To enable us to determine whether or not to approve a qualification as eligible for DQ3-7 funding, we require the following information when the qualification is submitted for approval through the STEO website:

• the provider code (EDUMIS number) of the TEO seeking the approval;
• the qualification code used on the NZQCF;
• the title of the qualification;
• the number of learning hours per week;
• the number of full-time teaching weeks per year;
• the equivalent full-time learner (EFTL) value of the qualification calculated using the following methods:
  • credits; and
  • learning hours; and
  • full-time weeks; and
• the approval documents from the relevant quality assurance body.

When approving a qualification as eligible to access DQ3-7 funding, we will:

• check that the details of the programme leading to award of the qualification are consistent with your quality assurance approval for the programme;
• consider whether the EFTL value of the qualification is correct;
• check that the course, programme and/or qualification are eligible in accordance with the funding mechanism and/or funding conditions;
• consider whether eligible learners enrolled in the qualification will be able to access a student allowance and/or student loans; and
• consider whether delivery of the qualification aligns with our investment priorities, what the stakeholder needs are, and the extent of existing similar provision.

A detailed description of the required information is set out below.

TEO/provider code

You must give us the four-digit code assigned by the Ministry of Education to uniquely identify your TEO. A list of the four-digit codes assigned to TEOs is set out in Appendix 1 of the SDR Manual.

Qualification code

You must supply the qualification code. The format of the qualification code is alphanumeric, usually two letters followed by four numbers. The two letters are a standard code, e.g., NZ (New Zealand Certificate or New Zealand Diploma) or PC (Local programme code).

If you intend to offer a New Zealand Certificate or Diploma listed on the NZQCF, use the NZQCF code for the qualification for all references to the qualification.

Title of qualification

You must give us the title of the qualification(s) for which you are seeking approval for funding.

Note: This does not mean the title of the programme that NZQA approved unless the programme title and qualification title are the same.

You must provide us with information about the duration of the programme, specifically the learning hours and full-time teaching weeks.

Learning hours

NZQA defines “learning hours” as all planned learning activities leading toward the achievement of programme or qualification learning outcomes.

Types of learning activities include but are not limited to:

• lecturer and tutor contact hours, including workshops and tutorials;
• tests and assignments;
• supervised practical placements;
• study time;
• self-directed learning activities that you expect the learner to engage with/participate in; and
• examination periods.

There are three fields for types of learning activities on the STEO website. We acknowledge that three fields are a limitation in light of the various learning activities that TEOs employ with learners. However, a TEO should break down its learning activities, and enter hours in the STEO fields below as accurately as possible, based on the guidance below. The three fields are:

• teaching hours each week – eg, face-to-face classroom/online/field trip/simulation time, tutorials, on-site assignments, assessments and examinations;
• work experience hours each week – eg, time the learner spends practising or learning skills relevant to their study programme in a workplace; this includes a teaching workplace, which may be on-site, so long as it operates as a commercial enterprise; and
• self-directed study hours each week – TEO-directed study carried out by the learner, eg, time the learner spends on off-site assignments (such as homework assignments), and TEO-directed reading and study hours that the learner must complete in their own time. Note: Self-directed study does not include self-directed activities that the learner initiates.

Note: A TEO will need to use a consistently applied rationale, in terms of which activities constitute what programme learning hours in STEO for each of the three fields above.

In relation to the number of learning hours in the qualification, you must give us the: 

• number of teaching hours each week (see above);
• number of work experience hours each week (see above);
• number of self-directed learning hours each week (see above);
• total number of learning hours each week;
• total number of learning hours in each year;
• number of years it will take to complete the qualification; and
• total number of learning hours in the qualification (number of learning hours in each year multiplied by the number of years).

Total learning hours in STEO must be the same as the total programme/qualification learning hours approved by NZQA. We expect actual delivery to align with the total learning hours and the learning activities approved by NZQA. This means we expect each TEO to regularly review the delivery of its programme(s) to ensure they are “right sized” for most learners (recognising that some learners take more or fewer learning hours to achieve a qualification than others).

