(a)  You must continue to be:

(i)    a TEI, namely:

A.  a University

B.  an ITP

C.  a Wānanga, or

(ii)   a PTE, and

(b)  You must continue to be quality assured by:

(i)    the NZQA, if you are an ITP, a Wānanga or a PTE, or

(ii)   the NZVCC, if you are a University.

(a)   You must:

(i)    supply to us information about each student enrolled in a course by completing the fields in the SDR in accordance with the SDR Manual and its appendices, and

(ii)   submit the information on or before the date we specify.

(b)   You must submit the SDR through the Services for Tertiary Education Organisation (STEO) website. For more information, please refer to the SDR Manual and SDR Appendices.

3.1       Withdrawal date for TEIs

a)    You may set a withdrawal date, being the specified period during which a student can withdraw and receive a full refund of compulsory student service fees, provided that date is not earlier than the withdrawal date in paragraph (b).

(b)  If you do not set a withdrawal date, the withdrawal date will be the date on which 10% or one month of the course for which a student is enrolled has passed, whichever is the smaller.

3.2       Withdrawal date for PTEs

If you are a PTE, you must comply with the withdrawal dates and refund period entitlements set out in sections 234C to 235D of the Education Act.

3.3       Reporting Withdrawals to the Ministry of Social Development (Studylink)

In addition to any other Conditions requiring you to report Withdrawals of enrolments, you must report the Withdrawal of students to the Ministry of Social Development (Studylink) within 5 working days of each Withdrawal.  This is to enable student loans and student allowances to be cancelled as soon as possible.

3.4       Other obligations to report Withdrawals

For the avoidance of doubt, completing the SDR does not discharge your other obligations to report Withdrawals.  These obligations include reporting (where applicable) to: Immigration New Zealand (for international students), and Trustees administering fee protection mechanisms (for International students and all PTE students).

3.5       Refunding fees for Withdrawals

If fees are to be refunded to a student, you must, as soon as reasonably practicable, pay the refund: 

(a)    to the Ministry of Social Development, if the student paid the fees using the Student Loan Scheme; or

(b)   directly to the student.

4.1       Valid domestic enrolments

(a)  For the purposes of SAC1&2 Fund Funding, the term “valid domestic enrolment” refers to the enrolment of a student who:

(i)    is a Domestic Student, and

(ii)   is either:

A.   aged 16 years and over, or

B.   aged under 16 years, and meets the criteria established by us for a valid domestic enrolment of a student aged under 16 years (refer paragraph (b) below), and

(iii)  studying in New Zealand, unless the student meets the criteria in paragraph (c) below.

(b)  A student aged under 16 years old at the time that the programme of study or training in which the student is enrolled begins is a valid domestic enrolment if he or she meets the following criteria:

(i)    you are satisfied that the student is capable of completing the academic requirements of the programme of study or training in which the student is enrolled;

(ii)   you have ensured that the student has a school exemption certificate from the Ministry of Education;

(iii)  if the student is, or will be, enrolled in secondary school at the time the programme of study or training starts, you have ensured that the student's principal has signed a letter that approves the programme of study or training, and that either specifies that:

A.   the student is not required to be absent from school during school hours, or

B.   if the student is required to be absent from school during school hours for more than five hours per week, the school will seek reduced funding for the student from the Ministry of Education, and

(iv) if the student is, or will be, home schooled at the time that the programme of study or training starts, you have ensured that the parent of the student who is primarily responsible for the student's home schooling has signed a letter that approves the study or training.

(c)   A student studying outside New Zealand is a valid domestic enrolment if he or she meets the following criteria:

(i)   the student is:

A.   a Domestic Student ¹;

B.   enrolled in a course(s) leading to the award of a recognised qualification offered by a New Zealand TEO, and

(ii)  the student meets the following criteria if they are studying at an overseas campus or delivery site (irrespective of whether they are enrolled at the TEO’s New Zealand campus or overseas campus):

A.   the study outside New Zealand is full-time and face-to-face (ie not an extramural enrolment) in an approved country identified on the Education New Zealand website, and

B.   is undertaking part (but not all) of the programme outside New Zealand.

(d)  A student who has not paid his or her fees (if fees apply) is a valid domestic enrolment if you pay for the student’s fees through a scholarship.

