The education system in New Zealand is divided into three tiers: pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education. The one year of pre-school or kindergarten is non-mandatory and privately operated; the six years of primary school, two of intermediate (primary) and five of secondary are provided free to citizens and permanent residents, with 12 years being mandatory. Education up to the calendar year following age 19 is considered a right; for the disabled, this is age 21. Most schools deal either with primary, intermediate or secondary only but in rural areas there are schools that cater for all levels in the same system.
The school year normally begins in January and ends mid-December. Education is now identified by year number, with a total of 15. Students must finish Year 8 of primary school by the end of the school year after they turn 14 yet it is usual for students leaving year 8 to be 12-13 years. Year 13 is considered to be the end of secondary school, but there is a year 14 for those under 19 who continue with secondary school.
Education, including post-compulsory levels, is under regulation by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) which sets and monitors qualifications to a national standard for primary, secondary and vocational education and training.
a) School education
New Zealand has state, private and state-integrated systems. State and state-integrated are government funded. Private schools are government funded up to about 25%, the remainder coming from tuition fees. The state-integrated schools were private schools which have integrated into the state system but retain their original special character. It is estimated that about 86% of school-age children attend state schools, 10% integrated and 4% private. Fewer than 2% of children are home-schooled, this based on proof that the quality is equivalent to the national standard. There is an annual grant allowed for this, which includes Correspondence school services.
Pre-Primary Level
Not all but many children attend some form of pre-school, although this is not mandatory, nor free. The types of pre-schooling available in New Zealand are: Playcentre from birth to school age; Kindergarten, ages 3–5; Kohanga Reo, literally ‘language nests’ that immerse children from birth to school age in Maori language; Licensed Early Childhood Centres, ages 0–5, which are usually privately owned; and chartered Early Childhood Centres, ages 0–5, which are state funded.
Primary Level
Students begin primary level on their 5th birthday or the first school day following and usually finish by age 12-13. If a 5-year-old starts primary school at the beginning of the year up to a cut off date around 31 March, they start at year 1, if a child reaches 5 after that cut-off date, they start at year 0. Primary schooling ends at year 8, which may include 2 years at an intermediate level.
Secondary Level
Secondary level is up to 5 years, covering Years 9-13 and ages 13-18. Compulsory secondary education ends at year 13. At this stage, students are attempting to qualify for the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), a government-run qualification system. The NCEA, involving internal and external assessments, has levels that correspond with each of the last three years of secondary school. A few New Zealand schools allow the option of either the IGCSE/A-levels (‘Cambridge exams’) or an International Baccalaureate Diploma although neither are registered with the NZQA. The IGSCE is sat at Year 11, the A-level in Year 12; these are aimed at internationally-recognised qualifications.
Non-Government Schools
The Ministry of Education lists 86 private schools accredited to teach from pre-school to secondary levels (year 13) in New Zealand. 65% of these are deciles 10 and 99, which indicate the students are from high socio-economic households. From the July 2011 directory of these schools, 28,549 students attend these private schools; of these 73.8% are European/Pākehā (European-descent New Zealanders), 4.7% Māori, 12.1% Asian-New Zealanders, 5.1% international students and 4.2% a total of New Zealand residents of Pasifika origin. At post-secondary level Private Training Educational institutions (PTEs) deliver NZQA-accredited certificate, diploma, degree courses often aimed at employment. Umbrella organisations such as Independent Schools of New Zealand (ISNZ), New Zealand Association of Private Education Providers (NZAPEP) and the Independent Tertiary Institutions (ITI)/Nga Wānanga Motuhake represent the interests of these private institutions.
b) Vocational education and training (VET)
There are 22 polytechnics in New Zealand, many of which now offer degree courses up to post-graduate level and many also involved in research activities. In addition to these 23, there are also three Wānanga, or indigenous public institutions that provide tertiary-level education in the form of certificates, diplomas and Bachelor's degrees as well as some that offer Masters degrees and Doctor of Philosophy diplomas.
Aoraki Polytechnic
Campuses around the central South Island offers courses and programmes at certificate and diploma level in Arts & Design, Beauty & Hairdressing, Business & Tourism, Health & Education, Hospitality, Information Technology, Media, Outdoor Education & Sport, Trades & Agriculture.
Bay Of Plenty Polytechnic
Located in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty, offering short courses, certificates, diplomas, degree programmes and pathways in Applied Sciences; Art, Design & Creative subjects, Business; Computing & Information Technology; Education & Humanities; Health & Beauty; Tourism, Travel & hospitality; and Trades & Technology.
