Profile & Trends 2000: New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector Publications
Publication Details
This report is the third edition of the Ministry of Education's annual survey of the state of the tertiary education sector.
Author(s): Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis and Reporting, Ministry of Education
Date Published: October 2001
Summary
New Zealand's Tertiary Education Sector Report: Profile & Trends 2000 is the third Ministry of Education report on the tertiary education sector. It provides an overview of the sector in 2000 and, where possible, includes the latest statistics relating to tertiary education in 2000.
Major themes of the report this year include the high levels of student participation and achievement in tertiary education in New Zealand, the diversity of the tertiary education sector, and the significant amount of innovation and change taking place in 2000. The report also looks in more detail at pathways students use to enter tertiary education, industry training initiatives, support for Māori and Pacific students, innovative partnerships, the rapid growth in e-learning, and the increasing range of research activities in the sector.
The statistics provided in this report are derived mainly from tertiary education providers' statistical reports to the Ministry of Education. Information and statistics have also been provided by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Skill New Zealand, the Industry Training Federation, quality assurance agencies, the Department of Work and Income, Career Services and a range of other government departments.
Some statistical information is based on a 'snapshot ' of students and staff taken mid-year on 31 July 2000. Other figures relate to the full year in 2000. The source of statistical information is noted in tables and graphs, to clarify whether mid-year or full-year statistical information has been used. Further statistical data is available on the Ministry of Education website at www.minedu.govt.nz. Financial information is usually based on the July to June fiscal year.
Statistical information in the report relates to students studying with public and private tertiary education providers, unless otherwise indicated. Statistics are provided on students studying with colleges of education, private training establishments, polytechnics, universities, and wānanga. Information has been included from private training establishments that are government funded and those that are not government funded, although data available from the latter is more limited than data from other providers. The statistics in the report generally cover government-subsidised students and those who pay full-cost fees, such as international students. Students studying in community courses, foundation courses, and in secondary schools through the Secondary-Tertiary Alignment Resource scheme are also included in some of the statistical information in this report.
The report covers industry training facilitated by Industry Training Organisations and funded by Skill New Zealand, and transition programmes administered by Skill New Zealand, such as the Youth Training and Training Opportunities programmes. Students involved in industry training and transition programmes are often taught by providers such as polytechnics and private training establishments, and statistics about these students are included in the data for relevant tertiary education providers. In addition, some sections of the report look specifically at industry training and transition programmes.
This report provides limited information about other areas of the sector, such as non-institutional forms of industry training and in-house company training courses. While these are important aspects of the tertiary education sector, the quality and quantity of data available for analysis generally favour the institutional rather than the non-institutional parts of the sector.
Key Findings
Student Participation and Achievement
Readers new to the sector will be surprised by its sheer scale and diversity. Around 265 000 students were formally enrolled in courses with tertiary education providers at 31 July 2000. It is estimated that over 355 000 learners studied in some form of tertiary education in 2000 as a whole.
The number of students in the tertiary education sector as a whole continued to grow in 2000, with the number of formally enrolled students rising by 4.2 percent since the previous year.
In 2000, over 70 000 new students entered tertiary education. Only 37 percent of those entering were school leavers. Nearly half of the formal students enrolled in tertiary education in 2000 were aged 25 or over, while those over 40 years are a rapidly growing subset of the total student population.
A wide range of foundation and bridging programmes are now run by tertiary education providers to assist those who lack skills and qualifications into tertiary learning. In 2000, 1522 students were enrolled in bridging courses in tertiary education institutions throughout the country.
The workplace, too, is an important tertiary learning pathway thanks to the Industry Training Strategy and new initiatives such as Modern Apprenticeships. In 2000, around 63 000 students were engaged in structured workplace learning leading to tertiary qualifications and organised through Skill New Zealand and Industry Training Organisations. In addition, nearly 37 000 students were involved in transition programmes administered by Skill New Zealand, such as the Youth Training, Training Opportunities, and Skill Enhancement programmes.
Record numbers of students studied for recognised tertiary qualifications in 2000. In July 2000, 264 353 students were studying for formal tertiary qualifications. Of these, 52 percent were studying at degree level or above. New Zealand's rate of entry into university education (71 percent) is well above the OECD average (45 percent). There is also an increasing trend for students to progress to postgraduate studies, with a 17 percent increase in postgraduate students since 1997.
International student numbers are rising again, after a drop in the late 1990s as a result of the Asian economic crisis, and have grown by 29 percent from 1999 to 2000. Since 1996, there has been a 27 percent increase in the number of learners completing their programmes of study. In all, close to 75 000 students graduated with a tertiary qualification in 2000.
Some groups remain under-represented in tertiary education, despite these positive trends, notably Māori and Pacific peoples and students from low decile secondary schools. For example, only one in 10 Māori students and one in eight Pacific students who left school in 1999 enrolled at university in 2000, whereas more than one in four of all 1999 school leavers enrolled at university in 2000. The number of Māori and Pacific students participating and achieving in tertiary education has, however, increased in recent years. Since 1996, for example, there has been a 33 percent increase in the number of Māori graduates and an even greater increase (54 percent) in the number of Pacific graduates. One long-standing disparity has been reversed. Women were once less likely than men to be involved in tertiary study, but the trend has been for increasing numbers of women to participate in tertiary education. Overall, women represented 57 percent of students in tertiary education institutions in 2000.
There is evidence in this report to suggest that New Zealand is making solid progress towards becoming a knowledge society with learning opportunities for all. For example, based on current rates of participation, it is now estimated that 85 percent of the population will enrol with a tertiary provider by the time they reach 25 years of age.
Tertiary Education Providers
In 2000, learners could study for tertiary-level qualifications at colleges of education, polytechnics, private training establishments, universities, wānanga, secondary schools and in the workplace. The sector included 38 public tertiary education providers and 834 registered private training establishments.
The number of private training establishments recognised for government tuition subsidies increased significantly in 2000. Over 70 private providers received government tuition subsidies for the first time in 2000.
Throughout the country an estimated 86 000 courses were taught by nearly 14 000 teaching staff, supported by another 14 000 administration, research and management staff. A new university, Auckland University of Technology, was established in January 2000, while a merger between the Universal College of Learning and Wairarapa Community College was announced in 2000.
New technology is also having an impact on the sector, and the report describes some of the new e-learning initiatives for students and e-management initiatives that are bringing efficiencies in areas such as administration and record keeping.
The major research activity in New Zealand's tertiary education institutions took place in universities, which reported over 16 844 research outputs in 2000. During the year, universities were successful in gaining funding for new research projects of around $43 million from the Health Research Council, $22 million from the Public Good Science Fund, and $9.5 million from the Marsden Fund.
Financial Support
Many students are supported in their studies by student loans. The number of students taking out student loans during 2000 increased by 11 percent. Total student debt from the student loan scheme reached $3.52 billion as at 30 June 2000. The Government's budget for tertiary education increased by an estimated 15 percent in 2000/01 to $3.023 billion. Of this sum, around 44.5 percent funded student tuition subsidies, 20.5 percent funded student loans and 13 percent funded student allowances. A further 5.1 percent funded training for designated student groups through industry training and transition programmes such as the Youth Training and Skill Enhancement programmes. Tertiary education is a substantial area of economic activity. The net worth of the tertiary education sector, measured by total equity, has risen from $2.17 billion in 1992 to $3.6 billion in 2000.
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