4.2       Verification of student eligibility

(a)  You must verify a student's eligibility for enrolment as a valid domestic enrolment.  For the following types of student who are a valid domestic enrolment under the above Condition, you must use one of the following verification methods, and assess whether the student meets the eligibility criteria as specified in Condition 4.1:

(b)  For the purposes of this Condition, a certified copy is a photocopy, photograph or scanned copy that has been endorsed as a true copy of the original. To be certified, the document must:

(i)   be certified by an official of the issuing authority or a person authorised by law in New Zealand to certify documents, such as a Justice of the Peace, a lawyer, or a court official (Court Registrar or Deputy Registrar), and

(ii)  have the official's signature on each page, with the name and title of the official shown clearly below his or her signature.

4.3       Verification of student identity

(a)    You must verify the identity of each student enrolled in a programme or programmes of study or training of more than 0.03 EFTS by doing one or more of the following and assessing whether the student is who they say they are:

(i)      confirming that all data fields match the student’s NSN; or

(ii)    receiving an assertion through the Department of Internal Affairs’ RealMe® online identity verification service; or

(iii)   if the student is in prison at the time of enrolment, receiving a completed and signed Department of Corrections “Verification of legal name and New Zealand residency status” form relating to the student; or

(iv)  sighting the original or certified copy of a current passport; or

(v)    sighting the original or certified copy of one or more of the following documents:

A.      a birth certificate; or

B.      a certificate of identity; or

C.      a New Zealand certificate of citizenship; or

D.      an expired passport that has not been cancelled.

(b)  If a student is unable to obtain a birth certificate for the purposes of (a)(iv)(A) above, you may contact us to confirm that a whakapapa statement signed by both the student and a kaumātua is acceptable evidence of identity.

(c)   For the purposes of this Condition a certified copy is a photocopy, photograph or scanned copy that has been endorsed as a true copy of the original. To be certified, the document must:

(i)    be certified by an official of the issuing authority or a person authorised by law in New Zealand to certify documents, such as a Justice of the Peace, a lawyer or a court official (Court Registrar or Deputy Registrar); and

(ii)   have the official's signature on each page, with the name and title of the official shown clearly below his or her signature.

4.4       Enrolment records for valid domestic enrolments

You must:

(a)    keep accurate and up-to-date records of each valid domestic enrolment of a student enrolled in a programme of study or training of more than 0.03 EFTS funded by us specifying:

(i)     the programme of study or training (including qualification(s) and course(s)) in which the student has been admitted or readmitted);

(ii)    the student’s identity details, including the student's name, date of birth, citizenship, domestic or international student status, and residency status (if relevant);

(iii)   if the student is enrolled in a programme of study or training leading to a qualification with an EFTS value of greater than 0.03 EFTS, whether you have verified the student's identity;

(iv)   whether you have verified that the student is a valid domestic enrolment and/or has the appropriate student visa;

(v)    the student's National Student Number (NSN);

(vi)   the student’s previous academic achievement (if relevant);

(vii)  the receipt verifying that the student has paid or has arranged to pay his or her fees (if applicable);

(viii) changes (if any) made to an enrolment;

(ix)   whether the student has withdrawn from part of his or her programme of study or training, the date of the withdrawal, and whether the withdrawal was within the withdrawal period;

(x)    whether a student has been expelled from part of his or her programme of study or training by you due to a breach of your Code of Conduct;

(xi)   whether a student is on a discretionary leave of absence greater than leave normally granted under your standard minimum attendance requirements;

(xii)  that the student is attending the programme of study in which he or she is enrolled, or is actively involved in the programme or course (student attendance record); and

(xiii) the period for which the student is enrolled.

(b)   You must retain each student’s record described in paragraph 4.4 (a) until:

(i)    at least two years after the completion of the education or training in which the student is enrolled; or

(ii)   if a student withdraws before the student has completed his or her education or training, at least two years after the date of withdrawal.

