Print this page

Online category 2 course change application

This user guide is intended to support online users during the application process for a change to an approved course. For more information on category 2 course changes, see Course Approval & Accreditation.

About the application

The online application form replaces the current paper application and course and qualification details forms only. A full application includes documentation that details the changes and the impacts, and demonstrates that the course will continue to meet the gazetted Criteria for Course Approval and Accreditation.

There are nine sections in the application form. You must complete each section in order before progressing to the next, even if the value is zero. Each section must be fully completed before submitting the application to NZQA for assessment

Section 1: Contact details
Section 2: Course overview
Section 3: Assessment standards
Section 4: Qualifications
Section 5: Delivery & Assessment
Section 6: Reasons for course changes
Section 7: NQF Accreditation
Section 8: Course documents
Section 9: Comments

At any time, you can delete the application or return to TEO applications. If you return to TEO applications, any sections you have completed will not be lost. You can resume filling out the application at a later stage.

The application process

When you submit this application, you will receive an auto generated email quoting an NZQA reference number. Use this number in future, if you need to email or speak to a member of staff.

You will be notified when your application has passed through pre-assessment. Pre-assessment determines if an application has sufficient information to be processed further. You should expect a response within five working days.

Your application will then be allocated to an advisor in the Registration, Approval and Accreditation team who will contact you to discuss your application further.

You will be invoiced on a regular basis for ongoing work on your application at a rate of $150 per hour plus GST.

For further information see Course approval and accreditation process.

Please direct any queries about this application to our administration and service team. Remember to include the NZQA reference number on all correspondence.

Before you get started

Before you begin this application, check you have:

Clearly documented the changes where necessary and have evidence to support those changes ; and
The necessary accreditation for any additional unit standards that may be included in the course,
Made an application for any unit standards you don’t have accreditation for.

References

Throughout this guide, two booklets are regularly referenced. You should have these handy when filling out your application form. They are:

Criteria, Requirements and Guidelines for Course Approval & Accreditation (PDF, 501KB) (referred to as Criteria throughout this guide)
The New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications (PDF, 765KB) (referred to as the Register policy throughout this guide)

Navigation hints

Click the Return to application overview link to leave the section you are in and return to the application summary screen.

Click the Return to TEO applications link to leave the application and return your TEO applications summary page. Any sections you may have completed will be saved and you can resume filling out the application later.

Complete all fields marked with an asterisk (*), as these fields are mandatory.

Filling out the form

Section 1:

Contact details

Enter the name of the key contact person for this application.

If NZQA requires more information, this is the person they will contact. An email address is required because auto-generated communications will be sent there.

Section 2:

Course overview

Enter the details of the amended course. These details may be changed throughout the application process and will appear on KiwiQuals once the course changes are approved.

Title: The title of the course must provide an accurate indication of the subject area. Refer to Section 1 of the Criteria and the information on designators and qualifiers.

Type: For an explanation of the types of course, go to Section 5 of the Register policy.

Level: If the course does not lead to national qualification, you can check the level in Appendix A of the Register policy.

NQF and non-NQF credits: Note when filling out this section that one credit represents 10 notional hours of learning. See Section 1 of the Criteria for more information.

Aim: The aim should be appropriate to the nature and level of the qualification to which the course leads. See Section 1 in the Criteria and Register policy for more information.

Content: In this section, you should describe the content of the course. This could include component titles or similar.

Outcome: The course outcome should summarise the learning of the course. See Section 1 of the Criteria for more information.

Entry requirements: Entry requirements should be appropriate to the level of study. See Section 5 of the Criteria for more information.

Section 3:

Assessment standards

All assessments require standards. In this section, the information required relates to unit standards or New Zealand Diploma in Business (NZDipBus) prescriptions only. Searches for NZDipBus prescriptions can only be made by prescription title.

Section 4:

Qualifications

This section asks you to identify the qualifications the proposed course leads to. Qualifications can be national qualifications or local qualifications. See Section 1 and 2 of the Register policy. Note that any course under 40 credits will not be considered a qualification.

If the course relates to a national qualification, all you need to do is search for it. If the course leads to a local qualification, complete the details asked for.

Go back to the course overview section to populate the information about content, outcome and entry. These details may be amended throughout the application process and will appear on KiwiQuals once the course is approved.

Section 5:

Delivery and assessment

This section is about delivery mode and methods, and assessment methods. For delivery mode, choose one of the following:

Face-to-face
Distance, or
Blended

Examples of delivery methods are classroom, lecture, tutorial, workshop, fieldwork, work-based, distance and online

Examples of assessment methods are open book test, written assignment, oral presentation, and practical observation

Section 6:

Reasons for course change

Note that the amended course must still meet the requirements of the gazetted criteria, and will also be evaluated in relation to those criteria.

You must complete all sections here. If they are not applicable, please note that in the relevant section.

Reasons for the course change: Explain what the changes are and why the course has changed.

Teaching/learning resources: Describe what changes may be required to the teaching or learning resources. If new resources are required, provide details of those new or amended resources in the supplementary documents at the end of this application.

Library resources: Consider if new library resources may be needed to be purchased. If they do, provide a list of those new resources, with a detailed acquisition plan and evidence of a commitment to purchase those resources in a timely manner. This can be included in the supplementary evidence.

Staffing resources: The new changes may require a change to the numbers of staff, or their qualifications. If a new job description will be required, attach it as supplementary evidence at the end of the application.

Transition arrangements: Explain what arrangements will be made for students who may require more time to complete the current programme and how they would be able to transition to the new course if required.

Organisation QMS: Describe any changes that may need to be made to the QMS as a result of the change to the course here.

Section 7:

NQF Accreditation

This section allows you to check that you have included the correct unit standards. If you need to make any changes, go back to Section 3 Assessment Standards.

Section 8:

Course Documents

You must supply all three types of documents mentioned below. These documents provide more information about the changes and how the amended course will be resourced. The supplementary evidence should also demonstrate the application continues to meet the gazetted criteria.

1. Revised Course Structure (Required)

You must provide a document that covers the makeup of the revised course (i.e. units, lessons, modules assessments) and the topics covered in each component. It should also provide an outline of the course delivery, showing how much time is spent (hours per day, or hours per week) covering the course material.

2. Formal Approval (Required)

Demonstrates internal formal approval (academic board or equivalent body) for the changes, for example, academic board minutes.

3. Supporting Evidence (Desirable)

Please also attach any other evidence that you meet the criteria for course approval and accreditation. Suitable documents include, a Student handbook, Course brochure, Letters of support etc.

Section 9:

Comments

Please add any comments about the course changes or process here.

Submitting your application

Before submitting your application you will be asked to review the full application form. Please note that all sections of the application form will appear even if they are not applicable to the application to be submitted.

You are now ready to submit your application. Before you do, check:

Supporting documents are attached; and
The scope you have applied for is correct.

Finished!

When you click Submit Application, your application will appear in the TEO applications table. You can View your completed application, or Withdraw your completed application until such time that an outcome has been reached.