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Consultation begins on disability question asked at enrolment

Consultation begins on disability question asked at enrolment

Last updated 14 December 2022
Last updated 14 December 2022

Consultation is now closed, thank you to those who participated.

The Tertiary Education Commission is consulting on proposed changes to the disability information collected at enrolment. We intend to update the disability enrolment question(s) to help identify and support disabled learners entering the tertiary system.

Consultation opened this week, with feedback due by 5pm, Friday, 4 November 2022.

This work has arisen out of the learner component of the new unified funding system (UFS) under the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE). The learner component substantially increases funding for providers to support all learners, particularly those who traditionally have not been well served by the education system, including disabled learners.

“This year we have engaged with disability and tertiary sector groups to help us understand how we can improve the disability information we collect,” said Gillian Dudgeon, TEC Deputy Chief Executive, Delivery.

This engagement has confirmed that the current question does not adequately measure the number of learners with disabilities at enrolment. It has also confirmed that providers and learners support a change to the disability enrolment question.

“Providers want better quality information to help them better understand and support their learners, and learners want opportunities for support at enrolment.”

TEC has used sector feedback to develop three disability question options.

Option 1 has two questions, the first question asking about support needs, the second question asking about disability status.

Option 2 has a single question asking about detailed impairment categories.

Option 3 has a single question asking about broad impairment categories.

We are seeking sector feedback on the three options, on which they prefer and why, and what potential impacts providers and Student Management System (SMS) vendors foresee on their operational systems.

TEC is proposing to change the disability question that is asked at enrolment from 2024, beginning with changes to the Generic Enrolment form for provider-based enrolments. The timing of the change, however, will depend on other reporting system changes that are also due to be implemented by 2025 as part of TEC’s long-term IT solution.

We have invited tertiary education and disability sector groups to participate in the consultation, including providers, SMS vendors, learner groups, advocacy groups, and government agencies. If you would also like to participate in the consultation, or have any questions about the process, please contact us at customerservice@tec.govt.nz, subject line 'Consultation on disability enrolment questions'.