Summary

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, Māori, Pasifika, Asian and NZ European/Pākehā 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.

The introduction of the national student number (nsn) in 2003 provided a unique opportunity to independently assess the quality the matching.

Statistics on rates of retention, completion and progression have not previously been available in New Zealand. This is currently changing with the collection of course completion data from 2002, and the introduction of a national student number from 2003, which will provide the opportunity to more readily analyse rates in the future.

Many countries overseas collect and report information on rates of retention and completion, although there are a number of variations in the concepts used. OECD measures provide the only consistent international comparisons, but are not able to provide true longitudinal cohort-based measures.

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