UPDATED 3.45pm A lift in ranking for Auckland University with the latest QS World University Rankings been released

Auckland has lifted one place from 82 to 81.

It remains the only New Zealand university in the top 100.

Otago is up to 169th place from 173rd, while Canterbury has fallen from 211th to 214th.

Executive director of Universities New Zealand Chris Whelan said the results are pleasing.

"The university sector's been under significant financial pressure for almost a decade now, and the fact that we're still able to see improvements in these rankings I think is a really good sign."

However, Mr Whelan said the Government must still up its investment in tertiary education, if it wants to lift our universities more.

Mr Whelan said for the past decade, the university sector has been under significant financial pressure.

"There needs to be more investment from Government. A little over half of all university funding comes from Government and the extent to which universities can maintain quality is completely dependent on that level of investment."

Canterbury University Vice Chancellor Dr Rod Carr said the university is careful how it interprets the individual figures year-on-year.

He said what's more consistent is how the New Zealand university system as a whole stands out.

"If you adjust our system for the cost of the quality that we get, we are the highest quality, most affordable university system in the world."

The rankings come as staff at the University of Auckland are considering going on strike for one hour over a pay dispute.

The Tertiary Education Union is asking staff to vote this week whether they want to strike, after the failure of three months of pay negotiations.

Union organiser Enzo Giordani said the meetings have failed to make any meaningful progress.

Giordani said the university hasn't negotiated in good faith.

"They have a policy that they don't talk to us about pay until when they say budget's are set. Our issue with that's always been by that time the budget's really are set and we don't really have a say in them, we get given a take it or leave it offer."

The union will know whether the strike will go ahead by the end of the week.