Tertiary Education in New Zealand: Investing in the Future

1
Tertiary Education in New ZealandInvesting in
the Future
2
Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) and Statement
of Tertiary Education Priorities (STEP)
3
Why do we need change?
To provide clear directions and consistent
expectations across the sector and within New
Zealand

• We need change to ensure
• students are more likely to succeed in tertiary
  education
• Tertiary Education Organisations are clearer
  about what is expected of them and resourced to
  achieve their goals
• government and the public have confidence that
  the New Zealand Tertiary Education system offers
  value for money and produces good outcomes for
  students
• The TES, STEP and the tertiary reforms all play a
  role

4
Contributing to New Zealand
Tertiary education is important for all areas of
New Zealands identity

• Tertiary education contributes to economic
  transformation, families young old and national
  identity through
• enabling the workforce to become and remain
  appropriately skilled, adaptable and flexible
• providing an underpinning knowledge base for
  economic and social activity through research
  activities, addressing a range of needs from
  fundamental research to industry-specific
  research, to cutting edge innovation
• supporting the population to develop the skills
  necessary to participate fully in society
  including civic and cultural life through access
  to quality, relevant education
• contributing to a culture of inquiry and
  innovation within New Zealand society.
• To be effective the strategy needs to be based on
  evidence of where tertiary education can make the
  greatest contribution

5
Focused on now
New Zealands ageing population and the
development of the global economy places
importance on getting it right

• The new TES and STEP address the challenges and
  opportunities of this decade
• These include considering the implications of
• the baby blip generation and the importance of
  ensuring their potential is achieved
• up-skilling the workforce in a tight labour
  market through encouragement and support for
  workplace learning
• growing globally competitive firms through
  improving the creation, transfer and application
  of knowledge

6
Contributing to Education
The discussion document proposes three strategic
areas of contribution These need to address
regional issues and make the most of opportunities

• Educational success through lifelong learning
• Ensuring maximum educational opportunity for all
• Strong foundations in literacy, numeracy and
  language
• Successful transitions from school to tertiary
  and work
• Building relevant skills and competencies for
  productivity and innovation
• Building skills and competencies for social and
  cultural development
• Creating and applying knowledge for innovation
• Improving the transfer and application of
  knowledge
• Strengthening research-led teaching
• Focusing resources for greatest effect
• Stronger connections
• Connections to improve quality and relevance of
  education and knowledge
• Connections to support economic transformation
• Connections to support social and cultural
  outcomes

7
Potential priorities
The discussion document proposes four priorities
Each must respond to the needs of New Zealand
and be an achievable shift

• The discussion document suggests four areas of
  potential priorities
• Increase the number of New Zealanders achieving
  qualifications at level 4 and above by the age of
  25
• Increase the level of literacy and numeracy in
  the workforce
• Increase the delivery of skills to meet regional
  and national industry needs
• Improve research connections and linkages to
  create economic opportunities

8
Strategy investment

• The TES, STEP and Reforms work together
• TES and STEP set the expectations on the outcomes
  (linked to the government goals for New Zealand)
  the providers should focus on
• the TEC needs a STEP that clearly specifies the
  governments priorities to set the parameters for
  discussion with tertiary education organisations
  about Investing in a Plan
• new funding, monitoring, and quality system
  supports providers to focus on outcomes
• TES, STEP and distinctive contributions set the
  direction for the tertiary education sector
• Funding, monitoring and quality systems help
  achieve that direction

Outcomes for students, and New Zealand, are
considered against what tertiary education
providers propose to deliver
9
How does it fit together?
The performance of tertiary education
organisationsagainst their proposed plan is a key
component of the decision making process
10
What can you tell us?

• The new TES and STEP require quality information
  and current evidence to ensure they are heading
  in the right direction
• The discussion document proposes
• three areas of TES contributions
• government actions to achieve the contributions
• tertiary education priorities in the STEP
• areas to monitor and build evidence

Businesses and communities are key
stakeholders It is important that you provide
feedback
11
Have your say

• The new TES/ STEP discussion document is
  available on www.minedu.govt.nz
• Extensive public consultation will continue until
  late October
• Encourage you to make submissions and attend
  consultation meetings
• Submissions can be made by post or email
• Submissions on the new TES/ STEP will close 27
  October 2006

Post Tertiary Education Strategy Ministry of
Education PO Box 1666 Thorndon
Wellington E-mail tertiary.strategy_at_minedu.govt.n
z
12
The Tertiary ReformsInvesting in the Future

• October 2006

13
What are the reforms trying to achieve?

• A sector focused on delivering against
  government, national, regional and local
  priorities
• A system that enables stakeholders to communicate
  clearly their expectations of the sector, and for
  the sector to respond
• Greater financial certainty for the government
  and tertiary education organisations
• Public confidence in the tertiary sector

14
Dr Michael Cullen, 4 April 2006

• These are vital next steps in developing a
  tertiary system that will better fulfil our needs
  in terms of national identity, economic
  transformation and support for families young and
  old. At the same time, the system needs to
  provide better value for money for taxpayers and
  students. We want to engage fully with the
  sector to develop the details.

