Profile & Trends 2008: New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector

The Year 2008 in brief

January

Dr Richard Ede is appointed Unitec New Zealand’s chief executive officer following the retirement of Dr John Webster at the end of 2007.

A Skills Strategy forum is announced comprising government, business and industry representatives to implement a  workforce skills strategy for New Zealand.

The Ministry of Education publishes the research report Changes in student allowances in 2006.

February

The Tertiary Education Commission announces an independent expert review  of the $230 million Performance-Based  Research Fund as part of the government’s commitment to evaluate the policy after three years. It also announces that it is  establishing a sector reference group to prepare for the 2012 Performance-Based Research Fund quality evaluation, to be chaired by Professor John Hattie of the  University of Auckland.

An independent expert advisory group chaired by Victoria University’s Professor Gary Hawke supports proposed changes to quality assurance for tertiary education organisations. The new approach is to include institutional self-assessment and  external evaluation and review.

The Ministry of Education publishes the research reports Monitoring research: a synthesis of Ministry of Education analyses of tertiary education research 2004 to 2008; Pasifika peoples in tertiary education in New Zealand (2006); and How the Performance- Based Research Fund has shifted research funding.

March

Additional government funding is announced for research and development in New Zealand’s pastoral and food industries. The new initiative, called Fast Forward, will match government funding with industry funding.

Turkey and New Zealand reach an agreement to promote stronger education links between the two countries.

Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarships are awarded to 42 New Zealand doctoral students.

The Tertiary Education Commission awards 29 projects a total of $18.8 million in funding over three years through the Encouraging and Supporting Innovation Fund.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority consults with the tertiary education sector on a proposal to simplify the National Qualifications Framework credit registration fee.

The Tertiary Education Commission announces membership of the Performance-Based Research Fund sector reference group.

The Ministry of Education publishes the reports Research project on international student exchanges – sending our students overseas (2008); University objectives: an analysis of university annual reports 2002 to 2006; and The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: overview and international comparisons.

April

Government funding is announced for a new European Union/New Zealand exchange programme to support academic and tertiary student exchanges.

Murray Strong is reappointed as Crown Commissioner for Taranaki’s Western Institute of Technology for a further six months.

The Ministry of Education publishes the report Tertiary education enrolments – 2007.

The Skills Strategy forum, comprising government, business and industry representatives, publishes a Skills Strategy discussion document.

Education New Zealand reports the first increase for some years in new enrolments from international students from China.

The Ministry of Education publishes the reports Students’ transition between school and tertiary education: 2nd edition and Tertiary Education Strategy 2007-12 – a framework for monitoring.

The Association of University Staff and the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education announce they are to amalgamate to form the New Zealand Tertiary Education Union from 1 January 2009.

May

The Ministry of Education publishes the research report The experiences of international students in New Zealand: report on the results of the national survey 2007.

Budget 2008 initiatives for tertiary education include a student support package valued at $130.8 million in operating funding and $24.4 million in capital funding over four years. Initiatives include:

• a 10 percent increase in the parental income threshold for a full student allowance from 1 January 2009
• lowering the age limit for student allowances parental income testing to age 24 years, and lifting the maximum rate of student allowances for those aged 24 years to the level for students aged 25 years and above
• indexing the student loan living cost component to inflation from 1 April 2009, following a one-off increase from $150 per week to $155 per week on 1 January 2009, and
• an expansion of the Bonded Merit Scholarship Scheme.

Budget 2008 also includes funding for:

• literacy, language and numeracy as part of the government’s Skills Strategy
• the University Tripartite Forum to support recruitment and retention initiatives and to help align the sector with the tertiary education strategy priorities
• the institutes of technology and polytechnics to support increased collaboration and develop capability in areas such as distance learning
• a Quality Reinvestment Programme for institutes of technology and polytechnics and wānanga
• the industry training organisation strategic leadership role, and
  
• a Tertiary Education Capital Investment Fund.

The Ministry of Education publishes several research reports: Advanced trade, technical and professional qualifications – identifying demand; How does achievement at school affect achievement in tertiary education?; Post-school choices: how well does academic achievement predict the tertiary education choices of school leavers?; and Research par excellence: the factors associated with higher research quality in New Zealand tertiary education organisations.

The Deloitte Report on university academic salaries is published. The report A comparison of New Zealand and selected international (Australia, Canada, England, USA) data was commissioned by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee on behalf of the Tripartite Forum Working Group.

June

The Tertiary Education Minister proposes a 2.6 percent increase for the fee and course cost maxima rates for 2009.

