Levels 1 and 2
Student Achievement Component (SAC) funded provision at levels 1 and 2 seeks to:
a. Provide people who do not already have essential foundation skills with a low-cost way to gain them;
b. Provide progression to higher-level study and skilled employment;
c. Build the language, literacy and numeracy skills of eligible students; and
d. To enable beginning students to learn English or te reo Māori.
“Foundation skills” in this context means not just literacy, language and numeracy (LLN, which includes digital literacy), but also life and communication skills that prepare learners for further study or for entering/re-entering the workforce.
Learner eligibility
From 2013, all SAC provision at levels 1 and 2 must be targeted at learners who need it most. This means the majority of learners enrolled in a level 1 or 2 qualification must have little or no prior qualifications at the point of enrolment.
To be eligible, learners should have:
- No or low levels of qualifications i.e. learners must not have NCEA level 2, School Certificate or other equivalent qualifications equal to Level 2 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF). Learners with NCEA level 1 are eligible (Te Reo and ESOL language programmes are exempt from this learner eligibility requirement) .
The new prior achievement criterion seeks to ensure government funding is better targeted to learners with no or low prior achievement, and with literacy and numeracy needs. Over time, no more than 10% of learners enrolling in a level 1 or 2 SAC-funded qualification will have a qualification at level 2 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.
To facilitate the implementation of the new criterion, transitional thresholds have been established. All SAC funded level 1 and 2 providers need to manage their enrolment intake within the transitional thresholds outlined below:
Tertiary Education Organisations (except for enrolments in Mātauranga Māori qualifications at wānanga):
- For 2013, learners who already hold a qualification at level 2 on the NZQF must not comprise more than 30% of new enrolments in a level 1 or 2 SAC-funded qualification; and
- For 2014, learners who already hold a qualification at level 2 on the NZQF must not comprise more than 20% of new enrolments in a level 1 or 2 SAC-funded qualification.
Enrolments in Mātauranga Māori qualifications at wānanga:
- For 2013, learners who already hold a qualification at level 2 on the NZQF must not comprise more than 50% of new enrolments in a level 1 or 2 SAC-funded qualification; and
- For 2014, learners who already hold a qualification at level 2 on the NZQF must not comprise more than 30% of new enrolments in a level 1 or 2 SAC-funded qualification.
The percentage maxima should be calculated in aggregate across all courses delivered at each provider. Enrolments in te reo Māori and ESOL language qualifications should be excluded from calculations of these maxima.
Learners already enrolled in a SAC-funded level 1 or 2 qualification are exempt from the prior achievement criterion in order to enable them to continue and complete their programme of learning.
Providers are expected to self-manage their compliance against the learner eligibility requirement.
Funding Requirements
From 2013 organisations delivering SAC-funded provision must meet the following funding requirements for all levels 1 and 2 provision:
- Organisations must offer qualifications with literacy and numeracy, and generic foundation skills embedded.
- Organisations must use the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool, to assess and report all SAC-funded learners at levels 1 and 2, including pre and post learner assessments (ESOL, Te Reo, and New Zealand Sign Language provision are exempt from this requirement).
- Organisations must access the Single Data Return (SDR) to report learner enrolments, and course and qualification completions. If your organisation does not currently use the SDR, you will be required to gain access to the system and be able to report in April 2013.
- Organisations must have accreditation from the NZQA or other recognised Quality Assurance Body to deliver approved programmes at levels 1 or 2 on the NZQF.
SDR Operational Guidance
TEC has produced SDR operational guidance (PDF, 656 Kb) on the changes required for reporting SAC levels 1 and 2 enrolments, course and qualifications completions etc. The changes relate to the different student support rules (as determined by Studylink), for SAC levels 1 and 2 provision.
SAC Levels 1 and 2 competitive process
During 2012, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) implemented a competitive allocation process for SAC levels 1 and 2 funding for 2013 and 2014. A total of 144 applications were received, totalling $250m worth of provision. A total of $40m funding was available for provision. The remainder of the funding for SAC levels 1 and 2 was allocated as part of the investment plan process.
The following document names the TEOs that have been allocated funding through this process. Some qualifications (and their corresponding allocated EFTS) are conditional upon organisations gaining approval for qualifications or accreditation to deliver qualifications from the NZQA.
Levels 1 and 2 competitive process - successful providers and EFTS allocation (PDF, 133 Kb)
The following documents provide information on the assessment process, the assessment criteria and the assessment framework used for the competitive process.
Levels 1 and 2 competitive process - allocation process and assessment criteria (PDF, 73 Kb)
Levels 1 and 2 competitive process - assessment framework (PDF, 256 Kb)
Notes on assessment information
- Quality scores were awarded on the basis of the information in the application (as per the specified page limit) and the performance data the TEC holds on each TEO (if available).
- The literacy and numeracy capability section was assessed by an external subject matter expert.
- Final decisions were made on the basis of value for money. Some high quality proposals were not funded as the proposed qualifications were expensive relative to others.
- 64 TEOs (including those 25 that were successful) met the minimum quality rating threshold. These TEOs’ applications scored a 2 or more in each section, and had a minimum total score of 16 out of 30.
More information regarding the competitive allocation process is available in: