Cross-strategy indicators – Tertiary Education Strategy monitoring 2009

Notes on data and sources

Data sources
Where a data source is not given, the data has been sourced from the Ministry of Education. All other data sources are noted below the relevant graph and described in this section.

Knowledge and skills and outcomes
The 25 to 39 year age group has been used where possible as a reference group for knowledge and skills and outcomes. The age group represents people who have had a chance to complete their immediate post-school tertiary education and are in the early to middle years of their working lives.

Ethnic groups
Ethnicity is reported on a total response basis where possible. This means that each person is counted in each ethnic group they identify with and may be counted in more than one ethnic group.

Income
Real income refers to income after it has been adjusted for inflation. Income is presented in 2007 dollar values. The median income is the level of income at which half of the population earn below the level and half earn above it.

International Adult Literacy Survey 1996 and Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey 2006
These surveys investigated the distribution of skills, such as literacy, numeracy and document interpretation, among the adult population. The surveys were conducted across a number of countries and provide both national and international comparisons.

Both surveys measure ‘functional literacy’, which is the ability to apply literacy skills to everyday situations.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey 2006 covered:

The ALL survey tested skills across four domains:

• Prose literacy – the ability to read continuous texts, such as news stories and instruction manuals
• Document literacy – the ability to read discontinuous texts, such as maps and timetables
• Numeracy – the ability to read and work with numeric information
• Problem-solving – the ability to reason in situations where no routine procedure exists.
  

The first two were also included in the International Adult Literacy Survey 1996.

Results are reported in five levels, where 1 is the lowest level. Level 3 and above is considered the level required to function adequately in a knowledge-based economy and society.

Surveys of the Health of the Māori Language, 2001 and 2006
These surveys were carried out following the 2001 and 2006 New Zealand Censuses and surveyed a sample of the Māori population with regard to the ability and use of the Māori language.

Respondents were asked to self-assess their ability in speaking, listening, reading and writing in the Māori language. A scale was used that ranged from no language ability to ‘very well’.

Household Labour Force Survey
The Household Labour Force Survey, conducted by Statistics New Zealand, is a quarterly survey of 15,000 households and provides information on labour force status.

Ethnicity was reported on a prioritised basis up to 2007. From 2008 it is reported on a total response basis. Data in this report is taken from the June quarters.

Education at a glance
Education at a glance is published annually by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to provide comparative international indicators on education.

New Zealand Income Survey
The New Zealand Income Survey is a supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey, and is run every June quarter.

Ethnicity was reported on a prioritised basis up to 2007. From 2008 it is reported on a total response basis.

New Zealand Census-Mortality Study
The New Zealand Census-Mortality Study is run by the Wellington School of Medicine of Otago University. It aims to measure mortality differences by socio-economic status in New Zealand. It links census records and mortality (death) records, thereby creating cohort studies. The mortality rate refers to the proportion of the population who die each year.

Research and Development Surveys
The Research and Development Surveys 2006 and 2008 was run by Statistics New Zealand jointly with the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology. The surveys measured the level of research and development activity, employment and expenditure by business sector enterprises, government departments, government-owned trading entities, and universities.

The surveys defined the types of research as follows:

Basic research is carried out for the advancement of knowledge, without seeking long-term economic or social benefits or making any effort to apply the results to sectors responsible for their application.

Applied research is also investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective. Applied research also encompasses experimental development.
 
Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience that is directed at producing new materials, products and devices; installing new processes, systems and services; or substantially improving those already produced or installed.

Performance-Based Research Fund
The Performance-Based Research Fund allocates research funding to tertiary providers based on a systematic assessment of the research outputs and activities of staff. A quality score can be derived for each provider and each subject area based on these assessments.

Thomson Reuters
The Thomson Reuters database provides information on research published in selected academic journals, mostly based in Europe and North America. The database provides information on the authors, their institutional affiliations and citations of works.

The database excludes research published in books and book chapters, as well as research in the form of performances or exhibitions. Therefore, the research output in subject disciplines such as the social sciences, humanities and performing arts is not well represented compared with the biological and physical sciences. The database also excludes a large proportion of research published in New Zealand and Australian journals.

Nevertheless, despite these caveats, this data source still provides one of the few independent ways of monitoring the international impact of New Zealand tertiary education research.

Participation rates
The tertiary education participation rate is the total domestic student enrolment count expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 and over.
In this report, participation rates include both provider-based and work-based tertiary education. Rates have not been age-standardised.

First-year retention rates
The first-year retention rate is the proportion of students that start a qualification and either complete it in the first year or continue in study in the following year.

Rates presented in this report are for full-time students and include completion or continuance at the same or a higher level.

Five-year completion rates
The five-year completion rate is the proportion of students who have started study towards a registered qualification and have completed the academic requirements for a qualification at the same or a higher level within five years.

Rates presented in this report are for full-time students.

Five-year progression rates
The five-year progression rate is the proportion of students who started study towards a registered qualification in a specified year and went on to study a higher-level qualification within five years. The rate includes students who progressed to higher-level study without completing a qualification first and those who took a break between completion and re-enrolment.

Industry training measures
Average credits achieved per final programme exit is the total sum of credits achieved by people exiting their final programmes within a year divided by the total number of people exiting in that year.

The five-year programme completion rate is the proportion of trainees who started within a given year who had a successful programme completion within five years.

The proportion of learners with national certificate or diploma attainment is the total sum of national certificates and diplomas attained by learners exiting programmes within a year divided by the number of learners exiting in that year.