6 - Diplomas at Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics

This section follows 15,000 students who began a diploma at an ITP in 2000. After 7 years, that is, by the end of 2006:

• Just 34% of students had gained their diploma, or a higher-level qualification.
• A further 11% had gained a certificate instead.
• 48% had left without gaining any qualification. However, 40% of these students had passed every course they had enrolled in.
• Nearly half (47%) of all diploma students enrolled in 2006 already held a tertiary qualification gained in the previous 12 years. Nearly one in four (23%) already held a diploma.
• 20% were still enrolled 7 years later, however just 3% were still studying having not yet gained any qualification.
• 29% of students changed providers before completing. 7% to a degree, 8% to another diploma, and 13% to a certificate. 10% went to another ITP, 9% to a university and 7% to a PTE.
• The most common transfer was to a university to do a degree (6% of all starters). 2% of students completed a degree at a university instead of their original ITP diploma.
• In total, 21% of ITP diploma students progressed to degree level or higher study, either before or after completing their diploma, and 8% had gained a degree or postgraduate qualification by the end of 2007.
• On average, 6% transferred and completed a diploma or higher-level qualification at a different provider. On average, transferring students increased individual ITP completion rates (same level or higher) by 6 percentage points from 36% to 42%.

32,000 people started a diploma for the first time in 2006. Students studying diplomas made up 14% of all formal students in 2006. One in every 10 first-time students chose a diploma, and diplomas were the initial entry point to tertiary study for 14% of students enrolled in 2006.

Diploma starters are older than degree starters. Just 20% are under 20 when they start, compared with 52% for degree starters. 60% of diploma starters are aged 25 and over when they start. Diploma students are more likely to come from the workforce than school (54% compared with 13%). Diploma students are less likely than degree students to be studying full-time for a full year (33% compared with 78%).

While diplomas are offered by universities and wananga as well as PTEs, they have traditionally been most widely offered by institutes of technology and polytechnics. In 2006, 47% of all undergraduate diploma students studied at ITPs, compared with 28% at PTEs, 18% at universities, and 7% at wananga. 15,000 students started a diploma at an ITP for the first time in 2006, and 7% of all students enrolled in 2006 began tertiary study with an ITP diploma. In 2006, students were enrolled in 470 different diplomas over the 20 ITPs.

A diploma has traditionally represented a more vocationally-oriented study pathway. This is reflected in subjects that are more directly related to specific occupations or vocations. Typically lasting two years, diplomas are shorter than degrees, and it is less common to continue on to further, higher-level academic study. Along with workplace-based learning, diploma study at ITPs provides the most direct pathway for influencing the fit of skills between what the labour market has and what it needs.

Ministry of Education statistics¹ show that just 24% of students starting an ITP diploma have completed a diploma after five years. This is the lowest of any qualification level. However, to date, these statistics do not take into account students completing a higher-level qualification, or students who only take out one or two courses, with perhaps no intention of doing the full qualification. This section explores the pathways of 15,000 students who started an ITP diploma for the first time in 2000.

Figure 10 - Students starting a diploma for the first time in 2000 – their completion status after 7 years

Note: The figure of 21% for those who passed all courses but left with no qualification is based on 2001 diploma starters, and is used as a proxy for the group of 2000 starters.

The graph above shows the highest qualification obtained by ITP diploma students after 7 years. 34% have gained a diploma or higher-level qualification after 7 years. 48% left without any qualification. An estimated 40% of those leaving without a diploma had passed every course they enrolled in, some 21% of all those who started.

Table 3 - Students starting an ITP diploma in 2000 – highest level achieved after 7 years

ITP diploma students transferred at a similar rate to bachelors students. 29% of ITP diploma starters changed providers before completing their diploma. 10% went to another ITP mostly to do another diploma, or a certificate instead. 9% of transferring students went to a university, mostly to degree-level study, while 10% went to a PTE or wananga. 86% of those students who gained a diploma gained it from the ITP they started at. Most of those who had gained higher-level qualifications did so from a university. 59% of those who gained a higher-level qualification did so from the same ITP they started their diploma at.

In total, 21% of ITP diploma students had progressed to degree level or higher study after 7 years. 8% had gained a degree or postgraduate qualification by the end of 2007. In particular, 2% of students starting their diploma at an ITP completed a degree at a university instead.

While 34% of students starting an ITP diploma had completed a diploma or higher-level qualification after 7 years, a further 11% gained a lower-level certificate instead. 48% left without any qualification. Over 40% of those leaving without a diploma had passed every course they enrolled in, some 21% of all those who started. This suggests that for some students at least, their intentions may be course-related rather than qualification-related. Given the more vocational nature of diploma qualifications, it is likely that many of these (particularly those in employment already) have qualifications already, and are enrolling with the intention of passing specific courses, rather than a qualification, for example to update specific vocational skills.

Information on student intentions is not routinely collected. However, one might expect that many of the students who already hold a tertiary qualification, especially at the same level, would be more likely to be enrolling with the intention of passing specific courses rather than another qualification. The graph below shows the highest tertiary qualification gained between 1994 and 2005 by students who were enrolled in ITP diplomas in 2006.

Figure 11 - What tertiary qualifications have 2006 students gained in the last 12 years?

A third of all diploma students enrolled in 2006 had completed a tertiary qualification in the previous 12 years. At least 8% already held a diploma and 6% held a degree or higher. Unlike degree students, just one-third of diploma starters were full-time full-year students, 54% came from the workforce, and 60% were aged 25 and over. Given this profile, and the fact that over 40% of all those who did not complete a diploma had successfully passed all their courses, the very low qualification completion rate for diplomas may mask what is, in fact, successful course-based study for many older workers seeking to up-skill.

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.

On average, 6% of each ITP's diploma students transferred and completed their diploma or a higher-level qualification at another provider. This ranged from 0% for one ITP to 13% for another. This then was the extent to which system-level completion rates exceeded provider completion rates. Between 64% and 100% of those completing a diploma or higher-level qualification, completed it at the same ITP as they started at, while between 0% and 36% completed at a different provider from the one they started at. On average, transferring students added 14% to provider completion rates (same level of higher), increasing rates by 6 percentage points from 36% to 42%.² 
 

Footnotes

1. Education Counts website
   
2. This section uses arithmetic averages of each ITP's completion rate, while the main analysis is based on an overall rate for the ITP's combined. See the technical notes section for further details.