Category: Tertiary Education

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

This is the first of what will be regular Tertiary Education Commission (the TEC) monitoring updates. We gather a range of information about common issues or trends through our monitoring activities. At the TEC, we’re committed to partnering with providers. Sharing learnings from our monitoring work will help the sector build capability so we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.
We’ve made changes to how we monitor TEOs, to be more flexible and commit resources proportionately to the level of risk
To date we have been trialing and piloting new, more flexible monitoring approaches and are now pleased to confirm our new framework.
We now have three types of audits…
Self-audits
Desktop audits
On-site audits.
The three levels of audit allow our monitoring activity to be better matched to the size of a TEO or the nature of any concerns we may have. Auditing provides assurance that the services we purchase from a TEO comply with our funding conditions. They may be randomly scheduled or undertaken in response to information or complaints received by the TEC.
…and have made our approach to investigations more flexible
Investigations now include both what we used to call reviews as well as investigations. What we used to call reviews will be blended into investigations. These are less tightly defined and able to respond to the levels of risk and issues identified. Investigations are no longer tied to a fixed scope of five years’ provision. We will investigate our specific concerns and if no further issues are identified, that will be the extent of the investigation. However, we do have the ability to expand the scope if needed. Our intention is to place as little burden on providers as possible, while still ensuring the interests of learners, government and the tertiary education system more broadly are protected.
We have prepared detailed guidelines to help TEOs understand our investigation process.  
Tertiary Education Commission investigation guidelines (PDF 334 KB) 
We are more focused on supporting TEOs to monitor themselves
This monitoring update is the first example of a renewed focus on sharing useful information with the sector, so that TEOs can monitor their own compliance and address issues before they require TEC intervention.
We regularly review broader issues and trends that affect the whole sector, or certain subsectors or disciplines. Findings from these will be included in future monitoring updates and help us to continue to improve our guidance to the sector.
A good example is the recent update to our guidance on Compulsory Student Services Fees (CSSF), which followed a review of the fees providers charge, the services offered, and information available to students.
Some suggestions for TEOs from our analysis of audits
We’ve analysed audit results from the last three years and will use our monitoring updates to share suggestions on how to prepare for an audit. Our analysis indicates that New Zealand has a robust tertiary education system, as the majority of the issues identified through TEC audits are easy to correct. Below we’ve outlined three of these issues – if you can make these small changes at your TEO, you can ensure a smoother audit.
1.  One of the most common, and easy to fix, issues our auditors run into is missing records
Having a robust student record and retention policy will make it easier for you to confirm eligibility for funding. The TEC requires that you keep records that show:
student eligibility for funding (for instance: proof of domestic status, Ministry of Education exemptions for students under 15 years old, proof that funding is not being claimed for recognised prior learning etc)
you have NZQA programme approvals for the courses being taught
signed copies of student enrolment forms to verify the date of entry funding begins for these programmes.
2.  Check your subcontracting arrangements
While not a TEC funding condition, we recommend ensuring that the responsibilities of both parties are clearly set out in your subcontracting agreements. We have encountered issues where both a subcontractor and a TEO believe the other will submit completion of NZQA unit standards – without either having done so. Having clear agreements protects you, as you are ultimately accountable for the use of funding.
Reminder: all subcontracting agreements related to funded activities must be approved by the TEC, and the TEC will not fund subcontracted provision through certain funds, such as Youth Guarantee. Check with your Investment Manager if you have any questions.
3.  Ensure you can provide accurate data as it is imperative for TEC funding
While the accuracy of student information held on file and in TEOs’ Student Management Systems (SMS) is improving, you may need to implement better controls. Our suggestions include:
implementing data checks at regular points to ensure data quality
not having too many staff members having full access to data held in the SMS as this can lead to mistakes. Staff access should be restricted according to their needs. For example, teaching staff likely do not need full access to your SMS, but should have limited access to enter assessment results only
ensuring you have an up to date policy to enable staff from different delivery sites and the main offices to apply enrolment procedures consistently.
The TEC is implementing the new Government’s Fees Free policy
You will already be aware that we have an information sheet for TEOs on what you need to know about the Fees Free policy. Monitoring of fees-free tertiary education will be a significant focus for the TEC in 2018. Implementation of Fees Free introduces a number of new practices for TEOs in 2018, including confirming student eligibility and reporting on fees-free enrolments. We will use the data submitted by TEOs and additional audits to ensure the policy is being implemented effectively.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

