Monitoring update: July 2024

At the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), we gather a range of information about common issues through our monitoring work. We’re committed to partnering with tertiary education organisations (TEOs) and sharing learnings from our monitoring work to help the sector build capability. That way, we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.

This update includes information about:

Unapproved subcontracting arrangements

We have recently become aware that some TEOs have subcontracted delivery of funded provision without approval.

Under our funding conditions, you must not subcontract any funded activities without our written consent. If you are quality assured by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), you must also have their written approval. Where activities are subcontracted, you must ensure that the subcontractor does not further subcontract any activities.

These criteria are to ensure that the subcontracted provider delivers quality provision and TEOs maintain pastoral care. TEOs we fund remain accountable for the delivery of funded programmes and their educational quality.

In cases of unapproved subcontracting, we may recover funding for the subcontracted course(s) or qualification(s).

If you have any questions about subcontracting, please contact your relationship manager or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

Fees Free

Scholarships

As noted in previous updates and sector communications, the TEC has been increasing its monitoring to ensure TEOs are complying with funding conditions, including the requirements set out in Fees Free agreements.

Recently we have become aware of scholarships being offered with criteria that exclude learners who are eligible for Fees Free.

As outlined in all Fees Free agreements, learners’ circumstances do not differ based solely on whether they are eligible for Fees Free. Accordingly, eligibility for Fees Free is not a basis for charging learners different fees.

TEOs may be in breach of their Fees Free agreement if learners who are eligible for Fees Free, and who meet a scholarship’s other eligibility criteria, are prohibited from applying. This is contrary to the purpose of your Fees Free agreement, which aims to prevent exactly this type of situation.

If you offer or are considering offering scholarships, please review the funding conditions, including those in your Fees Free agreement, and contact the TEC’s Monitoring and Crown Ownership team at mco@tec.govt.nz if you need any further support or advice.

Fees Free from 2025

The Government has announced that Fees Free for the first year of study and training will finish at the end of 2024 and be replaced with a final-year Fees Free scheme starting in January 2025 with the following parameters:

Learners entering their final year of study or training from 1 January 2025 and who have not received first-year Fees Free may be eligible for the new final-year Fees Free scheme.
Eligibility will include provider and work-based study or training at Levels 3 and above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework.
Learners will be repaid after they complete their qualification, with refunds starting from 2026.

We are working through transition arrangements for first-year Fees Free learners as well as detailed policy design and implementation for the final-year Fees Free scheme. You can find more information on first-year Fees Free transition rules on the TEC website.

As further decisions are made, we will continue to update TEOs via the Fees Free section on the TEC website, Fees Free Focus newsletter and future monitoring updates.

Correct reporting of completion status

In recent audits, we have identified several TEOs that have recorded incorrect statuses when filling in “the completion status” of a course in the Single Data Return (SDR). This is a particular issue when distinguishing between a student completing a course “unsuccessfully” and not completing a course.

A student will be reported as completing the course unsuccessfully (code 3) when they have completed requirements for course completion, but unsuccessfully, as set out in the approved course descriptor or outline. A student will be reported as not completing a course (code 4) if they have not attempted or met all requirements for successful course completion. This includes learners who have formally or informally withdrawn from the course outside of the allowable withdrawal period.

The Ministry of Education uses successful and unsuccessful completion information for tertiary sector reporting and policy purposes. TEC also use it for the purposes of investment, funding, monitoring, and publication of performance information. For further assistance contact your relationship manager or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

For further information on reporting requirements please refer to the 2024 SDR manual.

Changes to delivery sites

It is important that your delivery site details are up to date (including removing delivery sites that are no longer used) to ensure accurate reporting to the TEC as well as wider sector reporting to the Ministry of Education.

You can view, edit or delete delivery site information through Services for Tertiary Education Organisations (STEO). Further details on how to do this are available in the STEO user guide.

If you are making edits to a delivery site, or deleting a site, you do not need to notify the TEC of this. However, you must ensure all reporting requirements have been completed against the delivery site before you make any updates to it in STEO.

If you have any questions, you should contact your relationship manager or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

Expiring qualifications

As a reminder, TEC cannot fund expired qualifications. Once NZQA assigns an expiry date to a qualification, we will not fund any new students that you enrol after the last date of entry of that qualification (ie, the last date a learner can be enrolled in a programme leading to that qualification).

If you have any questions, contact your relationship manager or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

Visa conditions and wellbeing assistance

In light of current cost-of-living challenges, please be aware of a student’s immigration status when advising on financial support that they can apply for (eg, the Emergency benefit through Work and Income New Zealand).

It is important that you check the visa conditions as some conditions mean seeking financial assistance from anyone other than family members could jeopardise a student’s ability to remain in New Zealand.

Immigration New Zealand has highlighted this as an issue for some providers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) programmes.

For further guidance, please contact Immigration New Zealand