Different Tracks - a look at the different ways New Zealanders get tertiary qualifications

7 - Learners' View

This section describes results of current qualitative research being undertaken by the Tertiary Education Commission into learners’ perceptions of tertiary education.¹ The results are provided in an effort to provide context to the quantitative data set out in this paper. The research involves a substantial number of focus groups with today’s tertiary learners.

Learners involved in the research have come from all sectors of tertiary education and from all levels. The research is continuing and will be ongoing as there is a shifting population of learners from year to year. A limitation of the research is that only current students are involved in the focus groups, meaning that at present there is no information available from past students. However, there is no reason to assume that the current thinking of learners is radically different from that of the recent past.

Within the focus groups, participants are encouraged to discuss any issues that may affect their progress through tertiary education. A number of themes are emerging through this research. One such emerging theme concerns progression through the tertiary system.

Some insight into the reasons for learners leaving before completing a qualification has been provided in the focus groups. There are some learners who have chosen to complete a lower-level qualification in a different discipline than their initial enrolment. The decision to change may occur either before or after completion. The most common reason given is that learners consider that they will not be able to gain employment or that they are not enthused by the type of employment they can pursue with their initial qualification. Some students leave one provider and enrol at a different provider in a lower-level qualification because of perceived labour market pressures. Many of those who had not completed their initial qualification indicated that they intend to return to it at some stage. Others are enrolled in another qualification after completion of their initial qualification, as they perceive, in their particular discipline, employers prefer graduates from other institutions.

Transferring between institutions can be a difficult process for learners. The real transferability occurs within an institution with learners able to progress to higher-level qualifications with relative ease. Within the ITP sub-sector, while learners may enrol in a particular qualification – over a number of years – there is the opportunity to leave at the end of each year with a lower qualification. Thus, in some cases, their apparent completion of a qualification lower than their original enrolment is the result of an administrative process rather than a reflection of the learner’s wishes regarding qualifications.

When changing from one institution to another, learners encounter a number of administrative and academic problems. Cross-crediting of courses can be a difficult process. Some students who complete a bachelors degree and wish to move on to postgraduate study at a different institution are required to complete other courses (such as a postgraduate diploma), and may be subject to different rules from those who have come from a bachelors degree in the same institution. For instance, transferring learners may be expected to maintain a B+ average over the course to enable them to progress to higher-level postgraduate studies. Students also encounter other barriers. Some who complete at diploma level in the ITP sector and apply for a bachelors-level qualification at a university, are refused entry because the university does not recognise their qualification, even though the ITP has advised the learner that progression is possible.

Coupled with this is the proliferation of similar courses and confusion surrounding nomenclature. Many learners argue that they do not understand the difference between national and provider qualifications. They believe that if a qualification has been approved by NZQA, it is a national qualification. They consider institutions do little to correct this misunderstanding.

Some learners in the latter years of a bachelors degree have commented that they do not consider themselves to be 'work ready'. They also consider that the qualification that they will receive will not allow them to move into the workforce at the level of remuneration that they had anticipated when beginning study. Some refer to this as 'qualification creep' because they feel it is necessary to gain a qualification at a higher level before entering the workforce.

One theme that emerged from the focus groups is that a number of people transition from secondary school to tertiary education (particularly university education) with little real knowledge of the type of course that they wish to study. This results in a hasty, last-minute selection of courses of which the learner has scant real knowledge. In making their selection of courses, learners are, therefore, reliant on course advice supplied by the tertiary education organisation. Learners have commented that course advice is sometimes misleading. This occurs at all levels. Further, changes in courses over the time taken to complete makes it difficult for learners to progress to completion. Students tend to take course advice from one school/faculty only, and therefore, this advice may not include courses available throughout the wider organisation and the tertiary sector as a whole. Learners’ ability to complete is affected by this.

Learners also give a number of other reasons for changing their discipline throughout the learning process. For some, it is the differing lecturing styles within disciplines. Some learners prefer smaller, seminar-type, teaching sessions over large (in numbers) lectures and, as a result, are drawn to disciplines employing this type of learning. For others, it is simply recognition that their initial choice of discipline was incorrect. Others cite choosing courses – and disciplines – based on the quality of teaching available.

These are simply a few of the instances that have been commented on within the focus group that allow for some interpretation of the quantitative data from the learner's perspective. They are not meant as a definitive set of circumstances but rather to provide a people-focus to the data. They also do not include any provider perspectives on these issues. Much more research is required in this area to ascertain the full set of circumstances that are behind learner movement within the tertiary education sector.
 

Footnote

1. Tertiary Education Commission, Learner Engagement Project.