This is the second of the TEC’s regular monitoring updates. We gather a range of information about common issues through our monitoring activities. At the TEC, we’re committed to partnering with providers, and sharing learnings from our monitoring work to help the sector build capability so we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.
How to report learning hours in STEO
As of January 2018 all new programmes submitted for approval and accreditation to NZQA use the following new definition of learning hours: “All planned learning activities leading towards the achievement of programme or qualification learning outcomes.” The updated definition means TEOs need to provide details to learners of all learning activities in the programme, and retain evidence of these activities.
The Services for Tertiary Education Organisations (STEO) website provides three fields for types of learning activities: teaching hours, work experience hours and self-directed study hours. We acknowledge that headings of these three fields is a limitation in light of the various learning activities that TEOs employ with students. However, please do continue to break down the different learning activities and enter hours into the relevant STEO field as accurately as possible according to the guidance below:
Teaching hours – including face-to-face classroom time, online, field trip, simulation time, tutorials, onsite assignments, assessments and examinations.
Work experience hours – including time the student spends practising or learning skills relevant to their study programme in a workplace. This includes a teaching workplace, which may be onsite, as long as it operates as a commercial enterprise.
Self-directed study hours – ‘self-directed study’ means only facilitated TEO study carried out by the student. For example, time the student spends on offsite assignments (such as homework assignments), and TEO-directed reading and study hours, that the student must complete in their own time. Note: self-directed study does not include self-directed activities that the student initiates.
Total learning hours in STEO must be the same as the total programme/qualification learning hours approved by NZQA. The actual delivery should align with the total learning hours and the learning activities approved by NZQA. This means TEOs need to regularly review the delivery of their programmes to ensure they are ‘right-sized’ for the majority of students (recognising that some students take more or fewer learning hours to achieve a qualification than others).
During an audit or investigation we may check whether your delivery reflects our and NZQA’s approvals. To do this we triangulate NZQA approval documentation, your STEO information, and your information for learners, and compare this information to actual delivery. We may also check that you have a record of the rationale you use to assign each learning activity to one of the three categories listed above.
Fund finder information will be updated to provide this guidance shortly.
Note: University qualifications are approved by the Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP). Universities should continue providing a breakdown of learning hours in STEO.
Qualification and unit standard reporting issues
The TEC and NZQA have identified discrepancies across numerous TEOs between the qualification completions reported to TEC and unit standards reported to NZQA for the same period. Some are due to different reporting timeframes or cross-crediting, but other discrepancies are due to administrative errors or SMS issues.
It is important this information is correct, in particular to ensure learners have accurate, up to date records of their educational achievement for employment and further education opportunities. Please ensure your organisation’s reporting is accurate and up to date.
We are contacting TEOs directly where we have identified discrepancies, and will be further analysing the April and August Single Data Returns. Accuracy of reporting is always a focus of TEC audits, and qualification and unit standards reporting will be continue to be a particular focus of all audits this year.
Fees Free – what’s covered?
From now on an important component of all of our audits will be checking that the Fees Free policy is being correctly applied. The first few TEOs we’ve audited this year have largely been applying it correctly. However, there may still be some confusion about what should be included.  
The Fees Free initiative for provider-based education will pay:
›     tuition fees and associated mandatory fees, and
›     compulsory student services fees.
Learners may be asked to pay other optional and occasional fees such as students’ association and club memberships, some course materials, and late fees.
For industry training, the Fees Free policy will cover all fees paid by eligible learners and their employers for training and assessment, including fees paid to industry training organisations or directly to training and assessment providers. The policy will not cover other fees and charges paid by eligible learners and their employers.
If you have questions about the Fees Free policy, in the first instance you can look at our FAQs for tertiary education organisations or talk to your investment manager.
Equity Funding Survey
You have received an email from the Monitoring and Crown Ownership team requesting that you fill out this survey on how you use Equity funding. If you have not yet completed it, please do so as soon as possible. We hope the results will provide some best-practice ways of working we can share with you.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

This is the third of the Tertiary Education Commission’s (TEC’s) monitoring updates. We gather a range of information about common issues through our monitoring activities. At the TEC, we’re committed to partnering with tertiary education organisations, and sharing learnings from our monitoring work to help the sector build capability so we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.
Monitoring fees-free tertiary education
We – like all in the tertiary sector – have been focused on responding to some of the challenges presented by the implementation of the fees-free tertiary education policy in 2018. In 2019 we will continue our focus on ensuring both Tertiary Education Organisations (TEOs) and learners understand the system and assist them to meet their obligations under the fees-free policy.
1. False statutory declarations
Where a learner’s eligibility for fees-free tertiary education is shown as maybe, they may complete a statutory declaration to confirm they meet the criteria and be deemed eligible. In some instances, we have found learners are not eligible and the statutory declaration is false.
It is an offence under the Education Act 1989 and Crimes Act 1961 to give any altered, false, incomplete or misleading information or to make a false statement or declaration. The passing of the Education Amendment Bill 2018 introduced a new offence for learners who make false declarations and a fine of up to $5000.
To ensure the fees-free policy is effective and that government funds are used responsibly, our monitoring work includes routinely checking for potentially false declarations and taking appropriate action where they are identified.
2. Additional fees-free specific audits
We are also reviewing a number of instances where learners are accessing fees-free funding for graduate level study. While there are exceptions to qualification entry requirements and some graduate level programmes can be entered with sufficient evidence of professional experience, we are aware of some cases where learners have not declared prior study that should disqualify them from fees-free.
To ensure that learners are doing the right thing, we have written to a number of TEOs to request enrolment forms for these learners to confirm their eligibility, and will be repeating this exercise periodically.
We encourage you to check your own enrolments in a similar manner to ensure that your learners accessing fees-free are genuinely eligible. Our fees-free agreements with TEOs require you to “immediately notify us if you become aware of information that indicates that an eligible student should not have been determined by us to be eligible”.
If you need to submit a list of learners whose eligibility you believe should change, you can email sectorhelpdesk@tec.govt.nz and ask to be sent the Fees Free TEO Change Eligibility Status template through Workspace 2. 
3. Compulsory student services fees
Compulsory student services fees (CSSFs) are included in fees-free for eligible learners. 
As part of monthly fees-free reporting, TEOs that charge a CSSF are required to attest they comply with the CSSF Ministerial Direction (PDF 34 KB) and the Education Act 1989. If our monitoring shows that a TEO is not compliant, CSSFs will not be included in Fees-Free payments for eligible learners or these may be recovered if we later find out that you have incorrectly declared their compliance. 
We monitor CSSF practices and provide regular feedback to TEOs. Please ensure you respond to this feedback, and direct any CSSF questions to cssf@tec.govt.nz.
Audit activity
In our first monitoring update we made some suggestions for TEOs based on analysis of our regular audits. Here are a few suggestions for the new year to make the audit process run a lot easier.
1. Inducements / scholarships
Remember that an enrolment is not valid if it has been secured by way of an inducement.  An inducement may include a financial incentive or ongoing personal possession of physical items where they induce a student to enrol. 
This does not preclude you from offering scholarships, which can be used to reward academic achievement, aid those in need, or meet other clearly defined rationale. The full rules around scholarships are included in your funding conditions, but to ensure scholarships are not perceived as an inducement, we recommend TEOs clearly document:
the focus and rationale for the scholarships existence e.g. high academic achievement or a needs scholarship (to a student who would otherwise be significantly disadvantaged in accessing education)
the process that applicants must follow in applying for the scholarship, and
the review / assessment / approval process for granting a scholarship (note the final decision must be made by an independent staff member).
Please check with your Investment Manager if you need any assistance in determining whether a financial assistance offer meets the scholarship or inducement definitions. 
2.  Documenting fees-free processes
As fees-free payments are is relatively new, a number of providers haven’t yet documented or mapped the key processes. This is essential so that all roles and responsibilities are clear and appropriate delegations etc. are in place. 
3.  Expiring qualifications
A number of providers have qualifications that are closed off for new enrolments and about to expire. Remember to check the expiry dates of qualifications you are delivering to ensure that a replacement programme is in place for any nearing expiry. TEC does not fund expired qualifications.
Please contact your Investment Manager to make any changes required to your investment plans and Mix of Provision (MoP) for the replacement qualification.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