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Located in Christchurch, offering courses up to graduate level including Adventure Recreation; Animal Science; Architectural Studies; Art and Design; Automotive Engineering & Autobody; Bakery; Broadcasting; Business, ;Business Administration; Carpentry; Chef Training; CircoArts; Communication; Construction Management; Counselling; Digital Video Post Production; Education; English for Domestic Students and for International Students; Electrical Trades; Electrotechnology & Computer; Engineering, Engineering & Design; Fashion; Fitting; Turning & Toolmaking; Foundation and Pathways to Tertiary Study; Hairdressing; Hospitality Management; ICT; Information Design; International Languages; Interior Design & Décor; Joinery & Furniture Making; Maori Studies; Mathematics and Statistics; Medical Imaging; Mental Health Support; Midwifery; Musical Arts; Music Theatre; Bachelor of Nursing; Certificate in Nursing; Painting; Decorating & Plastering; Photography; Physical Activity; Wellness and Sports Science; Plastics & Polymer; Plumbing; Gasfitting & Drainlaying; Quantity Surveying; Restaurant, Wine and Bar; Science; Social Work; Teacher Training; Travel and Tourism; Welding & Fabrication.
Eastern Institute of Technology
Centred in Napier, offering postgraduate, degree, diploma and certificate level in five faculties: Arts and Social Sciences, Business and Computing, Health and Sport Science, Te Manga Māori, Science and Technology.
Manukau Institute of Technology
Located in Manukau city, offers 1500 full and part time certificate, diploma, degree and post graduate programmes in Engineering, Art and Design, Information Systems, Technology.
Media Design School (New Zealand)
Located in downtown Auckland, offering short courses and undergraduate and graduate courses in 3D Animation, Advanced 3D Productions, Visual Effects, Graphic Design, Digital Creativity, Creative Advertising, Digital Media, Creative Technologies, Game Development and Interactive Gaming.
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
With campuses in Nelson and Blenheim offering programmes at certificate, diploma or degree level in Arts and Media; Aviation; Business and Computer Technology; Health and Social Sciences; Marine Studies (New Zealand School of Fisheries); Te Tari Māori; Technology and Primary Industries; Tourism, Hospitality and Wellbeing; and the English Language School.
Northtec
Campuses and learning centres in Whangarei city and Kerikeri, Rawene, Kaikohe and Kaitaia, Northtec offers foundation to degree level courses Advanced Trades, Applied Environmental Sciences, Applied Writing, Architectural Technology, Automotive Engineering, Beauty & Hairdressing, Boatbuilding, Business, Civil Engineering, computing, Construction, Digital Media, e-Learning, Electrical engineering, English Language, Fashion, Forestry, Foundation studies, Horticulture & Landscape, Hospitality, Information Systems, massage, Mechanical Engineering, Nursing & Health, Occupational Safety & Health, Social Services, Sport & Recreation, Te Puna o te Matauranga, Tertiary Teaching, Tourism & Travel and Visual Arts.
Otago Polytechnic
Located in Dunedin, qualifications include Certificate, National Certificate, Diploma, National Diploma, Bachelor, Bachelor Honours, Graduate , Diploma/Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters, Short Courses, Certificate of Personal Interest / Professional Development with courses in Applied Business; Architecture, Building and Engineering; Art; Central Otago; Centre for Sustainable Practice; Design; Educational Development Centre; Foundation Learning; Hospitality; Information Technology; Midwifery; Natural Resources; Nursing; Occupational Therapy; Social Services; Sports Institute and Adventure; Veterinary Nursing.
Royal New Zealand Police College
Training in different areas of New Zealand Police including Armed Offenders Squad, Air Support Observation, Beat and Patrol, CIB, Commercial Vehicle Unit, Child Abuse Team, Community Relations, Cultural Relations, Cultural Liaison, Clan,Lab Unit, Crash Analysis, Calibration Services, Compulsory Breath Testing, Deployments, Dog Handling, Diplomatic Protection Squad, Dive Squad, Disaster Victim Identification, Evaluation Unit, Emergency Response, Financial Intelligence Unit, Forensics, , Family Safety Team, General Duties, Highway Patrol, Human Resources, Interpol, Information and Technology, Inquest, Kaitakawaenga , Liaison (Ethnic Liaison)Licensing , and Vetting, Law Enforcement Team, Legal, Marine Unit, Motorways, National Dive Squad, National Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, Organised Crime Unit, Organisational Performance, Operational Planning, Operational Support, Police Infringement Bureau, Policing Development, Prosecutions, Professional Standards, Road Policing Support Search & Rescue, Special Search Group, Support Observer Unit, Surveillance Squad, Strategic Traffic Unit, Special Tactics Group, Training, Technical Support Unit, Team Policing, Technical Support Services, VIP Protection Squad, Victim Rescue, Victim Recovery, Witness Protection, Youth Education, Youth Aid Section.
