Student Achievement Component

• • Variable credit values
  • National certificates and diplomas
  • Studying extra courses
  • Full-year programmes
  • Studying integrated programmes
  • Studying more than normal learning hours
  • EFTS value - accelerated or compressed programmes
  • EFTS value - convergence of methods
  • EFTS value of qualifications
  • Course size
  • Additional courses
  • EFTS factors of courses

EFTS factors of courses

Qualifications need to be disaggregated into courses for SAC[1] funding in line with Rule SAC052[2].  We set the total EFTS value of a qualification according to the total credits, learning hours or tuition weeks indicated in the quality assurance approval document.

The EFTS[3] value of a one-year, full-time qualification is normally 1.0 EFTS unit.

The steps each TEO[4] must take in disaggregating a qualification into courses are outlined in Rule SAC053[5].  

Academic justification must be made if a TEO decides not to disaggregate a qualification. Rule SAC054[6] explains that we will not fund such a qualification without supporting information.

Calculation method

The methods to calculate the EFTS factor of a course are contained within the following rules:

A different methodology applies to EFTS factors of ACE courses.

• [1]

  Student Achievement Component fund (SAC)

• [2]

  Rule SAC052: EFTS factor of courses - requirement

  Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must disaggregate qualifications into component courses before an external quality assurance body approves the qualifications. TEOs must allocate Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) factors to each course within the qualification.

• [3]

  Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS)

• [4]

  Tertiary education organisation (TEO)

• [5]

  Rule SAC053: EFTS value of courses - disaggregation of qualifications

  Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must provide the Tertiary Education Commission with accurate information about the qualification. TEOs must do all of the following:

  • Disaggregate the qualification into component courses based on the content and the way the delivery of learning is organised
  • Determine the credits or points, plus the planned learning hours and full-time weeks of study for the courses
  • Decide on a course code or unique local identifier for each course
  • Select the appropriate subject classification for each course to determine the funding category. 90% or more of the content or subject matter should fit the classification.
    Note: see the 1-39 Classification Prescription
  • Select a subject classification for each course using the New Zealand Standard Classification of Education for statistical reporting purposes.
    Note: see the Services for tertiary education organisations website.
• [6]

  Rule SAC054: EFTS value of courses - non-disaggregation of qualifications

  Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must supply information to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) that academically justifies a decision not to disaggregate a qualification. The TEC will not, in the absence of other supporting information, approve funding for a single course leading to a qualification that the TEO has not disaggregated.

• [7]

  Rule SAC055: EFTS value of courses - calculating from qualifications measured in credits

  When a qualification is measured in credits, a tertiary education organisation must calculate the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) factor for each course by:

  1. dividing the number of credits in the course by the total number of credits in the qualification, then
  2. multiplying this number by the EFTS value of the qualification.

  The following is provided as an example, and is not part of the Rule:

  For a qualification with a total of 60 credits and an EFTS value of 0.5, the EFTS factors of the courses in the qualification are calculated as:

  Courses	Credits	Qualification EFTS value	Course EFTS factor
  1	24	0.5	24 / 60 x 0.5 = 0.2000
  2	20	0.5	20 / 60 x 0.5 = 0.1667
  3	16	0.5	16 / 60 x 0.5 = 0.1333
  	Credits = 60		EFTS value = 0.5

• [8]

  Rule SAC056: EFTS value of courses - calculation method

  When tertiary education organisations calculate the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) factors of courses, they must:

  • Express the EFTS factors as numbers with four decimal places
    Example 0.1250 or 0.6667
  • Use the same measuring tools they used to determine the EFTS value of the qualification
  • Ensure the sum of the EFTS factors for the courses in the longest strand (if more than one strand) required for the qualification equals the EFTS value for that qualification.
• [9]

  Rule SAC057: EFTS value of courses - calculating one year courses exceeding 120 credits

  When a tertiary education organisation (TEO) delivers a qualification in one year and the credits exceed 120, the TEO must calculate the courses' Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) factors using the total actual credits (not 120).

   

  Example:

  The following is provided as an example, and is not part of the Rule:

  For a qualification with a total of 135 credits and an EFTS value of one unit, the EFTS factors of the courses in the qualification are calculated as:

  Courses	Credits	Qualification EFTS value	Course EFTS factor
  1	60	1.0	60 / 135 x 1.0 = 0.4444
  2	60	1.0	60 / 135 x 1.0 = 0.4444
  3	15	1.0	15 / 135 x 1.0 = 0.1111
  	Credits = 135		EFTS value = 1.0

  
  

  If the example qualification had been approved with an EFTS value of 1.125 EFTS (an exception to the 1 EFTS per year limit) the same calculation would be used, but substituting 1.125 EFTS for 1 EFTS.