This is the fourth of the TEC’s monitoring updates. We gather a range of information about common issues through our monitoring activities. At the TEC, we’re committed to partnering with tertiary education organisations, and sharing learnings from our monitoring work to help the sector build capability so we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.
Reporting hours of delivery for Intensive Literacy and Numeracy funding
In recent audits, we have noticed that several providers receiving ILN funding have reported learners who have studied between 80 and 300 hours, but excluded learners with less than 80 hours or those few learners who have needed more than 300 hours.
The current conditions specific to ILN funding for hours and intensity of delivery are:
a)      The total hours of literacy, numeracy, or literacy and numeracy tuition you deliver per learner is expected to be between 80 and 300 hours.
b)      The literacy, numeracy, or literacy and numeracy tuition you provide must be delivered at the intensity of 5 to 20 hours per week.
The conditions above only set an expectation that learners do between 80 and 300 hours. This is not a rule – and you must report all learners, including those who do fewer than 80 or greater than 300 hours.
Incorrect reporting of Source of Funding 03
Analysis of the 2018 August Single Data Return (SDR) identified course enrolments that were potentially incorrectly reported using SoF 03. All tertiary education organisations (TEOs) identified as potentially misreporting SoF 03 were advised on how to make changes against their enrolment information to correct these reporting errors.
SoF 03 must only be used to report course enrolments in:
Qualifications and training schemes not approved in STEO as eligible to access TEC funding (this includes PTE certificates of personal interest (CPIs)), and
Doctoral study where the four EFTS threshold for SAC Level 3 and above funding (reported via source of SoF 01) has been surpassed.
This was clarified in the SDR Manual in October 2018, and has always been the reporting requirement for SoF 03.
We will continue to monitor SDR submissions for correct use of SoF 03. Incorrect use of SoF 03 may result in you having to resubmit your SDR.
For further information please see page 27 of the 2019 SDR manual which outlines the requirements of reporting SoF 03 or you can view our website for more guidance on reporting SoF 03. 
Compulsory student services fees: 2018 reports due
The CSSF Ministerial Direction requires TEOs that charge a CSSF to report on it annually:
Tertiary education institutions (TEIs) must report on CSSFs in their annual report;
Private training establishments (PTEs) must provide a written report to their students and the TEC.
Thank you to those that have submitted their 2018 annual report. For those that haven’t, we would like to remind you if you charge a CSSF, to please send your current CSSF report for students to cssf@tec.govt.nz.
As part of regular fees-free reporting to the TEC, TEOs are required to self-attest that they comply with the CSSF Ministerial Direction. We review all CSSFs to verify that they comply with these requirements. This is particularly important as we will not provide fees-free funding for CSSFs that relate to eligible learners if you are not compliant with the Ministerial Direction. To ensure your fees-free payments run smoothly, please submit your current CSSF report and respond to any feedback.
Refunding fees-free eligible learners
Through our fees-free monitoring activities, we have identified instances where a learner has paid for their studies and their TEO has reported the same study for fees-free payment from the TEC.
Your obligations for receiving fees-free payments are set out in the SAC Level 3 and above funding conditions and your fees-free agreement. These conditions mean that you cannot charge fees to an eligible student for eligible study – we will make payments to you for eligible learners.
If a learner becomes eligible part way through their studies, you must refund them for any eligible study they have undertaken so far.
An eligible learner cannot opt to pay their own study fees in order to save their entitlement to use later. If a learner is eligible, any eligible study they undertake will use their fees-free entitlement. You must include all learners with an eligibility status of “Yes” or “8” in your reporting.
If you have any questions regarding refunds to fees-free learners, please contact the TEC Customer Contact Group on sectorhelpdesk@tec.govt.nz or 0800 601 301.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

