Process

We recommend that a tertiary education organisation’s (TEO’s) admission and enrolment process for DQ1-2 includes the steps below:

Note: We expect the TEO to inform each learner during the enrolment process about all planned learning activities leading to the award of the qualification the learner has enrolled in. “Planned learning activities” includes self-directed learning activities the TEO expects the learner to engage with/participate in. It does not include self-directed activities the learner initiates. 

For the full requirements when enrolling learners in DQ1-2 provision, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year.

Admission

We expect you to publish admission information before the start of each programme. This information should include:

• admission requirements
• criteria and processes for assessing and recognising a learner’s prior learning
• criteria and process for cross-crediting courses across multiple qualifications
• documents that a learner must submit; for example, a learner's academic transcript or record from another tertiary education organisation (TEO)
• the enrolment process
• minimum attendance and code of conduct requirements
• withdrawal requirements and process, including refunds
• student support services available, and
• student services fees information.

Inducement to enrol

For the full requirements when enrolling learners in DQ1-2 provision, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year. An enrolment is not a valid domestic enrolment if the learner has been induced to enrol.

We recommend that you contact us to discuss this before offering items or activities to learners for enrolling with you.

Enrolment

For the full requirements when enrolling learners in DQ1-2 provision, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year.

Enrolment form

An enrolment form should collect all of the information you are required to report in the Single Data Return (SDR) to determine whether the learner is eligible for DQ1-2. 

To ensure an enrolment form collects all of the necessary information, you need to be familiar with the SDR Manual. You can also use the Ministry of Education's generic enrolment form.

We recommend that you publish your enrolment form.

Enrolment application

To enrol in a programme leading to the award of a qualification, a learner needs to apply to the tertiary education organisation (TEO) by completing and submitting the TEO’s enrolment form, and providing evidence to enable the TEO to:

• verify the learner’s identity, and
• determine the learner’s eligibility.

Enrolment changes

If a learner's enrolment changes for any reason, you must update your records to reflect the changes. We recommend you send updated enrolment information to the learner. 

We suggest you specify the period in which a learner can change their enrolment or withdraw from a course (so it is clear on their academic record and they do not incur unnecessary course-related costs). 

Student services fees refund when the enrolment changes

You must make clear to the learner at enrolment the period during which they may change their enrolment(s) or withdraw from a course or programme with a student services fees refund, if applicable (excluding any administration charge). You must process student services fees refunds in a timely manner for the learner. 

If you refund all or some of a learner’s student services fees, you must refund the learner in the manner in which the original fee was paid. 

Where the learner is entitled to a refund, you may not hold the refund as a credit (for example, for the learner enrolling/re-enrolling at your organisation in the future) unless you can demonstrate that the learner has understood their refund entitlement and agreed to waive their entitlement.

Scholarship

The above also applies when you decide to pay the learner's student services fees through a scholarship.

Verification of learner identity

For the full requirements for verification of learner identity, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year.

A TEO must verify the learner’s identity when the learner enrols for the first time, to comply with reporting requirements under clause 13 of Schedule 18 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

If the identity of the learner is verified, the TEO can then check if the learner is eligible to be a valid domestic enrolment.

Note: The TEO must sight either an original or a certified copy of the original.

• Originals must be in hard copy format.
• Certified copies can be in either hard copy format or digital format (photograph or scan).

Verification of learner eligibility

For the full requirements for verification of learner eligibility, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year.

Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must ensure that learners are eligible to be enrolled in DQ1-2 funded programmes.

For audit purposes, the TEO must retain copies of the Record of Achievement (ROA) that was used at first enrolment to determine eligibility.

Recognition of learning/prior achievement

For the full requirements when enrolling learners into DQ1-2 provision, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year.

For information on the prior achievement requirements see Learner eligibility – Limit on prior qualification achievement.

Recognition of learning/prior achievement refers to previous study or experience (prior achievement) relevant to the programme that the learner is about to enrol in or is currently studying. It enables a learner to proceed with their study without repeating aspects of their previous qualification, or re-learning skills the learner has already achieved through past work or other experience.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL), and credit recognition and transfer (CRT), are forms of recognising learning/prior achievement. For information and guidelines for TEOs, see Guidelines for the recognition and award of learning for credit – NZQA.

