For resources to help you submit your SDR, see:

• SDR Resources
• DXP Ngā Kete user guides. 

What is the SDR and what is the data used for? 

The SDR is an electronic database of learner enrolment and completion information required by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).

The data is used for:

• monitoring performance against your Investment Plan  
• funding and fund recovery  
• publishing performance information
• statistical reporting. 

Who needs to complete an SDR?

All tertiary education organisations (TEOs) need to complete an SDR three times a year if they:

• receive funding for Delivery at Levels 1–10 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework, including Youth Guarantee (YG), and/or
• have students accessing student loans or allowances from StudyLink. 

Completing an SDR is a condition of funding, and it’s important that you do so accurately and on time. Late or incomplete submissions can result in delays to your scheduled payments. See SDR submission dates.

You need to provide information about each of your enrolled students, regardless of the level of study or the type of funding.

How do I complete my SDR?

To view, upload and submit your SDR, login to DXP Ngā Kete.  

More information about DXP Ngā Kete, including how to request access, is available from DXP Ngā Kete.

Step-by-step guidance is available in the DXP Ngā Kete user guides.  

What data do I need to submit?

Data Specifications for the SDR describes all the data you need to submit in your SDR and the formats that are required.  

The following are available from SDR resources:

• Data Specifications for the SDR – includes all data requirements, file and field formats and validation rules. Appendix B includes any new or changed requirements for the year (previously in the SDR Manual)
• DXP Data Classifications Appendices – includes data classifications referred to in the SDR data specifications (previously appendix to the SDR Manual)
• Example upload files required for the SDR in CSV file format
• Generic enrolment form. 

Workforce questionnaire (WFQ)  

The workforce questionnaire collects data on staff employed in tertiary education providers that receive government funding.  

It collects data on staff numbers for the full calendar year. You need to submit the WFQ in conjunction with your December SDR.

Correct delivery classification and funding category codes

It’s important that you use the correct codes for your provision. These are in the Delivery Classification Guide.  

Correct Source of Funding codes (SoF)

It’s important that you report the correct Source of Funding codes in the SDR. They are in the data specifications.  

If you have any questions about the codes, please contact us on 0800 601 301 or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

Late or inaccurate data

Submitting late or inaccurate SDR data may affect current or future funding or result in additional monitoring processes. For example, we could ask you to use an external auditor to confirm that your data is valid and accurate before you submit each SDR.

When do I need to submit my SDR? 

Submission dates are available from SDR submission dates.  

Can I submit trial SDRs before the round opens?

It is important to upload trial SDR runs in the lead-up to each SDR submission round. This provides early notice of any data errors to be corrected in your Student Management System (SMS) before you will be able to complete your SDR submission.

Do I need to update qualification, course or delivery site registers before I complete an SDR?

Qualification register

Enter new qualifications or submit changes to the credits, levels or other information in the qualification register at any time during the year. You don’t need to wait until just before your SDR is due. However, if your SDR report needs to include the change of any qualifications, you will need to submit your change requests through DXP Ngā Kete before you submit a trial or final SDR.

Course register

Enter new courses or submit changes to the credits, fees, levels or other information at any time during the year. You don’t need to wait until just before your SDR is due. However, if you need to update the course information for the SDR, you will need to submit course change requests through DXP Ngā Kete before you submit a trial or final SDR.

Course change requests where the total tuition fee is within the Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM) for the year will be automatically approved as part of the change request submit process.  

Exceptions are:

• funded micro-credentials
• training schemes under review
• any new courses, and 
• any courses with additional changes to other fields.  

These change requests require review and manual approval by our Customer Contact Group.

Note also that change requests for multiple changes to courses (eg, as a result of changing the disaggregation approach for a qualification) should be submitted before the courses start each year. We don’t approve in-year change requests resulting from substantial disaggregation for the current year.

Delivery site register

Delivery site information in DXP Ngā Kete is used to analyse regional funding and provision.  

