Wānanga 2012

The 2011–13 planning environment

Wānanga will need to use existing resources, rather than Government funding increases, to deliver on their core roles, meet Government expectations, and support TES priorities.  A capped tertiary education funding environment, with limited funding for enrolment volume growth will continue during 2011-2013.

Meeting Government expectations for wānanga

The TES defines the core roles and expectations for wānanga as:

Core Roles

Government Expectations

To provide quality education in accordance with kaupapa Māori philosophies, principles and approaches To undertake teaching and research that advances and disseminates knowledge, develops intellectual independence, and assists the application of knowledge regarding āhuatanga Māori and tikanga Māori To contribute to the survival and well being of Māori as a people

Create and share new Māori knowledge that contributes to whānau, hapū and iwi prosperity, and to New Zealand’s economic, social, cultural and environmental development Make an increasing contribution to sector-wide leadership, through advancing mātauranga Māori at all qualification levels and across all fields of study Enable students to complete a range of sub-degree, degree and postgraduate qualifications, with clear study paths to higher levels of learning through a Māori paradigm

Wānanga are expected to contribute to the tertiary education sector through the distinctive way they operate, through the areas they work in, and through the groups they work with.

Wānanga attract many first-time tertiary education learners, both Māori and non-Māori, at foundation-level study and will be expected to support these learners on to higher levels of study. This could be within the wānanga sector, on to universities, ITPs or other tertiary education providers.

Wānanga as national providers deliver through multiple sites often utilising community resources to support teaching and learning. While the wānanga sector is relatively smaller than the ITP and university sectors, its contribution can be enhanced by collaborating with other tertiary education institutions in teaching and learning, and research activities. 

Wānanga contribute toward many of the broader economic, cultural and social goals of New Zealand. These include the regeneration of Māori language, customs and traditions, the utilisation of Māori assets, including those gained through recent treaty settlements and the generation of new knowledge around mātauranga Māori.

Each wānanga is unique and is expected to contribute to the tertiary education sector and to support the achievement of TES priorities, taking account of its strengths and in response to its learner and community needs.

Wānanga as national providers have a broad role with each wānanga making differing contributions to meet Government expectations and to support the achievement of TES priorities.  Each wānanga will develop a portfolio of programmes that reflects the needs of its various communities and, in many cases, will be delivering in those communities utilising local resources. While there is scope for wānanga to deliver at all qualification levels, each wānanga will make choices about what it offers building on its relative strengths and in response to learner and community need.

The Government has identified Māori learner achievement at higher levels of study as one of its TES priorities. Wānanga will directly contribute to the Government’s TES priorities through delivery of high quality education and research.  They will also continue to develop initiatives with other tertiary education providers that support the education and research needs of Māori and others. Collaborative arrangements with other providers in teaching and learning, and research activity, will enhance the leadership role of wānanga in the advancement of mātauranga Māori.

Wānanga engagement and delivery approaches with learners and their communities reflect an increasing knowledge and understanding of diverse Māori contexts and circumstances. The wānanga context, ways of knowing, ways of doing and ways of being are different from other tertiary education providers.  These approaches are more akin to kaupapa Māori philosophies, pedagogies and methodologies that are reflected in wānanga governance and management. Wānanga have successfully engaged working-aged and mature Māori, many of whom are undertaking tertiary education for the first time.  In future, the wānanga will be expected to develop learning options that attract younger learners transitioning from secondary schools. For some wānanga this may mean adjusting delivery options and developing new qualifications that better meet the needs of younger learners.

In general, each wānanga will be expected to respond to iwi goals and priorities and to increasingly align its systems for delivery and performance with TES priorities.  This will include some programmes with a strong vocational focus while others will focus on the transmission of hapū and iwi knowledge according to ahuatanga Māori and tikanga Māori.

The TES emphasises the importance of maintaining high levels of financial performance. Wānanga will need to manage costs within existing available funding streams, and continue to seek efficiency gains. Financial performance will be monitored through the Tertiary Education Commission’s (TEC’s) Financial Monitoring Framework.

In summary, for the 2011–13 planning horizon, each wānanga will need to:

• Determine which of the core roles, Government expectations and TES priorities to focus on, in order to meet the needs of iwi, local industries, communities, and learners
• Right-size the institution so that it is fit for purpose, in line with this focus
• Improve educational delivery and performance, reflected through Plan commitments
• Fit operating and capital costs within revenue
• Collaborate with schools and other tertiary education organisations to provide learners with more effective pathways for achieving higher qualifications, and to reduce unnecessary duplication
• Exercise strong governance and leadership.

Achieving the TES priorities

Wānanga will contribute to the following TES priorities:

• Increasing the number of young people (aged under 25) achieving qualifications at level four and above, particularly degrees
• Increasing the number of Māori students enjoying success at higher levels
• Increasing the number of Pasifika students achieving at higher levels
• Increasing the number of young people moving successfully from school into tertiary education
• Improving literacy, language, and numeracy and skills outcomes from level one to three study.

