Waiariki was divided into three faculties, which offered masters, graduate, postgraduate and degree qualifications, as well as diplomas and certificates in several subject areas.
Qualification subject areas included nursing, teaching, social work, art, sustainability, Māori, forestry, business, computing, tourism and hospitality.
These were backed by an equally diverse range of trade-based qualifications, in areas such as engineering, agriculture, horticulture, fashion, carpentry and hairdressing.
Tangatarua Marae was officially opened on 5 October 1996 and is named after a Te Arawa ancestor, Ihenga, who lived on the land where the Mokoia Campus is today.
The first two degree-level qualifications in tourism management and nursing were launched in 1995, and three years later, the name finally changed to Waiariki Institute of Technology.