Enrolment changes

Procedures for changes of enrolment and withdrawals must be included in TEOs' Single Data Return reporting under Rule ENR077[1].

There are a number of requirements concerning enrolment changes and withdrawals outlined in the following rules:

Rule ENR073[2]	TEOs’ specification of withdrawal time period. Learner withdrawal and SDR.
Rule ENR074[3]	Our requirements for withdrawal time periods
Rule ENR133[4]	TEOs’ cancellation of a course

If a learner has paid fees via a student loan, StudyLink requires the TEO to send a new Verification of Study to declare the date of withdrawal.

There are also rules relating to changes and re-enrolment affecting enrolment contracts.

PTEs should read section 236A of the Education Act 1989 for the definition of the learner withdrawal period.

Rule ENR079[5] explains the effects of learner withdrawal on SAC funding for all TEOs.

• [1]

  Rule ENR077: Enrolment changes and withdrawals

  To meet auditable standards, tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must record domestic student and trainee withdrawals.

  TEOs other than industry training organisations (ITOs) must record withdrawals on a withdrawal form, and must also record any change in enrolment or withdrawal in their student management system for reporting in the Single Data Return.

  ITOs must record trainee enrolment changes (including putting training on hold) and withdrawal from training in their trainee management system, for reporting in the Industry Training Register.

• [2]

  Rule ENR073: Enrolment changes and withdrawals - TEOs’ specification of withdrawal time period

  Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must do all of the following:
  

  • Specify the period in which learners may change their enrolments or withdraw without penalty (less any administration charge)
  • Cancel the enrolment of any learner who withdraws during the specified period for change or withdrawal. The enrolment must not be reported in the Single Data Return (SDR)
  • Only claim Student Achievement Component (including Youth Guarantee) funding for a learner, through the SDR, after the specified time period for a learner to withdraw without penalty has ended
  • Promptly record all changes in enrolment or withdrawals in their Student Management System
  • Promptly update the learner’s enrolment record to reflect the change
  • Ensure that policies on withdrawals and refunds of tuition fees comply with the requirements of the Tertiary Education Commission and, when appropriate, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and make these policies available to learners when they apply for admission
  • Supply a withdrawal form to learners who wish to formally withdraw from their enrolment, and process learner withdrawal forms according to their student management system
  • Promptly record learners who informally withdraw, for example by ceasing attending courses, in a manner consistent with the withdrawal policy of their student management system
  • Record learners who receive a discretionary leave of absence greater than the TEO’s standard minimum attendance requirements
  • Record learners who are expelled from the TEO due to a breach of the TEO’s code of conduct
  • Report, through the Single Data Return, learners who withdraw after the specified period for withdrawal has passed, whether the withdrawal is instigated by the learner or the TEO.
• [3]

  Rule ENR074: Enrolment changes and withdrawals - TEC's specification of withdrawal time period

  Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must meet the following time period requirements when changes are made to enrolments supporting Student Achievement Component (SAC), including Youth Guarantee, funding:

  • The period for change of enrolment and withdrawal must be measured from the date the teaching of a course commences
  • TEOs must retain records of course involvement that are at an auditable standard for all courses (including tertiary education institution Adult and Community Education courses). If attendance records are an inappropriate measure, for example for distance learners, TEOs must retain appropriate alternative records such as a measure of the workload attempted.
• [4]

  Rule ENR133: Enrolment changes and withdrawals - TEO course cancellation

  If a tertiary education organisation intends to cancel a course, it must inform learners affected by the cancellation by the end of the specified period for withdrawal.

• [5]

  Rule ENR079: SAC learner withdrawal - eligibility for funding

  The minimum time period for a learner who withdraws from any course to be eligible to support Student Achievement Component (SAC) funding is 10% of the course completed or one month completed, whichever is the lesser.

  If a learner withdraws, or is withdrawn, and receives any fee refund (where fees apply), the tertiary education organisation (TEO) may only claim the same proportion of the SAC funding as the proportion of the fee it retains.

  If a learner has paid or committed to pay tuition fees and compulsory course costs (where fees apply), and formally or informally withdraws, or is expelled, after the defined withdrawal period, the learner remains a valid enrolment for funding purposes and the TEO may claim SAC funding in relation to that enrolment (subject to any fee refund).