by an exclusive education system and its internal processes were struggling to cope. In 2005, the government appointed a group of Crown managers to help consolidate the organisation and put in place systems and processes more befitting a nationwide institution of this magnitude. This work included a nationwide restructure, reorganisation of the executive level of the institution, and a review of the curriculum portfolio. Since this time, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has re-established itself as a leading provider of Māori education in