Tertiary Education Publications
These four fact sheets are intended to supplement the report Post-school choices by building on the statistical model used in that report but narrowing the focus to look at the post-school choices of these three groups of students
- High achieving students.
- Māori students.
- Students from low decile schools. In addition, the fourth fact sheet looks at how the number of unit standard credits students attain while at secondary school is associated with their post-school choices.
This report revisits and updates Te whai i nga taumata atakura – supporting Māori achievement in bachelors degrees. In this report, we look in greater detail at the link between NCEA results and Māori success in first-year bachelors degree study.
The findings in this report confirm the earlier study, while providing more detail on the link between school performance and tertiary success. An important finding is that Māori students enter degree study, on average, with lower school qualifications and lower NCEA results than their non-Māori peers. Māori students who had the same level of performance in NCEA as non-Māori did slightly less well on average in their first-year degree studies.
This report applies statistical modelling to the results of the 2006 Performance-Based Research Fund Quality Evaluation to identify the staff characteristics associated with higher research quality.
This report examines the association between academic achievement at secondary school and participation in the various types of tertiary education. This new research supports the government's goal of improving outcomes for young people.
It provides a complement to the report How does achievement at school affect achievement in tertiary education?, which explores the relationship between academic achievement at secondary school and first-year achievement in tertiary education.
This report explores the relationship between academic achievement at secondary school and first-year achievement in tertiary education. The analysis uses a measure known as 'expected percentile' and school qualification to explain the performance of school leavers in their first year in tertiary education.
This report provides a complement to the report Post-school choices, which explores the link between school achievement and choices around participation in tertiary education.
Demand for people in the workplace with advanced skills is increasing. Having more people with advanced qualifications is one part of the solution. This report finds that the areas of study where there is high unmet demand for advanced qualifications include information technology, engineering, building and health.
New information on where students are studying, what qualifications they are taking, and other important characteristics of people undertaking tertiary education study is included in this report.
Statistical table available here
These tables contain more data on the 2007 tertiary education enrolments.
The purpose of this document is to report on recent trends in school leavers’ transition between school and tertiary education.
This page contains the reports on the Ministry of Education’s monitoring and evaluation of the Tertiary Education Strategies.
This research reports on the uptake of study abroad opportunities by New Zealand tertiary students. The research was undertaken by Victoria University on contract to the Ministry of Education. The report provides key reasons for low uptake of study abroad by New Zealand students; proposes a number of factors which students and institutions could consider to increase the attractiveness of exchange programmes; and includes downloadable Guidelines for New Zealand tertiary education institutions to help promote and support international student exchange opportunities for New Zealand students.
This report examines any changes in literacy and numeracy skill between the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) survey - results collected in New Zealand in 2006. It also compares the results from the New Zealand ALL survey with those from Australia, Canada and the USA.
This factsheet looks at the extent to which the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) has or has not resulted in shifts of funding between sub-sectors and, within the university sub-sector, between universities. It first considers the extent of funding shifts by comparing the shares of total research funding allocated in 2007. It then analyses the effects of the weightings that apply to different subject areas in the PBRF.
This report presents a synthesis of the findings of Ministry of Education research between 2004 and 2008 into the research performance of New Zealand’s tertiary education sector.
This fact sheet presents information on the ethnicities of New Zealand’s Pasifika tertiary education students. It shows the trends in participation in tertiary study by Pasifika ethnicity: what qualifications Pasifika students are taking, where they are studying, their field of study, their ages, and other important characteristics of Pasifika students. Also included are some comparisons with international students from the Pacific.
This fact sheet presents information on what qualifications Pasifika students are taking, where they are studying, their field of study, student allowances and loans and other important characteristics of Pasifika students. Also included is information on Pasifika employees in industry training and their 2006 income distribution.
The Student Allowances Scheme was introduced in 1989 to help students from low-income families meet their living costs while studying full-time.
This is the home page for the annual State of Education in New Zealand publication series. This report presents a picture of New Zealand’s education system with indicators on participation, achievement, effective teaching, labour market outcomes and resourcing across the early childhood, schooling and tertiary sectors.