Southern Institute Of Technology
Main campus at Invercargill, offers certificate, diploma, Bachelor's degree and post graduate level in Business, Computing, Hospitality & Tourism, New Media & Arts (Journalism, Music, Audio Production, Dramatic Arts, Design & Visual Arts), Nursing, Nanny, English Language, Social Services, Health, Exercise & Recreation, Technology, Construction, Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Hairdressing, Beauty, Pharmacy and more.
Tai Poutini Polytechnic
Located in Greymouth, offering courses in Adult and Community education, Arts & Carving, automotive, Business & Computing, Civil & Mining, Construction, Ecotourism, Emergency Management, First Aid, Foundation, Hair & Beauty, Health, Health & Safety, Hospitality & Tourism, Industrial Access, Industry Management, Mining and Extractive Industries, Music & Audio, nanny, Outdoor Education, Professional Chef, Road Transport & Logistics, rural Studies, Ski Patrol and STAR.
Tairawhiti Polytechnic
Covering the area of Gisborne, Tokomaru Bay, Ruatoria and Napier with degree, diploma or certificate courses in Business Administration & Business Management, Catering & Hospitality, Computing & Information Technology, Early Childhood & Adult Education, Foundation, Health & Sport, Māori Studies, Rural Studies, Social Science, Toihoukura - Māori Visual Arts & Design, Trades with Training Opportunities & Youth Training.
Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre
Main campus is near Masterton with non-residential campuses near Stratford and at Taradale offering certificate and diploma courses in Agriculture, Horticulture, Trades, Fencing, Rural leadership, general farm skills and taster courses to try a variety.
Telford Rural Polytechnic
Rural education in the Otago region offering short courses, correspondence study and STAR courses in Agriculture, Equine, Forestry, Apiculture, Horticulture and Rural Business.
The Open Polytechnic
The Open Polytechnic is the specialist national provider of open and distance learning (ODL) and a major educator of people in the workplace. Our primary functions are to support Government economic and social transformation goals and make a key contribution to business and industry by providing flexible access to vocational learning.
Unitec New Zealand
Four campuses in Auckland, offering certificates, diplomas, degrees and doctorates in professional and vocational areas including Applied Technology & Trades, Architecture & Landscape, Business Studies, Communication Studies, community and Social Practice, Computing and Information Technology, Construction and Civil Engineering, Design & Visual Arts, Education, Foundation Studies, Health, Language Studies, Māori Education, Natural Sciences, Performing and Screen Arts, Sport and Travel & Tourism.
Universal College of Learning
Located in Palmerston North, Whanganui, and Wairarapa offering courses in Administration, Adult Teaching, Aromatherapy, Arts, Automotive, Beauty, Business, Carpentry, Chef Training, Computing, Early Childhood, Electrical, Electrotechnology, Fashion, Foundation programmes, Free & Easy, Furniture Making, Glass, Graphic Design, Hairdressing, Health Science, Hospitality, ICT, Interior Design, Management, Massage, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Imaging, Mental health, Motorsport, Music, Nanny, Nursing, STAR, Performing Arts, Photography, Science, Short Courses, Sport, Tourism & Travel and Veterinary Nursing.
Waiariki Institute Of Technology
Campuses in Rotorua, Taupo offering Diploma, Degree, National Certificates & Diplomas and Graduate Courses in areas including Business Administration, Accounting, IT, Hospitality, Forestry, Nursing, Art and Design, Fashion, Interior Design, Tourism and Travel, Early Childhood Education, Maori Education, Agriculture, Professional Cookery.
Waikato Institute of Technology
Located in the Waikato region offering short, part-time, undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Health & Social Services; Business; Sport & Education; Science & Engineering; Horticulture, Arboriculture, Agriculture & Animal Technology; Automotive, Construction, Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering & IMC; Information & Communication Technology; Hospitality, Hair, Beauty, Tourism, Events, Fitness, Outdoor Recreation, Massage & Security; Visual Arts, Design, Communication & Music.
