Monitoring and assessment is part of our quality assurance system for tertiary education providers.
About our quality assurance system
Our monitoring and assessment activities happen at the programme and assessment level, and cover:
- tertiary education organisations (TEOs)
- government training organisations (GTEs)
- Workforce Development Councils (WDCs).
This page details our activities and contains links to related content on our site, including links to reports from the monitoring and assessment team.
On this page
Programme monitoring
We monitor programmes by looking at evidence related to programme approval and accreditation criteria.
Monitoring can cover a range of approval and accreditation criteria or have a specific focus. For example, we may look at an organisation's assessment and moderation practice or how it reviews programmes.
To carry out programme monitoring, we might:
- visit your programme's delivery site for a scheduled or unannounced visit
- ask you to provide evidence
- ask you to attend online interviews.
We summarise programme monitoring outcomes in reports. These reports are customised to reflect the focus areas of our monitoring.
If your organisation offers micro-credentials, we might also want to monitor how they are being delivered.
Learn more
Monitoring TEOs' systems for internal moderation
NZQA Rules require all tertiary education organisations (TEOs) to have an effective system for moderating assessment materials and decisions.
The TEO must be able to make sure that assessment materials and decisions are:
- fair
- valid
- consistent
- appropriate for the level, given the stated learning outcomes.
Monitoring national external moderation systems
Workforce development councils (WDCs) manage the national external moderation of industry standards.
We monitor how well WDCs conduct their moderation activities.
WDCs must work with NZQA if they find that an organisation isn't meeting the national external moderation requirements.
WDCs were established in October 2021. Before this, transitional industry training organisations (transitional ITOs) managed the national external moderation of industry standards.
Learn more
National external moderation of NZQA-managed standards
If you have consent to assess NZQA-managed standards, we will work with you to create an annual moderation plan.
NZQA-managed standards are standards with NZQA or the Ministry of Education as the standard-setting body.
We record moderation results for NZQA-managed standards in an annual summary.
If a TEO isn't meeting the national external moderation requirements, we follow up with the TEO.
Learn more
Compliance visits
We may visit your organisation to make sure it's complying with NZQA rules and the Education and Training Act 2020.
Programme monitoring visits are one example of a compliance visit.
Learn more
Resources for providers
Reports
Read findings from our monitoring activities and information about best practices for TEOs
Find summaries
Online assessment
Guidance for TEOs that deliver programmes or micro-credentials by distance online
Guidance
Our approach
Information about how we approach programme monitoring at Levels 1 to 6 and Level 7 diplomas
Programme monitoring