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.