4.5       No inducing enrolment 

(a)  Even if a student meets the criteria specified in paragraph 4.1, the enrolment is not a valid domestic enrolment if it has been secured by way of an inducement.

(b)  For the purposes of this Condition, an inducement includes any of the following, where they induce a student to enrol:

(i)    a financial benefit to the student, or

(ii)   a personal advantage to the student, or

(iii)  a physical item that a student retains possession of after the course of study or training has ended. 

(c)   For the purposes of this Condition, an inducement does not include:

(i)    a scholarship, as defined below, or

(ii)   a physical item that:

A.    is essential for a student to complete the compulsory requirements of his or her programme of study (including printed course notes, an e-reader for course notes, course-related textbooks), and

B.    cannot be returned and reused for students in subsequent intakes (for example, due to health and safety reasons; time-limited materials or materials that will be updated; or if it is not financially feasible), or

(iii)  an item or arrangement that has been approved by us (for example, we may approve an item that has minimal residual value or useful life in the general marketplace, or items that are needed for a student’s pathway into the vocation for which study or training has been undertaken), or

(iv) the guarantee of a job placement on the successful completion of a programme of study, backed by a partial or total money-back guarantee, or

(v)  a conditional offer of a partial refund (such as a refund for a timely or electronic enrolment).

(d)  For the purposes of this Condition, a scholarship means:

(i)    a merit scholarship (or prize) that comprises financial aid given to a student as a result of high academic achievement exceeding that of his or her fellow students or cohort, and/or

(ii)   a needs scholarship that comprises financial aid given to a student who would otherwise be significantly disadvantaged in accessing education, where the need of the student has been demonstrated through a robust application and assessment process, and/or

(iii)  any scholarship that:

A.    has a clear, focused rationale for its existence, and

B.    has a clearly identified philanthropic aim, or supports study in a particular area of importance to the donor.

4.6       No private advantage

You must not restrict enrolment in a SAC1&2 Fund funded programme or training scheme on the basis of private advantage (for example, restricting enrolment to your employees only).

4.7       Exceeding the total annual EFTS value of the qualification

You must not seek SAC1&2 Fund Funding in respect of a student enrolled in a course that leads to the award of a qualification if the result of enrolling the student in the course is that the total EFTS factors for all of the courses in which the student is enrolled in that year exceed the total annual EFTS value of the qualification, unless:

(a)  the student, in an exceptional circumstance (such as repeating a course that he or she previously has not passed), has elected to exceed total EFTS value of the qualification in that year, and

(b)  you can demonstrate that the EFTS factor sought for the course adequately reflects additional teaching input, rather than additional self-directed study.

4.8       Funding for EFTS factor of a course

You may only seek SAC1&2 Fund Funding for the EFTS factor of a course once in cases where a student's enrolment in the course can lead to the award of two (or more) qualifications for the student, unless you can demonstrate that additional EFTS value sought for the student's enrolment in the course adequately reflects additional teaching input or assessment that the student would not receive if his or her enrolment in the course could only lead to the award of one qualification.

4.9       Recognised prior learning

You must not seek SAC1&2 Fund Funding for recognised prior learning credited to a student.  To ensure that you are able to comply with this Condition, you must:

(a)      make any fees charged for recognition of prior learning clear to the student;

(b)     ask the student to specify prior learning he or she has undertaken;

(c)      review the information provided by the student when admitting a student into a programme or qualification; and

(d)     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.

4.10    Students with prior qualifications

(a)      You must not claim funding in relation to a student enrolled in a qualification eligible for SAC1&2 Fund Funding if:

(i)        that student has already achieved a qualification at Level 2 or higher on the NZQF (a prior qualification); and

(ii)       10% of the students you have enrolled in qualifications funded through the SAC1&2 Fund have already achieved a qualification at Level 2 or higher on the NZQF (a prior qualification).

(b)     You must measure the limit on enrolments with a prior qualification:

(i)      by excluding student enrolments in qualifications in ESOL or Te Reo Māori; and

(ii)    by excluding qualifications achieved 5 years or more prior to the current enrolment; and

(iii)   according to any other methodology we set.

(c)      We may recover funding if you enrol a student in breach of this condition.