Wanganui School of Design
Affiliated with UCOL (above) located in Whanganui, offers a Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design, Level 7.
Wellington Institute of Technology
WELTEC is located at Lower Hutt in Wellington and offers Certificates and Diplomas & Degrees in Animal Health & Husbandry; Automotive Technology; Built Environment; Business Studies; Construction Trades; Counselling and Alcohol & Drug Studies; Creative Technologies; Engineering and Electrical Trades; Engineering Technology; ESOL (English Language); Exercise Science & Recreation; Foundation Courses ; Funeral Services ; Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy & Makeup Artistry; Horticulture & Landscaping; Hospitality; Information Technology; Social Services; Teaching & Training and Tourism.
Whitireia Community Polytechnic
Locations in Porirua, Lindale, Wellington and Auckland offering courses in Automotive; Aviation; Beauty, Hairdressing & Cosmetic Services; Building Trades; Business & Management; Creative Writing; English Language; Foundation Education; Horticulture and Floristry; Hospitality & Professional Cookery; Information Technology; Journalism; Maori Art; Maori Nursing; Music; Nursing; Office Administration & Computing; Outdoor Adventure & Tourism; Pacific Nursing; Paramedics; Performing Arts; Photography; Postgraduate Nursing; Publishing; Retail & First Line Management; Social & Community Work; Te Reo Maori; Teaching; Transport; Visual Arts & Design; Waka Ama; Whitireia Performing Arts Centre and Youth Programmes.
Wānanga
Te Wananga O Aotearoa (Māori for the University of New Zealand)
In over 80 locations throughout the country Aotearoa offers certificate to degree level qualifications to all ages. Polytechnic courses in Foundation studies, Maori studies, Humanities, Arts, and Computing and Business. Guided by Māori principles and values.
Awanuiarangi Main Campus in Whakatane
Undergraduate and graduate studies in Education, Environmental Studies, Health Sciences, Humanities, Matauranga Maori, Bridging courses – Aka ki te Wananga - Tamaki, MAI ki Awanuiarangi, Indigenous Studies, Maori Studies, MATAHIHIKO, Seafood māori, Te Awa Reo, Te Awa Tuapapa
Raukawa
Located in Otaki offering courses from certificate through to Masters level in Administration & Management; Entrepreneurial Development, Māori Design and Art, Hapū Development, Environmental Studies, Health, Multimedia, Information management, Mātauranga Māori, Literary Performing Arts, Māori Laws and Philosophy, NGA Akonga o Te Reo Māori, Computing, Social work and Teaching.
Colleges of Education
The main teacher’s training colleges, as these were previously known, have merged with universities in their areas by now but still retain the name ‘Colleges of Education’. There is a college of Education attached to the universities in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin (Otago). Any privately owned teacher training institution not attached to a university cannot be known as a College of Education as this term is protected by Act of Parliament.
c) Higher education
Pre-Tertiary and Tertiary Education
Post-secondary education in New Zealand is provided by a range of institutions including Private Training Establishments, Colleges of Education (Teachers College), Polytechnics and Universities. There are three indigenous tertiary institutions throughout New Zealand known as Open Polytechnics that offer certificates, diplomas and Bachelor's degrees as well as Master's degrees and a Doctor of Philosophy diploma.
Private Training Establishments
There are numerous PTEs in New Zealand and provide NZQA-accredited courses with some offering certificates, diplomas and degrees. They provide different training from public intuitions’, often employment-oriented, in a quick time frame and a supportive environment. Tutors of these institutions are normally from industry rather than academia. There are many language training institutions in this category.
Universities
There are eight government-funded universities in New Zealand. Universities main term times are from early February until mid-November. Entrance to university is considered ‘open’ with University Entrance (UE), based on NCEA results, giving entrance to New Zealand universities. Students over the age of 20 do not normally need to meet academic entrance criteria to be enrolled in university. University is on a user-pay basis but are subsidised by the government.
The University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin was established in 1869 and is considered to be the oldest university in the country. It has about 20,000 students, offering postgraduate & undergraduate degrees, diplomas & certificates and short courses in continuing education. It is based on a 2-semester system running from February to November with summer school programmes offered from January -February. It is divided into four academic divisions, the Schools of Business, Health Sciences, Humanities and a Division of Sciences. Many of its courses are available via distance learning. It has health sciences campuses in Christchurch and Wellington, a centre in Auckland and a College of Education in Invercargill. It claims to be New Zealand’s most research-intensive university.