15
Feedback / response

• Business New Zealand believes that the key
  drivers of the reforms should be engagement,
  relevance, quality and value
• CTU The delivery of high quality tertiary
  education links to the fundamental CTU goal of
  building a high wage, high skill and high quality
  economy
• NZAPEP A flexible, responsive system must be
  developed which gives the correct market signals
  to learners and providers
• ITF The majority of ITOs see the proposed
  reforms as a positive step in the right direction

16
Feedback / response

• ITP New Zealand supports the key principles of
  the reforms particularly encouraging a stronger
  culture around teaching excellence
• NZVCC The Government should invest in tertiary
  education in a way that recognises and supports
  distinctive contributions within the sector
• Wananga We propose a funding mechanism that
  focuses on more than merely the number of
  enrolments allocated to an institution

17
Cabinet papers - July 2006

• Overview
• Distinctive Contributions
• Investing in a Plan
• A New Tertiary Funding System
• Quality Assurance and Monitoring
• Transfer of the Tertiary Advisory and Monitoring
  Unit (TAMU) from the Ministry of Education to the
  TEC

18
Distinctive contributions

• Universities
• Research-led degree and post-graduate education
• Undertake research
• Disseminate knowledge and promote learning
• ITPs (Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics)
  
• Regional facilitators build shared
  understanding about the tertiary education needs
  of a region
• Skills for employment and productivity that
  contribute to a network of provision
• Foundation education

19
Distinctive contributions

• ITOs (Industry Training Organisations)
• Qualifications design
• Arranging for the delivery of training
• Providing leadership within the sector on matters
  relating to skill and training needs

20
Distinctive contributions

• Need to report back to Cabinet by December 2006
  on
• The distinctive characteristics of wananga
• The role of PTEs (Private Training
  Establishments)
• Regional facilitation role

21
Wananga

• Discussions are underway on the distinctive
  contribution of wananga
• Wananga will continue to play a pivotal role in
• Foundation learning
• Encouraging people back in to the education
  system, and
• Continuing to maintain learning environments
  centred on ahuatanga Maori

22
PTEs

• Contribution of PTEs still the subject of
  discussion with sector peak bodies
• Proposed role of PTEs is to contribute to the
  broadening and strengthening of tertiary
  education system by providing for flexibility in
  regional/national networks of provision
• The draft description focuses on
• distinctive characteristics of the sector, and
• the range of different areas in which PTEs can
  bring a specific focus

23
Adult and Community Education (ACE)

• Three key changes
• new funding model promoting provision related to
  community learning priorities
• quality assurance arrangements that promote and
  support continuous improvement
• professional development strategy to strengthen
  the capacity of the whole sector.

24
Regional facilitation role

• Outcome is a common understanding of regional
  needs, gaps and priorities
• Key to the role is facilitating conversations
  amongst providers and stakeholders in a region
• Need to build on what is already happening
• Will support collaboration between providers in
  the long term

25
Investing in a Plan
Stakeholders advise on prioritiesGovernment
(STEP), learners, employers, iwi, ITOs, etc
Quality assurance of provision and organisations
TEC provides investment guidance
TEC monitors the outcomes
Organisations offer plans for investment
TEC organisations agree outcomes for the
approved plan, areas for capability building
TEC assesses plan according to outcomes to date,
viability/governance, distinctive contribution,
and quality
26
Investing in a Plan

• Plans will set out
• Stakeholder needs
• How the organisation will respond to government
  priorities
• Three year outlook
• Summary of provision
• Performance and outcome commitments
• TEC will evaluate the plans
• Do they meet stakeholder needs and contribute to
  government priorities?
• Funding will follow the plan
• Variations will need to be agreed with the TEC

27
Funding

• Student component funding system to be redesigned
• New system will have two components
• Student Achievement Component
• Tertiary Education Organisation Component
• Decisions need to be made about the split
• Also about what to do with existing capability
  development funds
• New system implemented by 1 January 2008

28
Quality assurance and monitoring
29
Next steps

• Number of Cabinet report backs in October and
  December 2006, and March 2007
• Will continue to work in partnership with the
  sector and its stakeholders to develop and refine
  policy
• Implementation will be the subject of ongoing
  discussion