¹ The criteria that a permanent resident (the holder of a residence class visa granted under the Immigration Act 2009) who will be studying overseas must satisfy to be a domestic student are set out in the Education (Tertiary Education—Criteria Permanent Residents Studying Overseas must Satisfy to be Domestic Students) Regulations 2016.

You must only use SAC1&2 Fund Funding to deliver qualifications and courses that have been approved by us. To receive approval for a qualification, you must submit the relevant documents to us in accordance with the information on our website.

5.1       Minimum requirements

You must ensure that, throughout the Funding Period, a programme of study or qualification in which an eligible student is enrolled and that receives SAC1&2 Fund Funding:

(a)      meets the objectives of foundation level tertiary education which are to:

(i)     provide people who do not already have essential foundation skills with access to a low cost way to gain those skills;

(ii)    provide progression to higher level study and skilled employment;

(iii)   build the literacy and numeracy skills of eligible students;

(iv)   enable beginning students to learn English or Te Reo Māori; and

(v)    encourage those TEOs that are best able to meet the needs of foundation education students; and

(b)     is part of a programme that:

(i)        leads to the award of a qualification (of 40 credits or more) at Level 1 or 2 on the NZQF; and

(ii)      has been quality assured by either NZQA or the New Zealand Vice Chancellors' Committee (where appropriate); or

(c)      is part of a training scheme that:

(i)        leads to an award with a credit value greater than 20 credits; and

(ii)      has been quality assured by NZQA; or

(d)     is part of a programme that leads to the award of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Level 2 that is aligned with one or more of the Vocational Pathways; and

(e)     includes embedded literacy and numeracy provision (except for qualifications in ESOL or Te Reo Māori); and

(f)       includes an assessment process, under which students are assessed using the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool (except for qualifications taught predominantly in Te Reo Māori); and

(g)      involves synchronous learning (delivered in real-time to the student); and

(h)     may be delivered extramurally, provided you have our prior approval; and

(i)        is provided by tutors who are appropriately qualified. The appropriateness of a  tutor’s qualification depends on the qualification being delivered, including specialist areas, such as ESOL, Te Reo Māori and supported learning, as well as capability around the delivery of embedded literacy and numeracy, for relevant provision (see condition 5.1 (c)).

5.2       Literacy and numeracy assessment tool

You must have in place an effective assessment process for identifying each student’s initial literacy and numeracy needs and measure their progress using the most appropriate version of the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool (including Adult, Youth, Te Ata Hāpara and Starting Points).

5.3       Health and safety or regulatory compliance learning

(a)    You must not use SAC1&2 Fund Funding to fund a qualification where a majority of the courses in the qualification relate to health and safety or regulatory compliance.

(b)   When determining whether a majority of the courses in a qualification relate to health and safety or regulatory compliance, we will:

(i)      exclude courses from that calculation that are integral to the skills and knowledge recognised through the qualification; and

(ii)    include the following courses in that calculation:    

A.      discrete short packages of health and safety or regulatory compliance learning (usually under 20 credits);

B.      learning that displaces the responsibility of an employer to provide the necessary training for the mitigation of health and safety, and regulatory compliance risks; and

C.      courses that contain learning about health and safety and/or regulatory compliance that will only lead to the completion of health and safety and/or regulatory compliance learning, rather than a whole qualification.

5.4       Making changes to qualifications

(a)  Before making a minor change to a qualification, you must:

(i)    obtain approval for the minor change from the relevant quality assurance body (if required), that is:

A.  NZQA, if you are a PTE; or

B.  NZQA or your Academic Board, if you are an ITP or a Wānanga; or

C.  NZVCC, if you are a University; and

(ii)   notify us of the change and provide the relevant information; and

(iii)  obtain approval from us to update the course or qualification register.

(b)  Before making a significant change to a qualification, you must:

(i)    obtain approval from the relevant quality assurance body;

(ii)   provide the relevant information to us (including evidence of approval from the quality assurance body) to enable us to determine whether or not to approve the change; and

(iii)  obtain approval from us to make the significant change.