The British Government confirms current visa-free access provisions for academics will remain. The British Government had been considering reducing the period of visa-free entry to the United Kingdom from 12 to three months for academic visitors.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority board announces it will introduce a single fee for registering credits on the National Qualifications Framework.

The Ministry of Education publishes the reports Hei titiro anö i te whāinga: Māori achievement in bachelors degrees revisited; Post-school choices: additional short analysis; and Trends in measured research quality: an analysis of Performance-Based Research Fund quality evaluation results.

National salary bargaining for academic and general staff begins in universities.

July

The Tertiary Teaching Excellence awards are announced, with the supreme award going to Massey University senior lecturer Dr Lisa Emerson.

The Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology is to receive a capital injection of $8 million to build a new arts and media block, and Whitireia Community Polytechnic announces it is developing a $25 million trades training centre.

The government announces a review of tertiary education in the greater Auckland region, along with a $25 million capital injection for the Auckland University of Technology to establish a Manukau campus.

Ministry of Education tertiary-related research publications include the following three reports: Advanced trade, technical and professional qualifications – matching supply to demand; Different tracks – a look at the different ways New Zealanders get tertiary qualifications; and Educational achievements of student support recipients.

In the 2008 research investment round of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, $93.6 million is approved in university contracts.

A scholarship arrangement allowing Chilean students to study in New Zealand is signed in Wellington.

The Tertiary Education Commission announces its new Māori Strategy Directorate will be led by Brendon Puketapu.

August

The vice-chancellor of the University of Canterbury, Dr Roy Sharp, takes up the position of chief executive of the Tertiary Education Commission, replacing Janice Shiner, who completed her three-year term in July.

A new benchmarking system is established by the Tertiary Education Commission to help institutes of technology and polytechnics compare their efficiency and effectiveness to boost student outcomes.

The Tertiary Education Minister appoints Deirdre Dale as a commissioner of the Tertiary Education Commission, while Dr Bill Rosenberg is reappointed.

Tertiary Education Minister Pete Hodgson announces the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki council is to be reestablished in October and its Crown debt written off over a five-year period. The polytechnic’s council had been replaced by a commissioner in December 2006.

Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarships are awarded to 31 New Zealand doctoral students.

The Adams Report, a review of the Performance-Based Research Fund commissioned by the Tertiary Education Commission and written by Dr Jonathan Adams of the United Kingdom, is published.

A proposal to change the way private training establishments’ registration is regulated is announced by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

Government funding of $8 million is announced for NorthTec’s future trades project in Whangarei. The Tertiary Education Commission launches a literacy and numeracy action plan.

September

The Ministry of Education publishes the research report Measuring up – how does the New Zealand tertiary education system compare?

At the end of the March 2008 quarter, more than 16,000 modern apprentices are part-way through or have completed their apprenticeships.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development publishes its 2008 edition of Education at a glance.

The Tertiary Education Commission announces that an adult literacy and numeracy assessment tool is to be developed by the Commission and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

October

Parliament is dissolved for the general election.

A new student exchange programme is announced which will involve up to 30 New Zealand students working on climate change study in Europe.

Dr Rod Carr is appointed as the University of Canterbury vice-chancellor, to start in 2009.

The Hon Steve Maharey takes up the post of Massey University vice-chancellor after New Zealand’s first female vice-chancellor, Professor Judith Kinnear, had completed her term in February.

New collective employment agreements are ratified for academic and general staff at four New Zealand universities (Massey, Canterbury, Lincoln and Otago) and for academic staff at the University of Waikato.

November

The Tertiary Education Union holds its inaugural conference. The union, an amalgamation of the Association of University Staff and the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education, will become fully operational in January 2009.

The newly elected National-led Government announces its Cabinet, with Anne Tolley as Education and Tertiary Education Minister and Dr Wayne Mapp as Research, Science and Technology Minister and Associate Minister for Tertiary Education.

December

The Tertiary Education Minister, Anne Tolley, releases the Briefing to the Incoming Minister from the Tertiary Education Commission and the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education publishes the research report Changes in student allowances in 2007.

The Tertiary Education Commission agrees to fund students from the Auckland University of Technology’s new law school, New Zealand’s sixth law school.

Sharn Riggs, national secretary of the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education, is appointed national secretary of the new Tertiary Education Union, which will be formally operational in January 2009.

The New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit publishes Massey University: te kunenga ki pürehuroa academic audit report cycle 4. This is the first report of the fourth cycle of academic audits for the period 2008 to 2012.

The 2008 Student Loan Scheme annual report, prepared by the Ministry of Education with assistance from Inland Revenue, the Ministry of Social Development and Statistics New Zealand, is published.