All Tertiary Education Publications
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Latest New Zealand tertiary education and industry training demand forecasts
The New Zealand tertiary education demand forecast report presents the methodology used by the Ministry of Education to forecast the demand for provider-based tertiary education at Levels 3 and above on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework. It also includes the…
Author(s): Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: June 2026
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Self-reported effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) 2023
This report examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of New Zealand adults aged 16 to 75 years. It uses peoples’ own evaluations of how the pandemic had affected eight areas of their lives. The data was…
Author(s): Nicola Marshall, Paul Satherley (Senior Research Analysts), and Dee Earle (Principal Research Analyst), Ministry of Education
Date Published: May 2026
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University rankings fact sheets
The latest performance of New Zealand universities in international rankings.…
Author(s): Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: June 2015
Updated: March 2026
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The mobility patterns of New Zealand's doctoral graduates
This report examines the mobility patterns of doctoral graduates who completed their degrees in New Zealand between 2005 and 2023. It explores how many domestic doctoral graduates leave New Zealand, how many come back and how many remain overseas. It…
Author(s): Asaad Ali, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: December 2025
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Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2025
The Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2024/25 provides key information about the scheme for students, tertiary providers and the general public. The report includes detailed audited financial schedules, an analysis of costs and the valuation of the scheme as at…
Author(s): Ministry of Education
Date Published: December 2025
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Persistent non-repayers
This report analyses the characteristics of student loan persistent non-repayers. They are student loan borrowers who left study in 2006 with a leaving debt of at least $20 and who, as New Zealand-based borrowers, made no repayments in three or…
Author(s): Loan Pham, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: April 2019
Date Updated: October 2025
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A review of the New Zealand evidence on the benefits of tertiary education
What does existing evidence say about the benefits of tertiary education in New Zealand? This report reviews the body of New Zealand research on this question and aims to summarise what we know and don’t know so well. It aims…
Author(s): David Scott, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: August 2025
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Rangatahi Māori who were aged 15 years in 2009 - their income up to age 28
This report is the second in a series on educational outcomes for rangatahi Māori. It focuses on a cohort of 13,340 rangatahi Māori who were aged 15 years in 2009 and living in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2022. The report…
Author(s): Nicola Marshall and Dee Earle, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: August 2025
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How did the quality ratings of PTEs track over time?
This study tracks the quality rating pathways of private training establishments (PTEs) who received their first Category status between 2009 and 2013 when the external evaluation and review (EER) system was rolling out across the sector.…
Author(s): Dr. Warren Smart, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: July 2025
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Monitoring Gateway and Trades Academies, 2025
This report monitors the education and employment outcomes for both the Gateway programme and the Trades Academies programme. These are complementary programmes that support vocational education in secondary schools.…
Author(s): Dee Earle, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: June 2025
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Recent trends in school leavers going overseas
Are our highest achieving school leavers increasingly choosing to do their tertiary studies overseas? This paper looks at the recent trends in the data to see if this is true and discusses some of the potential policy implications.…
Author(s): David Scott, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: April 2025
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Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2024
The Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2023/24 provides key information about the Scheme for students, tertiary providers and the general public. The report includes detailed audited financial schedules, an analysis of costs and the valuation of the Scheme as at…
Author(s): Ministry of Education.
Date Published: December 2024
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Skills in New Zealand: Survey of Adult Skills 2023 (PIAAC)
This report provides a first look at findings from New Zealand’s participation in the OECD’s 2023 Survey of Adult Skills. The Survey directly measured the skills of New Zealand adults aged 16 to 65 in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem…
Author(s): Dee Earle, Principal Research Analyst, Paul Satherley, Senior Research Analyst, and Nicola Marshall, Senior Research Analyst, Ministry of Education
Date Published: December 2024
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Who stayed working and who retired? 2018-2023
This report looks at recent patterns of older people staying in work or retiring. It takes the population aged between 60 and 75 in 2018 and follows them to 2023 when they were aged 65 to 80. It aims to…
Author(s): Paul Satherley, Senior Research Analyst, Ministry of Education
Date Published: September 2024
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How does New Zealand's education system compare? OECD's Education at a Glance 2024
This report "How does New Zealand's education system compare?" draws on the New Zealand results in OECD's Education at a Glance 2024 and summarises the characteristics and performance of New Zealand's education system in an international context. This year’s report…
Author(s): David Scott and Asaad Ali, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: September 2024
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Rangatahi Māori who were aged 15 years in 2009 – their educational achievement, participation in education and employment up to 2022
This report is the first in a series on educational outcomes for rangatahi Māori. It focuses on a cohort of 15,400 rangatahi Māori who were aged 15 years in 2009 and looks at their educational achievement and patterns of participation…
Author(s): Nicola Marshall and Dee Earle, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: June 2024
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Do students come back? An analysis of regional flows of student travel after tertiary study
This report examines the mobility of a cohort of former school leavers after their tertiary study. It looks at where school leavers live, and what are they doing, seven years after enrolling in tertiary study at public tertiary institutions: wānanga,…
Author(s): Gabriele Frigerio Porta, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: May 2024
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Let’s Get Accessible: Disabled students’ experiences navigating the tertiary education system
Let’s Get Accessible: Disabled students’ experiences navigating the tertiary education system is a collaborative project between the Ministry of Education, National Disabled Students Association, Tertiary Education Commission, and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. The project gathered qualitative data on the…
Author(s): Jessica Smith
Date Published: February 2024 Updated: May 2024
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Comparison of education earning premiums using tax and survey data
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) collects data on education and earnings from its member countries. It uses this data to show the earnings differences – ‘benefits’ or ‘premiums’ – for different levels of education, and how these
Author(s): Asaad Ali and David Scott, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: April 2024
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Quality ratings of PTEs: an analysis of private training establishments’ external evaluation and review reports 2009-2022
In this report, information from 1,701 EER reports of private training establishments (PTEs) published between 2009 and 2022 is analysed to identify patterns and trends in the quality ratings for educational performance and self-assessment.…
Author(s): Dr. Warren Smart, Tertiary System Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: April 2024
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