The University of Canterbury
In Christchurch was established in 1873. It uses a 2-semester system running from February–November with a summer school programme from November–February. It’s qualifications include preparatory; undergraduate bachelors, certificates and diplomas; graduate certificates and diplomas; and postgraduate diplomas and degrees. Academic departments and schools include Accounting & Information Systems; Biological Sciences; Chemical and process Engineering; Chemistry; Civil and Natural Resources Engineering; Communication Disorders; Computer Science and Software Engineering; Economics and Finance; Educational Studies & Human Development; Electrical & Computer Engineering; Fine Arts, Music and Theatre; forestry; Geography; Geological Sciences; Humanities; Law; languages, Cultures & Linguistics; Literacies & Arts in Education; Management; Māori and Indigenous Studies; Māori, Social & Cultural Studies in Education; Mathematics & Statistics; Mechanical Engineering; Physics & Astronomy; Psychology; Sciences & physical Education; Social & Political Sciences; and Social Work & Human Services. Canterbury had 22,001 students in 2010.
The University of Auckland
In central Auckland, since 1883, where it has established itself as The City Campus. The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s largest university with 39,940 students in 2009. Teaching and research is conducted over eight faculties, a School of Theology and two large-scale research institutes; included in these are the Faculties of Arts, Education, Engineering, Law, Medical & Health Sciences; Science; the Business School; National Institute of Creative Arts & Industries; Liggins Institute and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. Based on a 2-semester system its courses run from February–October with summer school from January–February. It offers community education and short courses for business and professional people.
Auckland University of Technology
Is the youngest University in New Zealand. It was founded in the 2000 based on previous incarnations as a technical school: 1895 - Auckland Technical School, 1913 - Seddon Memorial Technical College, 1963 - Auckland Technical Institute and 1989 - Auckland Institute of Technology. It’s has over 25,000 students enrolled in its courses. Offers diplomas and certificates, undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas, certificates and degrees in Arts & Design, Business, Communications, Computing & Mathematical sciences, Creative Technologies, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Hospitality & Tourism, languages & Social Sciences, Law, Sciences, Sport & Recreation and Te Ara Poutama—Māori Development. Based on a 2-semester system, its courses run from February – November. It also offers short courses in Computing, Engineering, Health, Hospitality, Language, Māori Development, Nutrition, Science and Sport & Fitness and a full range of summer school courses.
Victoria University of Wellington
Was founded in 1897, the Year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebration and named in her hounour. Spread across four campuses in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, with a student enrolment of 22,270 in 2009. It is based on a 3-trimester system, the 1st and 2nd trimesters held from February – November and the 3rd during the summer months of November - February. It has eight faculties; these are the faculties of Architecture & Design, Commerce & Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Research, Humanities & Social Sciences; Law and Science, and Toihuarewa, a separate pan-University faculty equivalent. Qualifications include university preparation, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and incorporates distance learning programmes. Victoria offers Conjoint undergraduate degrees.
Massey University
With a main campus in Palmerston North and smaller campuses in Auckland and Wellington, was established in 1927 as an agricultural college. It has the highest number of extramural students of all New Zealand universities. It has over 35,000 internal and extramural students. Based on a 2-semester system and summer school, it’s semesters run from February - November and summer school from November – February. Programmes offered are certificates, diplomas and both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and Conjoint Bachelor degrees. Teaching and research departments are divided into five colleges: Business, Creative Arts, Education, Humanities & Social Sciences and Sciences with 30 institutes, schools, departments and centres Massey is the only university in New Zealand with a Veterinary Science programme and to offer a Bachelor of Aviation degree.
The University of Waikato
Was established in Hamilton in 1964. It has a yearly student population of about 13,000. Qualifications at Waikato include pathways to university; research; or higher, degree; Undergraduate (including conjoint) degrees; and Postgraduate Study through its Faculties: Arts & Social Sciences, Computing & Mathematical Sciences, Education, Law, Science & Engineering and its Schools: Māori and Pacific Development and Management. Waikato is based on a 2-semester system with classes beginning in early March and going through November and 2 summer schools, one from early November – mid-December, the second from the beginning of January – mid-February.