It is the TEO’s responsibility to recognise each learner’s prior learning and adjust the courses in their programme. A TEO cannot claim DQ1-2 funding for RPL or CRT, or for delivering tuition where the learner already has prior learning (ie, skills and/or knowledge). This means the TEO is responsible for:

• undertaking a preliminary evaluation of the learner and identifying whether they are likely to have the knowledge, skills, and attributes that can contribute to the graduate outcomes of the qualification
• seeking evidence of prior academic achievement using an NZQA Record of Achievement (ROA) when each learner enrols, and
• carrying out a National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualification check with NZQA to see each learner's full NCEA achievement and paid and unpaid credits.

If you have any questions about the process, please contact the NZQA Qualifications Data and Data Analysis team on 0800 697 296.

Learner-centred provision

Learners wanting to defer their start date

You may agree to defer a learner’s enrolment start date, but you should have a policy for the circumstances under which a learner may defer their start date.

Note: No DQ1-2 funding can be claimed unless the learner has started their study and the 10% or one month date for accessing funding has passed. The 10% or one month date applies to the date the learner starts their deferred enrolment.

Learners wanting to accelerate their study (undertake additional learning)

You should not enrol a learner in an additional course or qualification unless the learner elects to exceed the equivalent full-time student (EFTS) value of the qualification (eg, if they need to redo a course that they previously did not pass). In this case, the total EFTS value of that learner’s enrolments for that qualification will be greater that the EFTS value of the qualification that is achieved.

In that instance we expect the additional learning hours to be matched by an appropriate number of additional teaching hours.

Learners enrolling concurrently with another tertiary education organisation (TEO)

We would not expect a learner enrolled in foundation-level provision to successfully manage concurrent enrolments at separate TEOs, and complete their courses and qualifications.

Concurrent enrolments at another TEO are not prohibited. However, any TEO with a foundation-level learner in this situation should advise the learner against this, and/or work with the other TEO to ensure the learner’s study workload is manageable.

Withdrawals

For the full withdrawal requirements, see the DQ1-2 funding conditions for the relevant year.

A “withdrawal” is when a learner ceases to participate in a course, programme or micro-credential (regardless of whether they have been refunded any student services fees), either:

• by providing notice to the TEO that they wish to withdraw participation, or
• as a result of non-attendance or non-participation for any reason.

Disengaged learners who have not formally withdrawn

A learner may have disengaged from the programme or micro-credential but not have formally withdrawn. For example, they may have failed to attend a face-to-face course or not logged in for online learning.

Determine at the earliest opportunity if a disengaged learner is withdrawing from a course. If the enrolment continues to be reported and is unsuccessful, it will be counted as a course non-completion for the calculation of Educational Performance Indicators (EPIs).

Setting the withdrawal date for a withdrawn learner

TEOs need to apply a “withdrawal date” to any enrolment in the Single Data Return (SDR) that meets the criteria above.

A TEO will not be able to receive funding for an enrolment with a withdrawal date that occurs before 10% or one month of the course has passed (rounded up to the nearest whole day), whichever is earlier.

Advising StudyLink and other parties of learner withdrawal

When a learner in receipt of a loan and/or allowance withdraws from a programme, the date of withdrawal that the TEO must notify to StudyLink is the date the TEO determined that the learner had ceased to participate (eg, by non-attendance or non-participation).

Withdrawal date and student services fees refund period

TEOs need to apply a student services fees refund period. If a learner withdraws from a course or programme within this period, they must receive a refund of the student services fees (or waiver of fee payment). The refund period requirements are different for private training establishments (PTEs) and tertiary education institutions (TEIs).

Requesting fees payment from StudyLink

Student services fees cannot be paid for through the Student Loan Scheme.

Learners with unpaid student services fees

A learner is only a valid domestic enrolment when they have paid or committed to pay student services fees and the student services fees refund period has passed.

If the learner does not pay the student services fees they committed to, then they cease to be a valid domestic enrolment. DQ1-2 funding must not be claimed for them.