(c)   For the purposes of this Condition:

(i)    a "minor change" to a qualification is a change that does not change the size, level, core content, or EFTS value of the qualification; and

(ii)   a "significant change" to a qualification is a change to:

A.    the EFTS value of the qualification; or

B.    the total number of credits in the qualification; or

C.    the timeframe to complete the qualification; or

D.    the level of the qualification in the NZQF; or

E.    in relation to ITPs, Wānanga and PTEs:

• the location or locations at which the qualification is delivered; or
• the delivery mode of the qualification; or
• the number of courses that each student is expected to undertake to achieve the qualification; or
• pre-requisite requirements.

5.5       Assigning EFTS values to qualifications

(a)  You must:

(i)    use the following three methods to determine the EFTS value of a qualification:

A.    credits; and

B.    learning hours; and

C.    full-time teaching weeks; and

(ii)   ensure that a qualification designed to be delivered within a year (being any 12 month period) is limited to a maximum of 1 EFTS, even if obtaining the qualification requires more than 120 credits, (1,200 notional hours of learning, or 34 full-time teaching weeks), unless we have approved an exception to this limit; and

(iii)  provide us with information on the three methods of calculating EFTS values (being credits, learning hours, and full-time teaching weeks) when you enter qualification details on our STEO website.

(b) For the purposes of SAC1&2Fund Funding, 1 EFTS equates to a programme of study or training that is 120 credits (1,200 notional learning hours delivered over 34 teaching weeks).

(c) If you submit for approval for SAC1&2 Fund Funding a qualification that has two or more strands, it must propose an EFTS value for the qualification that is based on the strand that contains highest number of credits that you are approved to deliver for the qualification. A strand is a combination of courses that leads to the award of a qualification.

(d) For the purposes of this Condition, and Condition 5.5, notional learning hours comprises of learning activities leading towards achievement of programme or qualification learning outcomes (planned by you and communicated by you to the student). Learning activities include but are not limited to:

(i)    lecturer and tutor contact hours, including workshops and tutorials;

(ii)   tests and assignments;

(iii)  supervised practical placements;

(iv) study time;

(v)  self-directed learning activities that the student is expected to engage with and participate in (with tutorial support available); and

(vi) examination periods.

5.6       Limit on EFTS values for qualifications

You must not assign an EFTS value of more than 1.0 EFTS per year to a qualification, for which you seek approval of SAC1&2 Fund Funding, unless you have received approval from us.  In approving an exception to this Condition, we will consider additional criteria, including whether you:

(a)  will inform each student accurately about his or her higher than normal expected study commitments; and

(b)  have support mechanisms in place for each student who has difficulty coping with the intensity of the course.

5.7       Assigning course classifications

You must accurately assign each of your courses to a course classification listed in the “Course Classification Prescription” of Appendix 2 of the then-current funding mechanism named Determination of Design of Funding Mechanism: Student Achievement Component - provision at Level 3 and above on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework available on our website.

5.8       Assigning courses to a funding category

You must accurately assign each of your courses to a funding category listed in the “Funding Category tables” of Appendix 2 of the funding mechanism named Determination of Design of Funding Mechanism: Student Achievement Component - provision at Level 3 and above on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework available on our website.

(a)    You must ensure that SAC1&2 Fund Funding is only used for the relevant programmes and activities at Levels 1 and 2 on the NZQF which are specified in your approved investment plan (unless exempt) or equivalent arrangement.  For the purposes of calculating the value of your approved SAC1&2 funded delivery, we use a metric comprising of:

(i)      the number of valid domestic enrolments measured in EFTS; and

(ii)    the qualifications, and their component courses, in which students are enrolled, and the assigned course classifications, funding categories, and funding rates of those qualifications and component courses.

(b)   You may only claim SAC1&2 Fund Funding for a student who:

(i)      is and continues to be for the length of the Funding Period a valid domestic enrolment as described in paragraph 4.1(a); and

(ii)    has completed 10% or one month of the course for which they have enrolled, whichever is the earlier.

6.1       No charging fees

(a)  You must not charge a fee to a student enrolled in a qualification funded from SAC1&2  Funding.