Lincoln University
Located outside of Christchurch at Lincoln. It was established as a university in 1990 but its origins were as a Canterbury Agricultural College from 1896. In 1878 it had been set up as a school of agriculture that was aligned to Canterbury College. As the smallest University in New Zealand, Lincoln has about 4500 annually. Its teaching year is based on a 2-semester system running from the end of February – the end of October and offering summer school from mid-January – the end of February. Qualifications offered are pre-university study; undergraduate certificates, diplomas and degrees; and postgraduate study; Lincoln also offers an Executive Development programme. It has three faculties: Agriculture & Life Sciences; commerce; and Environment, Society & Design.
Polytechs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitireia_Community_Polytechnic
http://www.mediadesignschool.com/
http://www.northtec.ac.nz/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/
http://www.taratahi.ac.nz
http://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/
http://www.twoa.ac.nz/our-locations
http://www.ucol.ac.nz
http://www.unitec.ac.nz
http://www.wananga.ac.nz/Pages/default.aspx
Wānanga
http://www.wananga.ac.nz/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.wananga.com/?q=node/1
Universities
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/default.aspx
Overview of Distance Education
New Zealand has a long history of distance education. New Zealand's correspondence school was established as long ago as 1922. However, as in Australia, the development of the DE accelerated after World War. The Technical Correspondence School was opened in 1946, providing resettlement training for returned servicemen and women. The School became the Technical Correspondence Institute (TCI) in 1963 and began offering national training in trades subjects. In 1960, the Massey University of Manawatu (now Massey University) began its extramural studies program. By 1985, the University of Otago followed, offering its first distance course in that year. Over the last quarter century, New Zealand has emerged as a significant provider of distance courses in Asia and the Pacific.
The leading provider of distance education at the secondary level is the Correspondence School - Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. The School provides distance education from early childhood level to Year 13. Courses are offered to school-aged students, young adults and adult learners. It prepares students for qualifications level courses in Year 11, and offers a wide range of subject that earn credits towards the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the National Certificate in Mathematics and the National Certificate in Computing. In addition to students within New Zealand, the School provides courses to students living anywhere in the world. The Correspondence School has more than 24,000 students studying full or part-time.
There is also growing use of video-conferencing in rural secondary schools to provide distance education courses in specialised subjects (see below).
New Zealand hosts a thriving TVET sector delivering courses by correspondence or online learning. There are a large number of small-scale providers largely operating outside the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) framework. These include both locally-sourced courses and overseas programs. There are also a smaller number of larger established private TVET providers which offer certificate and diploma level qualifications within the NZQA framework. There are also an increasing number of distance education courses provided by public sector providers: institutes of technology, polytechnics and wānanga.
The largest single private provider of TVET through distance education is the Pacific Education Institute (PEI). The Institute providers courses in culinary arts, food and beverage service, business administration, small business management, MYOB, computing and TESOL to 2,000 distance students. PEI courses are available to students across New Zealand and overseas. The Institute offers a number of diploma level courses recognised under the NZQA framework.
The major public provider of TVET and sole specialist distance education provider in New Zealand is the Open Polytechnic. The Open Polytechnic offers a range of qualifications from certificate to degree level. There are seven levels of training: Levels 1 to 4 are equivalent to senior secondary school and basic trades training, while Level 5 to 7 are the same as university study. Subjects available include: agriculture and horticulture; art and design; business; community; construction, trades and engineering; education; environment; humanities and the arts; IT and computing; law and legal studies; library and information science; mathematics; psychology and health; real estate; and work and study skills. Degrees are offered in business, early childhood education, engineering technology, the arts and applied science. At present, the Open Polytechnic teaches largely through online enhanced distance education, with some blended course delivery. The Open Polytechnic’s online environment is called the Online Campus and also, more recently, has created a My Open Polytechnic student portal. The Open Polytechnic has over 41,000 students, who live across New Zealand and in over 40 countries overseas.
The two additional distance education providers in the higher education sector are Massey University and the University of Otago.
Massey University provides over 150 programs in a range of areas including business, psychology, social work, communications, education, English, languages, health and sports, and the fine arts. Qualifications available by distance include undergraduate certificate, diploma and bachelor level program, as well as postgraduate diploma, master and doctoral courses. Many Massey courses are now supported or enhanced by e-learning through Stream, the University’s online learning environment. Stream includes features such as discussion boards, online quizzes, a calendar and wikis. Every year, around 20,000 students from New Zealand and overseas, learn at a distance through Massey University.