At the TEC, we gather a range of information about common issues through our monitoring activities. We’re committed to partnering with tertiary education organisations, and sharing learnings from our monitoring work to help the sector build capability so we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.
False statutory declarations identified for fees-free
The TEC has laid charges against three individuals for making a false representation for the purpose of receiving, or continuing to receive, free tertiary education from a tertiary education organization (TEO).
The TEC takes false statutory declarations very seriously, and it’s important that TEOs are aware of their obligations when it comes to advising learners about statutory declarations and letting us know if you think a learner’s eligibility status is incorrect. TEOs are a key partner for the TEC in protecting the integrity of the fees-free scheme, and we address below some common misconceptions.
Why do we require learners with an ‘unknown’ eligibility status to submit statutory declarations?We don’t hold sufficient information to determine the fees-free eligibility of all potential learners. The statutory declaration process enables learners with an ‘unknown’ eligibility status to confirm (in front of an authorised witness) that they meet the eligibility criteria.
A statutory declaration is not an application form or an eligibility checkA statutory declaration is a written document that must be completed in front of an authorised witness. The information included on the form must be correct. As such, a learner needs to know that they meet the eligibility criteria before submitting a statutory declaration.
A statutory declaration is not an application to receive fees-free nor a mechanism for checking whether a learner is eligible or not.
Please don’t advise learners who don’t know whether they meet the eligibility criteria, or have further questions about their own circumstances, to submit a statutory declaration. Instead, advise them to contact us (0800 687 775) with any questions regarding the eligibility criteria.
We have a range of responses to false declarationsWe routinely check for potentially false statutory declarations, and take action for every false declaration identified. Where a false statutory declaration is identified, we change the learner’s eligibility status to ‘no’ and, as a result, they become liable to pay for any fees charged to them.
Every false declaration is potentially an offence. All learners who we identify as having submitted a false declaration will receive a caution and, in more serious cases, we will issue a formal warning or lay charges under section 292A of the Education Act 1989 or the Crimes Act 1961.
TEOs have an important role to playTEOs should have their own checks in place to ensure that learners who they are claiming fees-free payments for are genuinely eligible. Our fees-free agreements with TEOs require you to “immediately notify us if you become aware of information that indicates that an eligible student should not have been determined by us to be eligible”.
If you need to submit a list of learners whose eligibility you believe should change, you can do this through the Fees Free TEO Change Eligibility Status template available in Workspace 2.
If it is discovered that a TEO was aware, but did not notify the TEC, of information that demonstrates that a learner should not be eligible (ie: they do not meet the citizenship or residency criteria, or their prior study exceeds 60 credits at level 3 or above), the TEO may be liable for that learner’s fees.
We remind you that the eligibility criteria is on the fees-free website along with up-to-date FAQ’s to provide appropriate guidance to your staff and potential learners.
Gender reporting options in the SDR
As of April 2019, there is now an option in the SDR to report on gender diverse data. We’ve heard from learners who are keen to identify themselves as gender diverse now that this option is available.
We encourage you to make this option available to all learners as soon as it is practical for you to do so.
The gender classifications available in your SDR reporting now are:
F (Female)
M (Male)
D (Diverse)
Recognition of Prior Learning
In recent TEC investigations, we have identified some TEOs claiming funding for recognition of prior learning, which TEC does not fund.
As a reminder, you must not seek funding for recognised prior learning credited to a student. In regards to this condition, you must:
ask a student to specify prior learning they have undertaken,
review the information provided by the student when admitting a student into a programme or qualification, and
retain documents that confirm that the student has demonstrated the required knowledge or skill.
Recognised prior learning does not include repeated learning or training that the applicable quality assurance body requires students to undertake periodically.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

