Retention, Completion and Progression in Tertiary Education

This report provides some exciting new information on achievement in tertiary education. Retention, completion and progression concern the rate at which students persist in their studies and eventually complete a qualification, and of these, how many then move on to further study. This is the first time such information has been published in New Zealand, and covers most students in formal tertiary study between 1998 and 2002.

The report analyses, among other things, some interesting questions such as:

• what percentage of students starting a tertiary qualification will successfully complete it?
• what percentage will leave study without completing a qualification?
• what percentage of students completing a qualification will then go on to further study?
• how do these rates differ for different levels of study; eg sub-degree, degree and postgraduate?
• how do these rates differ between male and female students, Mäori, Pasifika, Asian and NZ European/Päkehä students, and between older and younger students?
• how do these rates differ between different parts of the sector?

This report is part of a series of analytical reports on the tertiary education sector and is produced by the Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis & Reporting unit of the Ministry of Education. To see what else is available take a look at the tertiary publications available.

A copy of the report can be accessed from the link below. You will also find some supplementary tables and two technical reports on retention, completion and progression from this link.

The introduction of the national student number (nsn) in 2003 provided a unique opportunity to independently assess the quality the matching. The assessment exercise showed very positive results, with an error rate of 3.3%. Full details of this assessment can be downloaded from the link below.

Downloads

Summary [394 KB]
Supplementary Tables [870 KB]
Technical Documentation [472 KB]
More Background on NZ & International Definitions [409 KB]
Matching Assessment [177 KB]
ATEM 2004 Conference Paper [240 KB]

Related Education Counts Documents

This publication forms the basis of a theme report on Retention, Completion and Progression in Tertiary Education in New Zealand.

How long do people spend in tertiary education