The University of Otago offers distance education courses through three Divisions: the Division of Humanities, the Division of Sciences and the Division of Human Sciences. Most distance programs range from certificate level courses to diploma, degree, postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and masters level programs. There is also a Doctor of Education available. Although distance programs are available in a range of disciplines, the majority of courses are in health sciences and related fields. Otago provides distance education tuition in different modes. The use of printed study materials is being phased out and access is increasingly through CD-ROM, DVD or the Web. The University of Otago has about 2000 distance students enrolled in over 300 programs.
Administration and Finance
Despite being a relatively small country, New Zealand‘s governance, steering and planning structure is relatively complex. The main agencies are the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and Career Services Rapuara. TEC, NZQA and Career Services are Crown Agencies with their boards appointed by the Minister.
TEC is a combined policy implementation agency, involved in institutional capacity building, overall policy advice, and allocation of government funding. It also negotiates charters and profiles with the institutions.
NZQA provides overarching quality assurance, administers the national qualifications framework (Register of Quality Assured Qualifications), registers private providers and evaluates overseas qualifications.
The rationale for funding tertiary education rests on two main principles. Reflecting the public and private benefits of tertiary education, the costs of tertiary education activities are shared between the users and the State. Part of the funding is provided by the government to both institutions and students and part by students and their families. The extent to which tertiary education is publicly subsidised depends on the relevance of activities, the extent to which they bring benefits to society.
Higher Education Reforms
The New Zealand Government has established a number of goals for tertiary education over the three to five years. These goals include increasing:
- the number of young people (aged under 25) achieving qualifications at university level.
- the number of Mäori and Pasifika students enjoying success at higher levels.
- the number of young people moving successfully from school into tertiary education.
In order to achieve these aims, the Government is committed to improving sector performance through a range of mechanisms.
Among these is a quality improvement focus. Greater emphasis will be placed on continuous improvement in institutions. The Government has indicated that it will link funding more closely to performance in areas such as completion rates, student attrition and academic outcomes. Institutions are under growing pressure to strengthen collaboration and share resources in the interest of greater efficiency. In addition, the Government is committed to strengthening research outcomes through the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF). As part of this process, bibliometric measures will be used to benchmark the research output of New Zealand universities against the Australian counterparts.
Future Direction of Tertiary Education
Demographic factors and government policies are expected to drive the expansion of the tertiary sector during the next few years. More young people are leaving schools with the expectation of entering university study, increasing the local demand for places in higher education. The Government is also working to increase the attractiveness of New Zealand universities to overseas students and to export education services. The Government aims to achieve this aims through increased promotion, greater quality control and negotiated reductions in institutional barriers to the international trade in education.
Information and Communications Technology Initiatives
a) Information society strategy
The New Zealand Government’s Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) and Rural Broadband Initiatives (RBI) are expected to transform the possibilities for e-learning in New Zealand schools over the next five years. Under the UFB and RBI, a network of fibre optic cables is being rolled out across New Zealand. By 2016, 97% of New Zealand schools will have access to ultra-fast broadband. Those remaining 3% of schools in areas too remote for fibre optic connections will receive improved broadband services using satellite-based links or alternative technologies.
In order to prepare New Zealand schools for improved broadband access, the New Zealand Government has put in place a number of programs. Once of these is the School Network Upgrade Project (SNUP). This project involves progressively upgrading internal data and electrical infrastructure in state and state-integrated schools. By October 2010, 505 schools have been upgraded. In addition, the teaching staff of 60% of New Zealand schools have completed the Information and Communications Technology Professional Development (ICT PD) program. The aim of this program is to build the e-learning capacity of New Zealand teachers.
b) Major e-learning initiatives
For more than a decade, rural secondary schools in New Zealand have explored the use of video conferencing as a means of expanding the course options available to their students. This development has involved the creation of local e-learning communities or clusters which serve a number of local schools. By 2007, there were 15 e-learning communities operating across New Zealand. These communities participated in video conferencing through the Virtual Learning Network (VLN).