In addition, wānanga will contribute to the TES priority: Strengthening research outcomes by being research-informed in regard to their educational provision. Wānanga will also be expected to provide sector leadership through the development of new knowledge and understanding in advancing mātauranga Māori.

There are three key areas that wānanga will be required to focus on in order to support the TES Priorities:

• Aligning provision to support the TES priorities
• Raising achievement rates for enrolled learners
• Enabling successful learners to contribute to the local and national economy.

Aligning provision to support the TES priorities

The TES states the Government wants to see more young people, Māori and Pacific peoples achieving at higher levels (NQF Level 4 and above), particularly at degree level.

The TES sets out the Government’s national priorities for the tertiary education system over a medium term horizon.

The first four TES priorities will be achieved over time through a combination of:

• improvements to the school system, including successful transition from school to tertiary studies
• the engagement of educationally disadvantaged older learners that need additional skills for success in tertiary education or the labour market.

This means that wānanga will need to develop a carefully planned response to the TES that balances national and local priorities, setting out their proposals for preparing learners for successful progression to NQF Levels 4 and above.

This will result in institutions identifying an appropriately challenging change path to better target programmes towards the education needs of young people, Māori and Pacific peoples.

The TEC will engage with wānanga to identify how each institution’s provision and enrolment profile relates to the educational needs of its catchment population, TES priority groups, and the delivery of other tertiary education organisations.

Wānanga will also be expected to identify how they can support Government secondary–tertiary education initiatives, and provide strong pastoral care for secondary students transitioning into tertiary education.

NQF Levels 1-3: Preparing learners to achieve at higher levels of tertiary education and gain meaningful employment

The TES signals the need to improve literacy and numeracy results for learners from NQF Levels 1-3 study. Wānanga that wish to offer provision at Levels 1-3 will be required to show how they intend to achieve this TES priority during the Plan engagement process.

Effective provision at these levels also prepares learners to succeed at higher levels of tertiary education and progress to higher-skilled jobs. This includes learners who have not been enabled to succeed in a secondary school environment, learners without previous tertiary qualifications, and migrants.

The wānanga sector will continue to have an important role in delivering this education.

Wānanga will need to adequately prepare learners at lower levels of the NQF, and actively support progression in line with each learner’s skill development, in order to then support higher-level achievement for TES priority groups. 

The TEC will be engaging with wānanga on the volume and nature of provision at NQF Levels 1-3. Provision at these levels will be expected to:

• be delivered through a Māori paradigm
• be practical/vocationally focused
• strengthen learners’ literacy and numeracy skills as appropriate
• result in increased progression to higher levels of study, and the gaining of skills that contribute to gaining meaningful employment.

By the end of 2011 wānanga will have built their capacity and capability to deliver embedded literacy and numeracy and should plan to increase this as a proportion of their NQF Level 1-3  provision.  Including literacy and numeracy as part of NQF Levels 1-3  provision will become ‘business as usual’.

Raising achievement rates for enrolled learners

The TES states that a key driver to improve the value of public investment in tertiary education is to improve course and qualification completion rates. Completion of courses and qualifications indicates that learners have achieved their learning goals, and is associated with better employment and social outcomes.

Wānanga therefore need to be aware of the educational needs of learners, enrol learners into programmes that meet each learner’s needs, and support each learner to succeed. Wānanga enrol many first time learners in foundation education and, for these learners in particular, good preparation in a tertiary education setting and early success are important steps toward higher levels of study.  Learner achievement rates will influence future funding allocations to wānanga.

As part of the Plan development process, the TEC will be providing each wānanga with course and qualification completion performance statistics in relation to TES priority groups. Wānanga will be expected to outline how they intend to raise output performance, to support the development of performance commitments in these areas.

The TEC will also discuss the performance of institutions in supporting learners to continue their study towards a qualification (i.e. retention/continuation), and progressing learners to higher levels of learning in tertiary education (i.e. progression).

Enabling successful learners to contribute to the local and national economy

The TES states that one of the Government’s six main structural policy drivers is to ensure New Zealand has the skills it needs to drive economic performance.

For wānanga, this means providing qualifications that contribute to whānau, hapū and iwi prosperity through better utilisation and stewardship of Māori assets, responding to the changing skill needs of business and industry, preparing learners with the skills they need for a successful career, and contributing to the survival and well-being of Māori as a people.

The relevance of qualifications will continue to be determined by how well they meet the needs of learners, iwi, business, and key community groups. It is expected that, during Plan engagement, each wānanga will be able to provide evidence that shows how it engages with these groups, and the impact of this on the proposed programme of delivery. 

The TEC will continue to work with the sector to develop approaches to capture the employment outcome performance of qualifications. These will inform future funding decisions and the publication of performance information.

Although the policies for incentivising qualifications with higher outcome performance have not been finalised, institutions should plan their provision on the basis that outcome performance will inform funding and monitoring processes in the future.