Changes to delivery sites can be made at any time during the year. Please submit update requests early so that we can process and approve them in time for your SDR submission.

Do I need to update my forecast before I submit my SDR?

If you are delivering qualifications eligible for TEC funding at Level 3 and above, with a Source of Funding code of 01, 29 or 37, you need to provide an equivalent full-time student (EFTS) forecast with each round. The forecast should not include TEC-funded provision for Levels 1 and 2 or Youth Guarantee.

What happens if I don’t submit by the due date?

The data from every SDR is used for government policy and budget processes and to plan and monitor our ongoing investment in tertiary education.

If you submit your data late or with errors, or resubmit it with changes, this can have flow-on effects for us and for other TEOs.  

Resubmissions of August or December SDRs are not accepted unless we have approved the resubmission (which we will do only in exceptional circumstances).

Resubmissions of the April SDR are only accepted during a set period (which we will let you know about each year) to allow you to review your educational performance indicator (EPI) data. Outside this set period, resubmissions of the April SDR are only accepted in exceptional circumstances. We may ask you to consider making any corrections in later SDR submissions in the next SDR round.

All resubmissions outside published timeframes are treated as late data submissions.

What are "exceptional circumstances"?

"Exceptional circumstances" are those that are genuinely unforeseeable and that you could not have proactively managed.

We are unlikely to consider the following circumstances to be exceptional:

• Data issues identified during or after the sale and purchase of a TEO. If you are purchasing a TEO, you need to be confident that its historical SDR data is accurate.
• Student Management System (SMS) software errors. Submit trial SDRs early to identify and address any issues well in advance of the final submission deadline.
• A change of SMS, resulting in errors. If you are changing your SMS, you need to be confident you can do this without risking errors.
• Errors made by a staff member that were identified later. You are responsible for ensuring that your staff submit accurate data.  
• Not checking your organisation’s EPI data from the April SDR in time. You are responsible for reading and responding to our announcements about when data is available for you to review. 

Our Stop Gate process

Our Stop Gate helps us manage late submissions and resubmissions of a full set of files. This means you need to submit a full set of SDR files by the due date for each round.

We will decide whether or not to approve a submission outside of the SDR round on a case-by-case basis. You can also resubmit your data if we find an error after submission, with our permission.

The process is as follows:

• Contact us on 0800 601 301 or customerservice@tec.govt.nz as soon as possible.
• We will then send you an SDR late/resubmission request (Stop Gate request) form to complete and submit.
• Once your SDR submission has the status of “Processed” (with zero errors) please send the completed form to customerservice@tec.govt.nz with the subject line [EDUMIS #] – SDR Stop Gate Request.
• Your request will be forwarded to the Customer Contact Group Manager to consider for approval.
• If we approve your request, we will advise you of the due date and lift the Stop Gate, allowing you to submit your processed (with zero errors) SDR.
• If we decline your request, we will advise you of the reason for that decision. 

This does not affect the SDR validation, processing and submission process. You can still submit course register, course and qualification completion files at any time, and we encourage you to do so, particularly after the December round so we can confirm your EPIs as early as possible.

You must use the period between the December SDR and the published April SDR deadline to carefully review and update your EPI data, if necessary. This ensures it is correct at the time of publication on the TEC website.

Notes:  

Any amendment to a previously submitted SDR may have an impact on future funding and performance monitoring.

If the data from an SDR has been published in a report (such as statistical reporting), the published data can no longer be altered. 

Need help? 

If you have any questions about accessing your Education Sector Login (ESL), contact the Ministry of Education Service Desk on service.desk@education.govt.nz or call 0800 422 599 from Monday to Friday between 7.30am and 5.30pm.

For all other queries please email the TEC Customer Contact Group on customerservice@tec.govt.nz using the subject [EDUMIS #] SDR enquiry, or call 0800 601 301.