This is the home page for the Student Loan Scheme Annual Reports' publication series. See below for a general description of the publication or follow one of the links to view the publication for that year.
This fact-sheet is a sequel to that entitled The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Headline Results and Background.
This fact-sheet provides the first headline results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey together with some background information.
This report examines the factors that influence the retention of doctoral students in tertiary study – where retention is defined as a doctoral candidate continuing in study in the next year or completing their doctorate. In doing so, this study analyses what initial impact, if any, the introduction of the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) has had on the retention of doctoral candidates in study.
This report compares the academic impact of the research by New Zealand and Australian universities, as measured by citations per publication, between 1981 and 2005.
This report is one of a series that explores a newly available bibliometric database to analyse the research performance of New Zealand universities. This report complements (ex)Citing research which examined the academic impact of research by New Zealand universities.
This technical report documents a major review of the methods used by the Ministry of Education to link the records of tertiary education students across time and across providers. It reviews the quality of these methods, and their impact on New Zealand's qualification completion and attrition statistics.
This is the home page for the Profile & Trends: New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector publication series. See below for a general description of the publication or follow one of the links to view the publication for that year.
The purpose of this report is to build an understanding of how school leavers are transitioning into tertiary education. The report examines the transitions of 2004 school leavers into tertiary education by a variety of personal, schooling and tertiary education characteristics and seeks to show where differences exist.
These factsheets present data from the latest census on the attainment of tertiary education qualifications by the New Zealand working-age population. The factsheets also examine the labour market outcomes associated with attaining a tertiary qualification.
This publication is intended as an introduction to the ALL survey. It explains the nature of the ALL survey, its application and how the ALL survey results will be presented. It contains none of the ALL survey results.
This poster is intended as an introduction to the ALL study. It seeks to explain the nature of the ALL study, its application, and how the ALL results will be presented. It contains none of the ALL results itself.
This report has been initiated by the Ministry of Education in order to gain an insight into educational pathways and the aspirations of former tertiary students who return to study. By establishing a demographic, educational and borrowing profile of returning students, this reports aims to identify the factors affecting student return to study. In particular, the study focuses on the impact of an individual’s student loan borrowed for previous studies on their return.
This report compares the academic impact of research produced by New Zealand universities, in the form of citations per full-time equivalent (FTE) researcher, with the quality of research at the universities, as measured by Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) average quality scores, across ten broad subject areas.
This report examines the academic impact of the research by New Zealand universities, as measured by citations per publication, between 1981 and 2005.
This report is one of a series that explores a newly available bibliometric database to analyse the research performance of New Zealand universities. It presents important baseline data that can be used to help in future analysis of the impacts of the Performance-Based Research Fund on research performance.
This study looks at what matters for the success of first-time Māori students studying towards bachelors degrees. The purpose of this study is to build understanding about how to increase the number of Māori attaining bachelors degrees or higher.
This study found that there were significant financial benefits to people from their investment in tertiary education, with higher returns to those who completed a qualification.
This release presents new information from the 2006 enrolment collections provided to the Ministry of Education by tertiary education providers. The return collects information on where students are studying, what qualifications they are taking, and other important characteristics of people undertaking tertiary education study.
Updated summary tables for the 2006 New Zealand tertiary education enrolments - an explanatory note.
This report examines the size and impact of the provision of te reo Māori courses through tertiary education over the period from 2001 to 2005, in order to provide an information base for considering future directions for supporting te reo Māori through tertiary education and areas for further research.
This report looks at the rates at which a range of birth cohorts have participated in tertiary education in New Zealand . This study takes two views of birth cohort tertiary education participation trends. The first is a long-term view looking at three birth cohorts, those people born in 1949, 1962 and 1975. The second view looks at the participation trends of those people born in 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1984 using longitudinal enrolment data.
A series of factsheets on Māori in tertiary education. These latest fact sheets present data on the participation, retention and progression of Māori students in tertiary education, by qualification level.