30
To close

• We must remember what the reforms are all about
• The end is greater than the means
• There is no short term fix
• On track to have key parts of the new system in
  place by 2008
• Send input to 2006reforms_at_tec.govt.nz

31
Tertiary Reforms The role of Quality Assurance

• Tony Davies
• Programme Manager
• New Zealand Qualifications Authority

32
Quality assurance and monitoring
STEP
Engagement between the TEC and TEO
TEOs Plan
Assurance and Performance Monitoring Information
Common Quality Assurance and Monitoring Framework

• Performance and capability information
• Self Assessment
• External validation

33
Commissioning

• In the new investment system the TEC needs
  assurance that quality will be delivered and that
  public money is being well spent.
• There is a number of ways to achieve this,
  including commissioning a quality assurance
  system
• June Cabinet paper identified commissioning as
  the preferred arrangement between TEC and NZQA
  for the review and external validation of
  providers.
• Work is underway to define what will be the
  relationship between TEC and NZQA.
• A separate relationship will be established
  between Tertiary Education Commission and NZVCC
  to provide information and assurance for the
  university sector.
• Self-assessment, external review and validation,
  along with monitoring information will inform
  decision making for Investing in a Plan.

34
International Quality Assurance Principles

• Quality assurance should be an integral part of
  the internal management of education and training
  providers
• Quality assurance should include regular
  evaluation of providers programmes by external
  monitoring bodies or agencies
• External monitoring bodies or agencies carrying
  out quality assurance should be subject to
  regular review
• Quality assurance should include context, input,
  process and output dimensions, while giving
  emphasis to outcomes

35
International - Elements of Quality Assurance
Systems

• Clear and measurable objectives
• Effective stakeholder involvement
• Appropriate resources
• Consistent evaluation methods, self-assessment
  and external review and validation.
• Feedback mechanisms and procedures for
  improvement
• Widely accessible evaluation results.

36
External Review and Validation

• External review and validation of providers
  self assessment
• will provide assurance about the robustness of a
  TEOs self assessment
• will ensure that there is an independence of
  quality assurance for the funding agency and the
  provider
• has an advantage for maintaining the
  international credibility of New Zealand
  qualifications.

37
Self-assessment, External Review and Validation

• It is likely that external review and validation
  of the processes that the providers have in place
  for self-assessing will include
• Quality of teaching and learning (including
  research)
• Relevance of the provision
• Organisational capability to deliver on the plan
• Continuous improvement focus
• Guidelines or standards for this process could be
  issued
• Aim is to ensure that the process assists
  providers as well as giving assurance to the TEC
• Focus is on continuous improvement

38
Quality of teaching, learning and research

• This could include seeking evidence on the
  providers process for
• course and programme design, development and
  review
• availability and use of appropriate learning
  resources
• learner assessment practices
• managing student progression and pathways
• research quality (particularly in the case of
  degree granting institutions).

39
Relevant Provision

• This could include seeking evidence on the
  providers process for
• collection, analysis and use of information about
  local, national, industry and community needs
• ensuring that learner intake characteristics are
  addressed in course design, development and
  provision
• ascertaining graduate destination, employment and
  income
• employment

40
Organisational capability to deliver on the plan

• This could include seeking evidence on the
  providers process for
• establishing and monitoring educational goals and
  objectives for the organisation
• effective governance and management structures
  and procedures including financial and other
  organisational activity
• appropriate physical resources
• success planning
• collation, analysis, use and reporting of learner
  achievement.

41
Continuous improvement focus

• This could include seeking evidence on the
  providers process for
• Robust internal assessment that identifies and
  builds on strengths, and addresses weaknesses and
  areas for development
• Inclusion of stakeholder perspectives in the
  institutions self assessment and improvement
  process
• Consideration of student progress and achievement
  in institution self-assessment
• Information generated is used in organisation
  planning, development and decision-making.

42
The role of Quality Assurance
Review and external validation will provide
assurance to the Tertiary Education Commission
and providers about the quality of provision. It
will also provide certainty to students and
employers that qualifications and courses are
relevant and good quality in terms of the economy
and the needs of the labour market.
43
Next Steps

• For further information
• Tony Davies
• Programme Manager
• NZQA
• P O Box 160
• Wellington
• New Zealand
• E-mail tony.davies_at_nzqa.govt.nz
• Phone [phone]
• Facsimile 04 4802 3115

• Please feel free to write to us about your views
  on self-assessment, external review and
  validation
• qaresponse_at_nzqa.govt.nz
• P O Box 160
• Wellington
• New Zealand

44
(No Transcript)