5 - Bachelors Degrees at University

This section follows 27,000 students who began a bachelors degree at a university in 1997. After 10 years, that is, by the end of 2006:

• 62% of students had gained their degree, or a higher-level qualification.
• 22% had gone on to postgraduate-level study, 4% were still enrolled in postgraduate study, and 14% had gained a postgraduate qualification.
• 1.4% (or 370 students) had progressed to doctorate level. By the end of 2006, 29% of these had completed their doctorate, 59% were still studying towards a doctorate, and 10% had not completed a doctorate and were not enrolled in 2006.
• 5% had gained a masters degree, and 9% of these had gone on to doctorate level.
• In total, 68% had gained some qualification, including 6% who gained a certificate or diploma instead.
• 28% had left without gaining any qualification. 3% were still studying having not yet gained a qualification. 13% of the starting cohort were still enrolled 10 years later.
• On average, 8% transferred and completed (at bachelors level or higher) at a different provider. The average university completion rate (which excludes those who transferred) was 56% compared with an average rate of 64% when transfers were included.

After certificate study at ITPs, university degree study is the most common entry point for tertiary study. About 25% of all students in formal provider-based study in 2006 began here. About 28,000 people embarked on a university bachelors degree in 2006. A further 6,000 (or 17%) started a degree at an ITP, while another 1,000 (or 3%) began a degree at a wananga or PTE in 2006.

63% of students starting a university degree for the first time were first-time students (compared with 26% for non-university degrees). 52% were first-time tertiary students aged under 20 (compared with 14% for non-university degrees). One in 8 was an international student. 78% studied full-time for the full year. In 2006, students were enrolled in over 300 different bachelors degrees at the 8 New Zealand universities, plus an additional 180 different bachelors degrees at ITPs, wānanga or PTEs.¹

Ministry of Education statistics² show that about 50% of people who start a university degree have completed it after five years. However, this figure excludes those who complete a higher- or lower- level qualification, or who are still studying and may go on to complete in the future. In this section, we look at the group of 27,000 students who started a university degree in 1997 and follow their study over the next 10 years. The graph on the following page summarises the outcomes for this group.

While 50% had completed after 5 years, 58% had completed a degree after 10 years. A further 4% completed a higher-level qualification instead. In total, 62% had completed a bachelors or higher degree after 10 years. A further 6% left with a certificate or diploma qualification, while 2% were still studying towards their degree. 28% had left without gaining any qualification.

Figure 9 - Students starting a bachelors degree in 1997 – highest qualification attained after 10 years

The table below shows the status of 1997 university degree starters at the end of 2006. 1.4% (or 370) of the 27,000 students had progressed to doctorate level. By the end of 2006, 29% of these had completed their doctorate, 59% were still studying towards a doctorate, and 10% had not completed a doctorate and were not enrolled in 2006.

In total, 22% of the 1997 university degree starters had progressed to postgraduate study, and 15% had completed a postgraduate qualification after 10 years.

Table 2 - Students starting a bachelors degree in 1997 – their completion status after 10 years

The above table also shows that around 30% of 1997 degree staters had changed providers at some stage over the following 10 years. 20% did so before completing a degree, while a further 10% did so after completing their degree.

Ministry of Education completion rates are system rates, rather than provider rates, in that they count people who transfer and complete at different providers. These rates will generally always be higher than provider rates, which typically don't count people who transfer away from that provider.

The average 10-year bachelors degree completion rate for 1997 starters across the 8 universities was 56%. On average, 8% of bachelors students transferred and completed their degree or a higher-level qualification at another provider. This rate ranged from 6% to 11% over the 8 universities.

This then was the extent to which system level completion rates exceeded provider completion rates. Between 81% and 92% of those who graduated, did so at the same university, while between 8% and 19% completed at a different university from the one they started at.  On average, transferring students increased 10-year university degree completions rates from 56% to 64%.³

Footnotes

1. The number of degrees on offer at providers can depend on how providers have structured their qualifications, for example conjoint degrees. For example, what is counted as several different qualifications at one provider may be grouped as one degree at another.
2. Education Counts website
3. This section uses arithmetic averages for the 8 university completion rates, while the main analysis is based on an overall rate for the 8 universities combined. The average university completion rate was 64% while the overall completion rate was 62%. See the technical notes section for further details.