This is a general notice that covers the privacy practices across the TEC at our premises, on our websites, including Fees Free and Careers Services.
Personal information
Personal information is any information that identifies a person. At the TEC, personal information we collect includes:
name and contact details (eg, phone numbers, email address, home address)
date of birth
National Student Number (NSN)
demographic information (eg, gender, ethnicity)
educational history
job title and organisation
residency status and documentation evidencing this
statutory declaration (as to your eligibility for Fees Free).
Collecting your personal information
We collect your personal information to:
correspond with you
verify your identity
assess your eligibility to receive our services
ensure tertiary education organisations receive appropriate funding.
We generally collect this information directly from you.
We also collect information about your enrolment and course activity directly from your enrolled tertiary education organisation. The information we collect from them enables us to fund them appropriately for the Government subsidies associated with your training.
You don’t have to provide any personal information to us but if you don’t, we may not be able to determine whether you’re eligible for our services.
Occasionally, we need to collect information about you from third parties because it is not practical to collect this information directly from you. These third parties are the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development (StudyLink) and tertiary education organisations. We collect this information because we have a statutory function to make sure you meet eligibility criteria.
To determine Fees Free entitlement, we need to collect information from each tertiary education organisation you’re enrolled at to verify your eligibility. We collect:
Nationals Student Number (NSN)
qualification codes
course codes
course start and end dates
course equivalent full-time student (EFTS) factor
if you withdraw, the date you withdrew
the amount of Fees Free funding you have used.
Sharing your personal information
We may disclose your personal information to StudyLink, the Ministry of Education, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and tertiary education organisations to help them perform their functions relating to student allowances, student loans and the administration of other aspects of the tertiary education system.
We may disclose some of your personal information to tertiary education organisations so that, if you’re eligible for Fees Free tertiary education, you won’t be charged inappropriately.  
At all other times, we’ll only disclose your personal information if you allow us, or if we are required to by law.
Looking after your personal information
We may use cloud computing to manage and store information. We operate our cloud computing according to New Zealand Government standards. We take all reasonable precautions to protect personal information we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We do this by:
having strong external and internal premises security
storing information in access-controlled systems and limiting staff interaction with data
providing training on the Privacy Act to all our staff.
When you contact us, we may create a profile of you in our customer relationship management system. The profile will hold the information we have collected from you and the information you have provided us. This includes your contact details and details of all our communications with you.
Accessing your personal information
You have the right to request access to any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you would like to request your information or seek corrections, please email us at privacy@tec.govt.nz.
Recruitment
Personal information is required to assess your application and your suitability for employment within TEC. It will be kept, used and disclosed only in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Public Records Act 2005.
All information you provide as part of your application will be treated as confidential by the TEC and used only for the purpose it is collected. If your application is successful, this information will be kept on your personal file and can be used for the purposes of your employment with us.
Privacy on our websites
Any personal information you enter into our websites, eg, your NSN for Fees Free eligibility, will be encrypted while in transit from your browser to the hosting environment in New Zealand. The hosting provider is not permitted to access or use the information for any purpose other than managing this website for us. If you’ve answered the additional questions to help us determine your eligibility, we’ll store the information you’ve provided in secure and access-controlled systems.
We collect information about all visits to our websites, including the:
IP address of the device being used
type of browser being used, eg, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox
type of device, eg, PC, laptop, phone, tablet.
Our systems remove any information that might identify you and send the rest to Google Analytics. We then use Google Analytics to get information like:
how many people are on our website
what page of the website was visited most in a given time period
the location people are connecting from
what types of devices are being used.
Find out more about Google Analytics.
We use ‘cookies’, which are record-keeping tokens that are stored on your device when you visit our website. The aggregate data from cookies is collected and stored on our internal servers, and only accessed by authorised staff. Cookies help us analyse site usage more accurately and help us provide additional functionality to you.
If you do not wish to receive cookies from tec.govt.nz or our affiliate websites, you can set your browser to refuse them or to warn you when you are about to receive one. Turning off cookies will not affect your ability to use any of our websites.
Call recording policy
As part of our commitment to giving you the best customer service all of our calls are recorded for quality management or internal training purposes.
We record calls:
for staff training purposes,
to improve the quality of our customer service,
to ensure the information we provide is consistent and accurate,
so we can find ways to simplify our service to you,
to ensure we have an accurate record of your call, which may be needed to support any transactions that take place over the phone and/or if there is a dispute.
We understand your personal information is important and we are committed to protecting it. We store the recordings securely and destroy them in accordance with Archives New Zealand requirements.
Call recordings are only accessible by authorised TEC personnel and only for the purposes indicated above. Call recordings may be disclosed in full or in part in response to requests made under the Official Information Act 1982. Requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis with the privacy interests of the individuals involved being given due consideration.
Can I request a copy of a recording?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of any personal information that we hold about you. To access or update your personal information please call us on 0800 601 301 or email CustomerService@tec.govt.nz.
The call recording requested will be evaluated before being provided. However, unless we have a lawful reason for withholding the information, we will provide you with access to the call recording.
Contact us
If you have any questions about privacy at the TEC and our management of your personal information, you can contact us:
Email:   privacy@tec.govt.nz
Post:      The Privacy Officer               Tertiary Education Commission                PO Box 27048                Wellington 6141
Phone: 0800 601 301