New Zealand is one of 24 countries participating in a thematic review of tertiary education being conducted over the period 2004 – 2007 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In this section you will find research reports produced relating to adult literacy, numeracy and language.
This report looks at the post-study earnings of those who borrowed through the Student Loan Scheme. It looks at the earnings of people three years after they left study. The analysis provides new information on the extent of change in the earnings of graduates who studied at different qualification levels.
One of the key determinants of our country’s economic progress is the level of skills in our population, and one of the key ways we track skill levels is by looking at the educational qualifications of our population. This report analyses the accumulation of tertiary education qualifications in the New Zealand resident population over the period 1981 to 2001 using data from the Census and from other sources. The accumulation of qualifications is an index of the human educational capital.
Note: The conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Ministry of Education.
The size of the tertiary student population is an indicator of the accessibility of tertiary education. It is also a key determinant of the levels of human capital that will be available to the New Zealand labour force
The purpose of this report is to note the influence of projected population change on the tertiary education system. It comments on the implications of demographic change for the size and make-up of the tertiary student population, the network of public provision and, to a lesser extent, on the levels of human educational capital the tertiary system produces.
This report provides new information on how many students pass courses in tertiary education, covering the period 2001 to 2005. The report finds that many students pass all of their courses without necessarily gaining a qualification, suggesting that many undertake tertiary study with course-related, rather than qualification-related goals.
This report looks at the mobility of tertiary students in terms of the distances they travel to undertake their tertiary studies. The report provides new information on how far students travel and the reasons behind students’ decisions to travel for tertiary study.
This report provides a synthesis of the evidence of the outcomes of the New Zealand tertiary education system. The report quotes a number of statistical studies completed over the last six years and also reproduces some previously published summaries of the evidence. Overall, the overwhelming weight of evidence points to there being significant and positive outcomes from the tertiary education system.
This is the home page for the Education Statistics of New Zealand publication series. These publications provide basic information on the education sector.
A factsheet describing the latest trends and characteristics of the growing number of New Zealanders aged 40 and over participating in tertiary education.
This release presents new information from the 2005 enrolment collections provided to the Ministry of Education by tertiary education providers. The return collects information on where students are studying, what qualifications they are taking, and other important characteristics of people undertaking tertiary education study programmes.
This report applies statistical modelling to the Integrated Dataset of Student Loan Scheme Borrowers. It provides interesting new information on the likelihood of a borrower being declared overseas five years post study across a variety of characteristics such as size of student loan leaving balance and level of study.
A key facts summary of the research study called Tertiary Education Providers and their Stakeholders. The research described in this note looks at how much contact there is between the tertiary education sector and its stakeholders and how good it is at producing results.
This report looks at the post-study earnings of those who borrowed through the Student Loan Scheme. It looks at the earnings of people three years after they left study and again five years after they left study. The analysis provides new information on the extent of change in the earnings of graduates who studied at different qualification levels.
This report looks at how pathways through tertiary education followed over the course of seven years differ depending on what students were doing before starting study.
These statistical tables support the information in New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Sector: Profile and Trends 2004.
This report applies statistical modelling to the results of the 2003 Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) Quality Evaluation. It provides interesting new information on the performance of PBRF-eligible staff across a variety of characteristics such as gender, ethnic group and position.
This report looks at some of the factors that make a difference to one's chances of getting a bachelors degree in New Zealand.
This latest in a series of factsheets on Māori in tertiary education provides information about student loans among Māori students. In addition, an earlier factsheet on Māori participation in tertiary education is now updated with 2004 enrolment data.
This paper explores the characteristics of borrowers who have not made any progress in reducing their student loan balances. The paper complements a related paper, Paying off a student loan, which explores the progress to full repayment for Student Loan Scheme borrowers.
This report analyses the experience of Student Loan Scheme borrowers in repaying their student loans. This report complements a related paper, Who doesn’t pay back, that examines the characteristics of those who make no progress to repayment of their student loans.
This latest in a series of factsheets on Māori in tertiary education provides information about student loans among Māori students. In addition, an earlier factsheet on Māori participation in tertiary education is now updated with 2004 enrolment data.
