Source: Tertiary Education Commission
Our investment aims to help equip New Zealanders with the knowledge and skills they need for lifelong success. Most of the funding is provided in the Government’s Budget via Vote tertiary education. We occasionally provide funding on behalf of other government agencies.
The Tertiary Education Strategy
Our funding decisions are guided by the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES). Part of our role is to make sure that our funding helps tertiary education organisations (TEOs) achieve the Government’s priorities for tertiary education.
As well as reflecting what we expect from tertiary education, the strategy describes how a high-performing tertiary education sector can create better opportunities for individuals and for New Zealand.
How we fund
We provide most of our funding through Investment Plans. Funding decisions are communicated through a funding confirmation letter.
We also allocate funding through off-Plan processes. This funding is often managed through a funding agreement.
Under the Education and Training Act 2020, the Minister of Education issues funding mechanisms and delegations, which set out the purpose of each fund and give us authority to administer funding.
To help us achieve the desired educational outcomes, we provide TEOs with guidance on each fund. Where outcomes are not meeting our expectations, we may apply performance consequences.
Who we fund
Each fund has specific eligibility criteria that define which TEOs are eligible for that funding. These criteria are usually outlined in the funding mechanisms and delegations. We only fund eligible TEOs.
The types of TEOs we fund include:
universities
wānanga
Workforce Development Councils (WDCs)
Te Pūkenga
private training establishments (PTEs)
community organisations
schools
rural education activities programme providers (REAPs).
Accessing funding from us
If your organisation is interested in finding out how it can access funding from us, please contact our Customer Contact Group by emailing customerservice@tec.govt.nz or calling 0800 601 301.
What we fund
We want to give everyone the opportunity to achieve, so we offer a variety of funds tailored to suit different types of tertiary education and learners. This means that we focus funding on:
improving outcomes for learners, particularly in foundation education
vocational education
improving the participation of priority groups (such as Māori and Pacific learners) in education at higher levels of the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).
For more detailed information about each fund, search our fund finder