(b)  For the purposes of this Condition, the term “fee” includes the following items: tuition fees, compulsory course costs, examination fees, cost of materials, costs of field trips, costs associated with the compulsory purchase of equipment or books through a TEO, and other charges associated with a course that is part of a qualification.

(c)   However, the term "fee" does not include compulsory student services fees or fees for student identification cards.

6.2       Provision of equipment, infrastructure and hardware

(a)  You must pay for the necessary equipment, infrastructure, and hardware required to deliver a particular course or qualification.

(b)  When providing essential equipment (including computers, diving hardware, and chainsaws), you must not:

(i)    include the costs in any fee, compulsory course cost, or compulsory student service fee, charged to a student; or

(ii)   require a student to meet the costs through the "course-related costs" component of the Student Loan Scheme as a condition of the student's enrolment.

(c)   For the purposes of this Condition, "equipment, infrastructure, and hardware":

(i)    means items that can be used by successive intakes of students; and

(ii)   does not include personal items that are provided for individual students' use and that you do not retain for the next intake of students.

6.3       Special Supplementary Grant for Special Education (SSG Special Education)

(a)  The purpose of the SSG Special Education is to provide additional tutorial support for students with special needs to ensure these students gain the knowledge and skills needed to take part in social and economic life in New Zealand.

(b)  If you receive SSG Special Education you must submit a report relating to your use of SSG Special Education funding at the end of the calendar year. The report must be submitted before 31 January of the following year. It must be submitted using the template provided to you by us and include the required information.

If you charge a compulsory student services fee, at the beginning of each year you must publish on your website:

(a) basic CSSF information for the year, including the amount charged per EFTS and a description of the student services the fee supports;

(b) a description of the current year’s CSSF decision-making process – including a description of how the current fee and services offered were determined, how consultation with students occurred and what the decisions were; and

(c) a description of how students can be involved in CSSF decisions for the following year – how you propose to consult with your students and what issues might be considered.

You must meet any minimum performance standards specified by us, including any minimum performance standards specified in your Investment Plan.

It is a Condition of funding that you consent, for the purposes of section 37A(a) of the Statistics Act 1975, to Statistics New Zealand disclosing information to the Ministry of Education and to us from its Integrated Data Infrastructure that identifies or may identify you.

The Statistics Act 1975 does not constrain the ongoing use or sharing of your TEO-level data once it is disclosed.

If you are a TEI, you must participate as appropriate in benchmarking, including:

(a)  providing the vendor with financial and performance information as requested, in a timely manner, and

(b)  engaging with the vendor over follow-up questions and related quality assurance processes, in a timely manner, and

(c)   contributing to the cost of the agreement between us and the vendor, at a rate we determine.

(a)  You must not subcontract any of the funded activities without our prior written consent.

(b)  You:

(i)    must comply with any conditions imposed by us on the consent to subcontract, and

(ii)   must ensure that the subcontracted party does not further subcontract any functions, and

(iii)  will remain accountable to us for the use of the SAC1&2 (Non-competitive) Fund Funding.

(a)  If you receive SAC1&2 Fund Funding and/or SSG funding that is greater than it should have been, or that you were not entitled to receive, you must treat the amount of the over-funding as a debt due to the Crown that:

(i)    is repayable on demand, and

(ii)   may be set-off against all or any funding, or any sum of money payable by us to you.

(b)  For the purposes of this Condition, you will have received SAC1&2 Fund Funding that was “greater than it should have been” if the total dollar value of the provision that was delivered by you within the funding year is less than 99% of the total value of the provision paid to you from SAC1&2 Fund Funding.  In that situation, the percentage of funding that is repayable is equal to the difference between the bottom of the tolerance band (99%) and the percentage value of the provision that was delivered.

(c)   We may recover a proportion of your funding for enrolments above the prior qualification limit.

If we suspend, revoke or withdraw some or all of your SAC1&2 Fund Funding and/or SSG funding under section 159YG of the Education Act before some or all of that funding has been used or contractually committed towards the purposes for which the funding was provided, you must treat the unexpended or uncommitted portion of the funding as debt due to the Crown that is:

(a)  repayable on demand by us; and

(b)  may be set-off against all or any funding, or any sum payable by us to you.