New Zealand Tertiary Quality Assurance System

Frequently Asked Questions Sheet

Who assures quality in tertiary education in New Zealand?
What quality assurance processes exist?
What responsibility do providers have for the quality of the courses they deliver?
What are the consequences of poor quality?

Who assures quality in tertiary education in New Zealand?

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee (NZVCC) were established by the Education Act 1989 as New Zealand's quality assurance bodies. Their statutory functions and powers are laid out in the Education Act 1989.

Section 159AD of the Education Act 1989 states that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is the body primarily responsible for quality assurance matters in the tertiary education sector except for universities. The Qualifications Authority quality assures courses and qualifications in private training establishments (PTEs), wānanga, and industry training organisations (ITOs), as well as all degrees outside universities. Information on the Qualifications Authority's quality assurance functions can be found in the Approve, accredit, register & audit section of this website.

The Qualifications Authority has chosen to delegate its quality assurance functions for institutes of technology and polytechnics, other than for post-graduate qualifications, to the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics of New Zealand (ITPNZ). ITPNZ's quality assurance functions are performed by The Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics Quality (ITPQ). ITPQ is responsible for quality assuring 19 of New Zealand's institutes of technology and polytechnics. The Qualifications Authority quality assures UNITEC New Zealand.

The NZVCC represents the interests of New Zealand's eight universities. Quality assurance in universities is one of the responsibilities of the NZVCC, and has been delegated to the Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP). The New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit (NZUAAU) established by the NZVCC carries out university academic quality audits, drawing on both New Zealand and international experts.

What quality assurance processes exist?

Courses and qualifications offered by providers are quality assured in five ways: initial registration (or establishment); course approval; accreditation; moderation; and quality audit.

The Qualifications Authority and ITPQ use the processes outlined below to ensure high-quality provision of education among New Zealand's non-university tertiary education organisations.

Initial registration (or establishment)

Registration indicates that a private provider is capable of providing high-quality education and training in a sound and safe learning environment. The Qualifications Authority registers PTEs. On 30 September, 2005, 813 PTEs were registered throughout New Zealand. A PTE must continue to meet the set standards in order to maintain its registration.

Schools, institutes of technology and polytechnics, universities, colleges of education and wānanga (providers of higher and vocational education that focus on teaching and research of the tradition and custom of Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand) do not need to be registered as they are set up by the government under legislation.

Course Approval

An approved course has been defined by the Qualifications Authority as a coherent programme that is based on clear and consistent aims, content, outcomes and assessment practices. Course approval provides public assurance that courses meet specific quality criteria. All Quality Assurance Bodies in New Zealand use the same gazetted criteria for course approval and accreditation. Relevant Gazetted criteria for course approval (and accreditation) can be found in the New Zealand Gazette on pages 4498-4499.

Courses offered in New Zealand must be approved if:

• the course is required to be approved by a funding agency, such as the Tertiary Education Commission, in order to access government funded student loans and allowances
• international students will be enrolled (except where the course is exempt)
• the course is required to be approved by legislation, such as courses leading to registration as a teacher.

Courses may also be approved at the request of a provider or owner where there is no external requirement for this.

CUAP oversees inter-university course approval and moderation procedures, provides advice and comment on academic development, encourages the coherent and balanced development of curricula, and facilitates cross-crediting between qualifications. CUAP has a number of other tasks, including advising the NZVCC on academic policies affecting the universities in New Zealand, and assisting in the conduct of its relationships in these matters with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the Ministry of Education and other agencies

Accreditation

Accreditation signals that a provider is capable of delivering an approved course or assessing against National Qualifications Framework (NQF) standards. Accreditation criteria include requirements such as the appropriateness of the premises and the suitability of the teaching staff, resources and level of student support. A provider must be registered, where applicable, and accredited in order to award credit for standards on the NQF, or to deliver an approved course.

Moderation

All accredited providers are required to have as part of their Quality Management System, internal moderation processes to ensure assessments are consistent, fair and valid. Accredited providers are also required to engage in national external moderation administered by the relevant Standard Setting Body to ensure that assessments are consistent and at the national standard.

Moderation normally involves selection of a sample of assessment materials and learner evidence. The moderation process measures the assessment design and assessor decisions against the requirements of the corresponding standard. This determines whether the requirements specified in the standard have been fairly and validly assessed.

Quality audit

Quality Assurance Bodies provide ongoing monitoring of provider quality through quality audits. The quality audit is important in safeguarding the interests of existing and prospective students. An audit verifies the performance of a provider as a whole, their management processes for achieving quality learning, and their success as an education organisation. Each audit involves a visit to the provider.

The Qualifications Authority, is responsible for auditing private training establishments (PTEs), government training establishments (GTEs) and wānanga against a Quality Assurance Standard. The Quality Assurance Standard ensures that a provider:

• has measurable goals and objectives for education and training
• has quality management systems in place to achieve its goals and objectives
• is achieving its goals and objectives and can assure that it will continue to do so.

More information about this Quality Assurance Standard can be downloaded.

The Qualifications Authority audits these provider types on a periodic cycle varying up to three years. The Qualifications Authority may conduct unscheduled or focused audits if specific quality issues arise.

ITPQ audits institutes of technology and polytechnics against 12 academic standards. An institute of technology or polytechnic that successfully meets the standards may be awarded 'quality assured' status for a period of four years, although this period of time may be shorter. ITPQ uses the outcomes of this ongoing quality assurance to make decisions on approval of programmes and accreditation of institutes of technology and polytechnics to deliver programmes.

The universities individually are subject to auditing by the NZUAAU. The combination of institutional and CUAP procedures, together with those of the NZUAAU, provides a comprehensive quality assurance programme and permit fulfilment of the requirements of Section 260 of the 1989 Education Act. CUAP has been audited twice by the NZUAAU, but its most recent audit, in March 2005, was carried out by an external panel appointed for the purpose.

What responsibility do providers have for the quality of the courses they deliver?

Providers are responsible for the quality of their own education and training programmes. They are expected to undertake regular internal review and self-evaluations of their organisations.

Internal review enables an organisation to self-assess its effectiveness against good practice criteria and to determine where it is in terms of compliance with the Qualifications Authority's registration and accreditation requirements.

Self-evaluation enables an organisation to identify areas where improvement is needed and to develop action plans for improvement.

What are the consequences of poor quality?

If quality standards are not met, the Qualifications Authority can deregister a provider, withdraw course approval and remove accreditation for all or some of the courses delivered. The quality assurance standards and criteria used in New Zealand are available here.