Higher education and vulnerable groups: a study of reporting practices of New Zealand universities

Purpose This paper aims to provide a longitudinal examination of New Zealand (NZ) universities’ use of annual reports, sustainability reports, strategy reports and vision statements to disclose information about vulnerable staff and students over the period 2017–2021. Design/methodology/approach This study’s sample included all NZ universities. A total of 62 reports/statements covering the period 2017–2021 were content analysed to see how NZ universities disclose information on their vulnerable staff and students. Findings This study’s findings reveal that NZ universities are selective in their disclosures, choose to prioritise some groups over others and fail to provide clear KPIs, targets, goals and strategies for promoting vulnerable groups’ participation, engagement and achievement. In addition to the general lack of disclosures on vulnerable groups by NZ universities, this study also observed a failure by NZ universities to increase their disclosures across time. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically investigate both historical reports such as annual and sustainability reports and forward-looking strategic disclosures published by NZ universities on vulnerable staff and students. These findings have implications for universities, university staff, university students, student unions, staff unions, government and policymakers for assessing the NZ university sector’s accountability for and performance associated with reporting on vulnerable groups. Policymakers can use the present research to gauge the extent to which organisations are currently recognising their accountability towards individuals belonging to vulnerable groups, as embodied in the publicly available disclosures these organisations make. Such understanding will assist in the formulation of future policymaking, including the potential adoption of regulation. Finally, practitioners can use the present research to benchmark their own annual disclosure practices relating to vulnerable groups.