Many Māori, Pacific, disabled and low-income learners face barriers that prevent them from starting or successfully completing tertiary study. 

We know tertiary education organisations (TEOs) are committed to addressing these barriers to support all learners to succeed. However, using piecemeal equity initiatives have limited impact. Together, we need to intentionally design the system to put learners and their whānau at the centre.

The symposium showed that universities, wānanga and Te Pūkenga are focused on achieving equity. Full commitment means implementing a whole-of-organisation approach to learner success, which requires TEOs and the TEC to work collaboratively to reach this goal.  

Cross-sector commitment and drive to achieve equity evident at symposium

At the University of Canterbury’s two-day Tūwhitia! Transforming Tertiary symposium on 5 and 6 September, you could see the cross-sector’s commitment and drive to achieving equity by adopting learner success approaches.

One hundred experts and practitioners from universities, wānanga, Te Pūkenga, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Ministry of Education and the Tertiary Education Commission attended the symposium. We explored ways to heighten learner success using the four layers of Tokona te Raki’s framework for systems-change. 

• Kawa – Vision, leadership and narrative needed for transformation
• Tikanga – Structural, systems, policies and cultural dimensions of change
• Ritenga – Behavioural components to enact change
• Putanga – Data, monitoring and evaluation systems to support change

These four themes of the symposium align with the Ōritetanga Learner Success Framework and the seven capabilities TEOs need to get right to enable learners to succeed.

Thank you to the University of Canterbury for initiating this cross-sector kōrero and we look forward to attending the next symposium hosted by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa next year. By working together, sharing knowledge, experiences and engaging in events like this symposium, we can create a system that enables success for all learners and their whānau.