Analysis showed that when the PBRF is fully implemented there will be significant funding attracted by high performing researchers for their TEOs.
There is now a significant incentive for TEOs to ensure the successful completion of research graduates, with the majority of government funding for these students now tied to their successful completion.
Analysis of the methodology used to assign quality categories in the 2003 quality evaluation found that the actual level of variation in the research performance of TEOs was less than was indicated in the published results, but reflects the outcomes sought from the PBRF policy.
A high degree of correlation was found between the various PBRF quality scores at the TEO level.
This report looks at how long New Zealand tertiary students study for. It provides interesting new data on the differences in duration, attrition and completion experiences of part-time versus full-time students in tertiary education in New Zealand.
Two historical measures of TEO research performance in the universities - total research outputs and external research income - were found to have a high degree of correlation with the PBRF quality scores.
This report provides new information on the impacts of the Student Loan Scheme by looking at the income of those who used the Scheme between 1997 and 2000. One of two analytical reports published using previously unavailable information from Statistics New Zealand's Integrated Dataset on Student Loan Scheme Borrowers.
This report reviews and synthesises research literature on decision-making by prospective students on whether, where and what to study at a tertiary level. The report is based on findings from New Zealand and overseas literature and will contribute to knowledge and understanding of the factors that influence student-decision making. It provides useful information for people who advise prospective students on their education and career choices.
This paper discusses the results of the first comprehensive longitudinal study of qualification retention, completion and progression in tertiary education in New Zealand. Of the cohort of domestic students who started a qualification at a public tertiary education provider in 1998, 40 percent had gained a qualification by the end of 2002, 9 percent were still studying, and 51 percent had left without gaining a qualification.
This report profiles student loan debt and repayment, post-study income and going overseas. One of two analytical reports using previously unavailable information from Statistics New Zealand's Integrated Dataset on Student Loan Scheme Borrowers.
This project researched the characteristics of academic staff development programmes and student support services offered in tertiary institutions that make a difference for undergraduate tertiary students in their studies. Student outcomes comprised achievement, participation, progression, retention and completion.
This latest in a series of factsheets on Māori in tertiary education provides information about student loans among Māori students. In addition, an earlier factsheet on Māori participation in tertiary education is now updated with 2004 enrolment data.
This analysis of trends in Māori in tertiary education was commissioned for Hui Taumata 2005.
This latest in a series of factsheets on Māori in tertiary education provides information about student loans among Māori students. In addition, an earlier factsheet on Māori participation in tertiary education is now updated with 2004 enrolment data.
Published July 2004. This report tracks the tertiary education pathways followed over the course of five years by students starting in tertiary study for the first time in 1998.
This report looks at trends in retention, completion, and progression in tertiary education up to 2002.
The second of two annual reports looking at trends in participation in tertiary education. For future years the analysis included in this report was incorporated in Profile & Trends: New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector.
This report was prepared for the Ministries of Social Development and Education, and Treasury. It contains information from the Christchurch and Dunedin longitudinal studies on aspects of adolescent adjustment, and analyses to what extent these are associated.
Reports published by the Ministry of Education on the key trends in enrolments of foreign fee paying students in New Zealand
The first of two annual reports looking at trends in participation rates for formal students in tertiary education over the period 1994 to 2001. From 2004 onwards the analysis included in this report was incorporated in New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector Report - Profile & Trends.
This research focused on the participation patterns of Pacific students in tertiary education and barriers to their participation. It has three parts: a literature review on the experiences of Pacific tertiary students; analysis of national data and information from tertiary education providers on their strategies for recruiting and retaining Pacific students; and interview-based information on the experiences of participants and those who didn't complete their studies or take part at all in tertiary education.
This research project focuses on the educational research capacity and capability of the educational community in New Zealand. Commissioned by the Ministry of Education, the study was conducted by a joint team from the Universities of Auckland and Massey. The study involved 15 higher education institutions (universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, whare wananga) who offered postgraduate level education programmes or were located in population areas where Māori and Pacific nations people live.
