Provider-based enrolments

This page summarises the key trends in enrolments, equivalent full-time students (EFTS) and participation rates at universities, Te Pūkenga (institutes of technology and polytechnics), wānanga and government-funded private training establishments (PTEs). The data covers domestic and international students that were enrolled during the 12 months to December 2021. Full data tables can be accessed on this page. Participation rates for 2021 will be added once data is available.

What does the 2021 data show?

• The overall number of students enrolled in formal study at tertiary providers increased by 4.7 percent (17,695), from 380,090 in 2020 to 397,785 in 2021.
• Domestic student numbers increased again in 2021. There were 9.0 percent (or 29,605) more students enrolled in 2021 than in 2020. As expected with the continuing impact of COVID-19, international student numbers decreased significantly by 23 percent (11,915), from 50,920 in 2020 to 39,005 in 2021.
• All ethnic groups saw an increase in enrolments for domestic students. Asian and Pacific Peoples saw the highest percentage increases (14.6 percent and 9.9 percent respectively), while Māori and European groups showed lower percentage increases (7.9 percent and 8.8 percent respectively).
• Domestic student numbers increased across all subsectors, and international student numbers decreased across all subsectors apart from wānanga. The largest increase in student numbers occurred in Te Pūkenga with 13,585 extra domestic students (representing a 12 percent increase in domestic students) but Te Pūkenga also had the largest decrease in international student numbers of 5,345 (representing a 43 percent decline in international students).
• Changes in study load, measured in EFTS, followed similar trends as for student enrolment numbers.

Total participation

The overall number of students enrolled in formal study at tertiary education providers in 2021 increased by 4.7 percent (17,695), from 380,090 in 2020 to 397,785 in 2021. Domestic student numbers increased again in 2021. There were 9 percent (or 29,605) more students enrolled in 2021 than in 2020. As expected with the ongoing impact of COVID-19, international student numbers decreased significantly (by 23 percent or 11,915 students), from 50,920 in 2020 to 39,005 in 2021 (see Table 1).

Enrolments for females increased slightly more than for males. Note that reporting of students identifying with another gender started in 2019. Year on year changes in this gender category may mostly reflect increasing reporting compliance and the reporting of demographic details of students new to tertiary education.

Figure 1: Domestic student enrolments, EFTS and participation rates 2012-2021

Participation by ethnic group

Table 2 compares domestic enrolments and EFTS for the main ethnic groups for 2020 and 2021. All ethnic groups saw an increase in enrolments for domestic students. Asian and Pacific Peoples saw the highest increases (14.6 percent and 9.9 percent respectively), while Māori and European groups showed lower increases (7.9 percent and 8.8 percent respectively).

Enrolment changes were largely reflected in EFTS numbers, with increases for Asian (by 13.2 percent) and Other ethnic groups (by 10.3 percent), although these percentage increases were slightly less than the percentage change in student enrolment numbers. The decline in Māori enrolment numbers and EFTS seen in 2020 is reversed in 2021.

Figure 2 shows participation rates by ethnicity for 2015 to 2020. Participation rates for 2021 will be added once population data is available. Māori and Pacific rates were consistently higher than other groups, and while all groups had decreases in rates up to 2019, European and Asian participation rates stabilised in 2020.

Figure 2: Domestic participation rates by ethnicity 2015-2020

Participation by subsector

All subsectors showed an increase in total student enrolments in 2021, although this was because the increase in domestic student numbers outweighed the decrease in international students. For most the increase was between 3 and 7 percent, with wānanga having a higher percentage increase at 13.7 percent but this was off a smaller base (see Table 3).

Except for the wānanga subsector, which has few international enrolments, all other subsectors had large decreases in international enrolments. The largest decreases were for Te Pūkenga (by 43 percent), followed by PTEs (by 23 percent) and universities (by 15 percent). Note that the percentages were calculated on the unrounded data.

Participation by qualification level/type

Enrolments increased across all qualification levels except graduate diplomas and certificates between 2020 and 2021. The larger increases were for lower-level non-degree qualifications. Level 1 certificate enrolments increased by 22 percent (2,365 students) and Level 2 certificates increased by 12 percent (2,340 students), while diplomas and certificates at Levels 5-7 increased by 13 percent (6,430 students). In general, the trends for enrolments are repeated for EFTS, although masters degrees EFTS declined slightly compared with a slight increase in student numbers (see Table 4).

Technical Notes and Definitions

Data sources:

Ddata relates to students enrolled at any time during the year with a tertiary education provider in formal qualifications of greater than 0.03 EFTS (more than one week's full-time duration). Data excludes all non-formal learning and on-job industry training. Data includes those private training establishments that received Student Achievement Component funding, and/or had students with student loans or allowances, and/or delivered Youth Guarantee programmes. Students are counted in each ethnic group they identify with. Totals also include those students with unknown values.

Equivalent full-time student (EFTS):

One equivalent full-time student (EFTS) unit is defined as the student workload that would normally be carried out in a single academic year (or a 12-month period) by a student enrolled full-time.

Participation rate:

The total participation rate is the percentage of the population aged 15 years and over who were enrolled at any time during the year. Rates are only calculated for domestic students. Rates for 2021 are not able to be calculated at this time.

Rounding:

Data, including totals, has been rounded to the nearest 5 to protect the privacy of individuals, so the sum of individual counts may not add to the total.

Te Pūkenga:

The New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST) was established in 2020 as part of the reforms of vocational education. It is a new kind of organisation providing work-based, on campus, and online vocational learning and training across the country. NZIST brings together the previous 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) into one organisation, and over time, will develop the capability to support work-based, campus-based and online learning as a unified system. More information can be found on the website for Te Pūkenga.