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

To encourage and support TEOs to take a strong and proactive approach to improving outcomes for disabled learners, in 2022 the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) introduced a new Investment Plan requirement – Disability Action Plans (DAPs).
Requiring DAPs as part of the investment round is part of the Government’s move to ensure TEOs meet their responsibilities under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
What is a Disability Action Plan?
The TEC wants to ensure TEOs avoid discrimination against disabled people, and disabled learners experience better outcomes throughout their education journey. 
A DAP helps TEOs to identify good practices and offers a blueprint for change. The DAP sits alongside other Investment Plan requirements, including Learner Success Plans, designed to improve outcomes for historically underserved learner groups.
To help TEOs develop their DAP, the TEC provides DAP Guidance. The Guidance outlines what we expect from TEOs in terms of their DAP development and implementation.
The DAP Guidance supports you to develop your DAP and gives suggestions on how to use the Kia Ōrite Toolkit as part of this development.
Disability Action Plan report back for 2023
2023 was the second year TEOs were required to submit a DAP as part of the investment round. DAPs were assessed, and feedback provided to TEOs. A sector level report on the development of DAPs in 2023 is available below.
The 2022 sector report is also available below.
Kia Ōrite Toolkit
The Kia Ōrite Toolkit is a New Zealand code of practice to achieve an inclusive and equitable tertiary education environment for disabled learners.
A TEOs DAP must show clear evidence that they are using various processes and measuring their progress against the Kia Ōrite Toolkit and its best practice standards.
Kia Ōrite Toolkit for achieving equity
Kia Ōrite Toolkit – achieve.org.nz
Giving effect to the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES)
Creating and implementing a DAP and improving outcomes for disabled learners also helps TEOs give effect to the TES – specifically Objective Two: Barrier-free access.
Supporting your learner success approach
Fundamental to our work is understanding all learners and their needs and aspirations. Developing and implementing a DAP helps ensure organisations fully understand the needs of disabled learners. Alongside Kia Ōrite, DAPs are a vital resource to support TEOs to redesign their businesses with learners at the centre.
Ōritetanga – tertiary success for everyone
FAQs

The DAP Guidance is advice from the TEC on how to develop a DAP and what it should cover.
Kia Ōrite is a toolkit for best practice, developed by a group of sector experts. It advises TEOs on how to best support disabled learners at all stages of their learning journey.
They are two separate resources but support each other and should be read and used together.

TEOs that receive more than $5 million in TEC funding and are required to submit a Strategic Plan must also submit a DAP.

We strongly encourage all TEC-funded TEOs to engage with the Kia Ōrite Toolkit and develop a DAP at the earliest opportunity. Doing so will mean taking all possible steps to reduce discrimination against disabled people, including staff, learners and those in the wider community.

More information
TEC staff are available to answer any questions about the DAP Guidance, the Kia Ōrite Toolkit and the investment process. Please contact your Relationship Manager or the Customer Contact Group on 0800 601 301.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

Last updated 19 March 2024
Last updated 19 March 2024

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The University of Otago shares their experience of using data to remove barriers and provide support for disabled learners so they can succeed in tertiary education.
The University of Otago shares their experience of using data to remove barriers and provide support for disabled learners so they can succeed in tertiary education.

Data and technology are key capabilities that a tertiary education provider needs to get right to enable all learners to succeed, whatever that looks like for each learner. The University of Otago presented their experience at a sector knowledge-sharing session in late 2023.
We are pleased to share a recording of their presentation:
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) outlines the session and introduces the Data and technology learner success capability.
Download a PDF of the Ōritetanga Learner Success approaches: Seven key areas of capability diagram
The University of Otago discusses how they apply insights from the data they collect to understand learner experiences and needs, then how they use this data to ensure suitable resources are available for disabled learners.
Learner Success Capability Session series to continue in 2024
We will continue to host Learner Success Capability Sessions this year alongside the sector. These sessions aim to bring together tertiary providers in the spirit of learning, knowledge sharing and collaboration, and to enhance individual, group and organisational development.
To view recordings of previous sessions, visit YouTube | Tertiary Education Commission | 7 learner success capabilities.

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

From 1 January 2024, WLN Employer-led provision is funded up to a maximum of $103.23 per hour (GST exclusive) of face-to-face literacy, numeracy, or literacy and numeracy, tuition. This includes a 5% increase to the provision.
Each hour of provision not attended by the learner is not to be reported and is not funded.
The average funding per hour of tuition in programmes is usually significantly below the maximum level. This is because programmes exhibit some or all of the below characteristics, which reduce the costs of provision:
repeat programmes (minimal start-up costs)
a single site of delivery
concentrated geographically
large scale, and/or
derived from existing programmes.
We advise that applicants submitting an application take these factors into account when deciding what rate of funding to request. If the requested funding rate is deemed in excess of the reasonable costs of the proposed programme, an applicant may be granted a lower rate of funding.