Staying the course: school leavers completing their first one-year non-degree qualification Publications
Publication Details
This study looks at the performance of young tertiary students studying in their first one-year non-degree qualification. Performance is measured as to how likely it is they complete that same qualification.
Author(s): Ralf Engler, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: March 2013
Summary
Key Findings
Overall, young intramural students studying in one-year non-degree qualifications do not perform very well. The likelihood of them completing this same qualification in one year is about 35 per cent, a little less than their likelihood to drop out.
However, when the type of study is controlled for—separating students who study full-time versus part-time—full-time students perform considerably better, with moderately high likelihoods of completing these one-year non-degree qualifications in years one and two. As expected, part-time students in these qualifications are most likely to complete in year two. Full-time and part-time students have much the same likelihood of dropping out in year one and very few students progress past year two in these types of qualification. Importantly, the likelihood of completing in year two for part-time students is lower than the likelihood of full-time students to complete in year one.
If a student’s prior school achievement and their ability are also controlled for, we find that students of average ability with higher school achievement are more likely to complete a one-year non-degree qualification than similar students with lower school achievement, and this is true for both full-time and part-time students. Students with higher school achievement are also less likely to drop out. But interestingly, full-time and part-time students of average ability with the same level of school achievement have about the same likelihood of completing these qualifications in their expected year of completion—year one for full-time students and year two for part-time students.
These apparently contradictory findings—part-time students either do or don’t have the same likelihood of completing as full-time students, albeit a year later—can be explained by the fact that students with higher school achievement are more likely to start their tertiary study as full-time students, and these students are more likely to complete their qualification in one year. It is also the case that part-time students are more likely to have lower school achievement, and have on average lower ability than full-time students. Students with lower school achievement and lower ability are less likely to complete. It therefore appears as if part-time study is associated with lower likelihoods of completing. What is actually driving the observed lower levels of completion is the lower ability of these second-year students, not the fact they are studying part-time. When we compare students with the same ability and the same level of school achievement, we find there is little or no difference between full-time and part-time students in their likelihood of completing this type of qualification in their expected year of completion.
Nevertheless, proportionally fewer part-time students complete these one-year non-degree qualifications. This can be explained by the fact that part-time students, on average, take an extra year to complete, so there is more opportunity for these students to drop out of their studies.
These findings are important, because they shift the focus from the reasons why students aren’t completing, to why they are dropping out. While there will always be students who won’t complete a qualification, regardless of their ability to do so, more can be done to ensure students begin qualifications they will want to complete, and keep them sufficiently motivated to ensure they actually complete.
Navigation
Where to find out more
Contact Us
For more information about the content on this webpage, please email the: Tertiary Mailbox