The use of the VLN has continued to grow in recent years. In 2009, there were 252 schools and 154 e-teachers participating in the VLN. There were 1401 student enrolments and 212 classes. Schools which contribute classes to the national VLN are able to access other classes from that network for their own students. The results of these initiatives have been extremely successful. The availability of distance learning through video conferencing has widened the subject choices available to students in small senior schools. In many cases, this has led to the retention of students who might have otherwise left their home districts to study elsewhere. In addition, the initiative has led to improved teacher retention, as teachers remain in smaller rural schools because they are able to teach in their area of subject expertise.
c) Benchmarking e-learning
New Zealand has developed its own e-learning benchmarking model. This is the E-Learning Maturity Model (eMM), which can be used to assess the capability of e-learning at an institutional level. eMM has been trialled at universities in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Version 1 of eMM was released in 2003. The current version eMM is eMM V2. eMM and its associated documentation has been released under a Creative Commons Attritbution-Share Alike licence. Development of the eMM in New Zealand was supported by the Ministry of Education’s Tertiary E-Learning Research Fund.
After a large amount of government-funded activity in 2004-2005, where nine institutions were benchmarked (six universities and three polytechnics), up to summer 2007, there did not seem to be an externally-funded benchmarking programme oriented to New Zealand tertiary institutions.
d) Support for OER
There is extensive support for OER within the New Zealand school sector. WikiEducator has an OER Resource Portal for New Zealand schools. Many dozens of individual schools have their own OER portals linked to the WikiEducator site.
The New Zealand OER Project is responsible for the creation and maintenance of Repository.ac.nz, an online portal for OER resources for the New Zealand tertiary sector. This site was initially funded through the New Zealand's Tertiary Education Commission's Innovation Development Fund (eCDF) but now relies on alternative funding.
The New Zealand Open Source Virtual Learning Environment (NZOSVLE) Project is a consortium-based project, involving twenty higher education institutions, with NZ Government funding focused on developing open source application software for education. The project team adopts, adapts and contributes back code to selected open source communities, currently with a specific focus on Moodle, ELGG and EPrints.
The goal of the Open Access Repositories in New Zealand (OARINZ) project was to implement a national network of open access repositories for publicly funded research and teaching repositories. This was to ensure New Zealand research institutions had the necessary infrastructure and know-how to enable them to join with the global research community to establish a network of Institutional Repositories, into which authors deposit copies of their research outputs. By putting research outputs in a repository, authors will enhance the visibility and impact not just of their research, but that of the whole New Zealand research sector.
e) Government entities
New Zealand Qualifications Authority
Ministry of Research, Science and Technology
Foundation for Research, Science and Technology
Ministry of Economic Development
Ministry of Social Development
Tertiary Education Commission (TEC)
f) Associations and networks
Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools (AADES)
Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-Learning (ACODE)
Distance Education Association of New Zealand (DEANZ)
Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics of New Zealand (ITP New Zealand)
New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE)
Universities New Zealand
g) Distance Education journals
Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning
Distance Education
Distant Education in New Zealand and Australia
Journal of Distance Learning
Interesting Distance Education Initiatives
The Open Wānanga is part of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Open Wānanga is a leader in the field of adult and community education delivered through distance education to Māori people throughout New Zealand. DE programs deliverd by the Open Wānanga include Mahi Ora Mauri Ora, Papa Ako and Papa Whairawa. Mahi Ora is a 12 month, home-based learning course leading to a Certificate in Employment Skills. The Mauri Ora program is a 12 month course on Maori practices, protocols and New Zealand history and leds to the National Certificate in Maori (Level 2) Papa Ako is a nine month home-based “learning to learn” program for students returning to study or who intend to entre tertiary training for the first time. The Papa Ako program is delivered using CDs, DVDs and ongoing support. The program leads to a Learning to Learn Certificate (Level 1). Papa Whairawa is a nine month, home based, supported financial literacy programme. Students enrolled in Papa Whairawa learn at their own pace and receive teaching kits consisting of CDs, DVDs and printed materials. The program leads to a Papa Whairawa Certificate (Level 1). Over 85,000 students have studied with Open Wānanga since 2000.
In 2005, the Ministry of Education launched the LAMS (Learning Activity Management System) in New Zealand. LAMS is an easy-to-use e-learning environment developed by Macquarie University. In order to make LAMS more suitable for Māori students and teachers, a bilingual interface has been developed under the Te Māori Project. This bilingual interface has been trialled at Kura Kaupapa Māori (Māori-language immersion schools) in the Whanganui, Ruapehu, Taranaki and Wellington regions. The results have been impressive, as teacher and students have taken to the new bilingual online medium. It has proven an effective way of motivating and engaging students. Although innovative and successful, the project raises a number of sustainability issues. At present, the project places great demands on the enthusiasm, time and skills of a small number of Māori teachers. Without long term support, the task of building innovation in online learning at the Kura Kaupapa Māori will be a difficult one.