Note: During audits and investigations, we may check whether a TEO’s delivery reflects our and NZQA’s approvals. To do this we triangulate NZQA approval documentation, STEO data and your information for learners, and compare the information to actual delivery.

Full-time teaching week

A full-time teaching week includes the types of learning hours outlined above.

In relation to the number of teaching weeks in each year of the qualification, you must give us the:

• number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching weeks;
• number of weeks of recess in each year;
• total number of full-time teaching weeks and recess weeks in each year – FTE gross;
• number of credits on the NZQCF contained in the qualification; and
• number of credits that a learner must achieve each year to complete the qualification.

We generally will not approve a qualification for funding that is longer than 34 weeks in a year, although we may fund an individual learner’s enrolment for more than 1.0 EFTL in a year. 

We require the EFTL value of each qualification to determine whether a qualification is eligible to access DQ3-7 funding.

For conditions on assigning EFTL values to qualifications, see the funding conditions for the relevant year.

The EFTL value of each qualification must be specified to no more than four decimal places. The EFTL value determines the workload involved in each qualification and is required so that we can appropriately fund you to deliver the qualification.

This information must be determined using the following methods:

• credits;
• learning hours; and
• full-time weeks.

Each of the three methods should produce the same result. If they do, we can be confident that a learner who is studying for a qualification is undertaking a normal and reasonable workload.

Each method is set out in more detail below.

Credits

A credit measures the average amount of learning that is required to complete the qualification or part of the qualification.

The EFTL value can be calculated using the credits method by dividing the number of credits for the qualification by 120 (the standard number of credits that equate to one full-time year of study).

Example: If a qualification has 60 credits: 60 divided by 120 = 0.5 EFTL.

Learning hours

The EFTL value can be calculated using the learning hours method by dividing the qualification’s total learning hours by 1,200 (the standard number of learning hours that equates to a full-time year of study).

Example: If the total learning hours for one semester in a qualification is 600 hours: 600 divided by 1,200 = 0.5 EFTL.

Full-time weeks

The EFTL value can be calculated using the full-time weeks method, by dividing the length of tuition for the qualification in weeks by 34 (the standard number of weeks that equate to one full-time equivalent teaching or tuition year).

Example: If the qualification has a length of 17 weeks: 17 divided by 34 = 0.5 EFTL.

EFTL value when qualification has strands

A qualification may have a range of options or electives with variable credit combinations. These are called strands. Each strand is likely to have a different total EFTL value.

If a qualification has two or more strands, you should determine the EFTL value for each strand. We require the EFTL value of the strand that has the highest EFTL value for our calculations.

You must calculate the EFTL factor of each course in the strand to calculate the EFTL value of the strand. The EFTL factor of a course can be determined in the following ways:

• dividing the course credits for a qualification that has up to 120 credits by 120;
• for a qualification that has more than 120 credits and we have agreed to fund more than 1 EFTL per learner per year, dividing the course credits by the credit value of the qualification; and
• for a qualification that has more than 120 credits, and we have not agreed to fund more than 1 EFTL per learner per year, dividing the course credits by 120.

For conditions on assigning EFTL values to qualifications with strands, see the funding conditions for the relevant year.

Example:

In this example, if we approve the qualification for funding, it will be approved as 75 credits as this is the credit value of the longest strand. The EFTL value of the qualification is therefore 0.625 (75 credits/120 = 0.625 EFTL).

If an approved qualification in STEO has a value of 1.0 EFTL but more than 120 credits, the credit value of the longest strand is used to determine the course EFTL factor for each strand. This ensures that courses common to both strands have the same EFTL factor.

Example: In this example, the credit value of 150 is used to divide the credits, not 120:

If you need guidance on concurrent qualifications, discuss this with the Customer Contact Group, phone 0800 601 301, email customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

If two qualifications are being included in a single programme, please contact NZQA for approval and accreditation.

Learners wanting to defer their start date

You may agree to defer a learner’s enrolment start date, but you should have a policy for the circumstances under which a student may defer their start date.

Note: No DQ3-7 funding can be claimed unless the learner has started their study and the 10% or one month date for accessing funding has passed.

Learners wanting to accelerate their study (undertake additional learning)

You should not enrol a learner in an additional course or qualification unless the learner elects to exceed the annual EFTL value of the qualification to accelerate their programme of study or training. For example, a learner may choose to complete a three-year qualification in two-and-a-half years by undertaking a higher than usual course load each year.

In that instance we expect the additional learning hours to be matched by an appropriate number of additional teaching hours.

Example: a qualification that is 34 weeks each year in length is generally 1.0 EFTL in value each year, which equates to 0.03 EFTL each week.

0.03 EFTS per week x 34 weeks = 1.0 EFTL.

If a learner studies for 52 weeks in a year, the maximum amount of EFTL that we will fund for the learner is 1.56 EFTL.

0.03 EFTS per week x 52 weeks = 1.56 EFTL.

You must ensure that such a learner understands the workload that will be required of them to achieve their course and qualification completions.

Extra courses within a qualification

If a course within a qualification is optional, it will usually be eligible for DQ3-7 funding. In these circumstances, a learner’s enrolment may generate more than 1 EFTL in a 12-month period – for example, if a learner takes an:

• additional course in an academic year towards a qualification that requires more than one year of study; or
• optional summer-school course towards the qualification.

If an extra course becomes the norm for all learners undertaking a qualification, we will consider the change to be a significant change to a qualification, which requires approval from the relevant quality assurance body and the TEC (see below).

Quality assurance requirements

To be eligible for DQ3-7 funding, a course must be part of a programme that has been quality assured. For universities, the quality assurance body is the Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP). For all other TEOs that use DQ7+ funding, it is the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

To determine whether to approve a qualification for DQ3-7 funding as part of your Mix of Provision (MoP) in your Investment Plan we require evidence that the appropriate quality assurance body has approved the programme leading to the award of the qualification.

Defining a qualification

You must give us the following information that defines the qualification:

• the qualification award category (recognised qualifications have an award category code – refer to Appendix 9 of the SDR Manual);
• the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level of the qualification (refer to Appendix 9 of the SDR Manual);
• the level of the qualification on the NZQCF (refer to Appendix 9 of the SDR Manual);
• the outcome of completing the qualification (eg, whether the qualification is designed to lead the learner directly into the labour market); and
• the New Zealand Standard Classification of Education (NZSCED) of the qualification (refer to Appendix 8 of the SDR Manual).

Making a change to a programme leading to the qualification

To make a change to a programme leading to a qualification, you must first check with the relevant quality assurance body if its approval is required for the change. For universities the quality assurance body is CUAP, while NZQA quality-assures all other providers and their programmes.

Once you have the required approval, you need to reflect the changes in STEO. In doing that, you must meet the requirements of any conditions on making changes to qualifications.

For conditions on making changes to qualifications, see the funding conditions for the relevant year.

Course component disaggregation

Before an external quality assurance body approves a programme leading to a qualification, and before we will approve a qualification as eligible to access DQ3-7 funding, you must disaggregate the qualification into component courses.

You must give us all the following information about each component course in the qualification:

• provider code;
• course code;
• course title;
• qualification code;
• course classification;
• NZSCED field of study;
• level of the course on the NZQCF;
• number of credits of the course;
• funding category of the course;
• EFTL factor of the course;
• if the course is part of a pre-service teacher education qualification, the stage of the course;
• course tuition fee (if any), including compulsory course costs;
• whether the course has an internet-based learning component;
• tuition fee that will be paid by international fee-paying learners who are enrolled in the course; and
• whether the course has embedded literacy and numeracy skill development in the provision.

Resources

• A full list of NZSCED classifications is provided in the SDR Manual appendices.
• For more information on NZSCED classifications, see New Zealand Standard Classification of Education – Education Counts.
• For alphabetic codes and numeric codes see the Delivery Classification Guide.
• For more information on conditions on setting course fees and costs, see Funding conditions by year.

The EFTL factor of a course equates to the course size that is a portion of the total EFTL value of the programme leading to award of the qualification of which the course is part. In STEO, the field name is “Qualification”, which means programme leading to award of the qualification.

As a guideline, we recommend that the size of the smallest course should not have an EFTL factor of less than 0.1.

Although you may choose to deliver a smaller course, if the course is based on a single unit standard and has a course EFTL factor of less than 0.1 we do not require you to further disaggregate the course in STEO.

You may report delivery for one qualification as one course. However, that means that a learner can only enrol in the one course (ie, the whole programme) leading to award of the qualification.

After a programme has been disaggregated into courses and we have approved these as eligible for access to DQ3-7 funding, you cannot retrospectively disaggregate the programme further.

Calculation

If a qualification is measured in credits, we require the EFTL factor of a course to be calculated by:

• dividing the number of credits in the course by the total number of credits in the qualification; and
• multiplying that number by the EFTL value of the qualification.

EFTL factor = course credits/qualification credits x EFTL value of the qualification

However, if a TEO proposes to deliver a qualification in one year for which the credits exceed 120, we require the TEO to calculate the EFTL factor for that course using the total number of credits, not 120.

The EFTL factor must be expressed to four decimal places.

Example: If a qualification has a total of 60 credits and an EFTL value of 0.5, the EFTL factors of the courses in the qualification are calculated as:

Course tuition fee (FEE)

For conditions on setting course fees and costs see the funding conditions for the relevant year.

The course tuition fee (inclusive of GST) is the standard fee that domestic learners normally pay for tuition and costs associated with enrolment in the course. Importantly, the course tuition fee is not the following:

• compulsory course costs (eg, administration charges, examination fees, material charges); and
• fees exempt from the Annual Maximum Fees Movement (AMFM) (eg, learner services levies, learner association fees, health fees, and recognition of prior learning fees).

No fee can be charged to a learner apart from compulsory course costs (below) and/or the course tuition fee and/or the student services fee.

Programme approval relating to data submitted through the ITR

The following ITR programme types do not require approval by us:

• Supplementary Credit Programme (SCP);
• Limited Credit Programme (LCP); and
• Industry Training (IT).

Note: See Micro-credentials funding and fees.

For information about NZ Apprenticeship approval see New Zealand Apprenticeships.

There are some restrictions on the use of DQ3-7 funding. For restrictions on the use of funding see the funding conditions for the relevant year.

Any additional restrictions will be in your Funding Confirmation Letter as an organisation-specific condition.

Programme-specific restrictions

Aviation

Applicable to provider-based programmes only (not work-based programmes reported through the ITR).

If you receive DQ3-7 funding for aviation provision that includes an in-flight training component (pilot training), you must supply StudyLink with correct learner enrolment information through the Verification of Study (VoS) system.

You must also ensure that:

• annual Student Loan Scheme borrowing for course fees by any pilot training learner studying full-time does not exceed:
  • $35,000 per EFTL, if the learner is not eligible for Fees Free tertiary education; and
  • $35,000 per EFTL, less up to the maximum payment of $12,000 paid by us on behalf of the learner for fees; and
• where a pilot training learner is studying part-time, their annual Student Loan Scheme borrowing for course fees does not exceed the proportion of $35,000 represented by the EFTL course load that the learner is enrolled in. For example, if the learner is studying a 0.4 EFTL course load in the year, their student loan borrowing limit for the year is $14,000.

Micro-credentials

Quality assured micro-credentials at Level 3–7 are eligible for DQ3-7 funding if they meet our funding criteria.

For more information on how to apply for micro-credentials funding, see the micro-credential approval criteria and process for funding.

Removing a qualification

You can remove a qualification that you no longer offer from your MoP and from STEO. This removes the qualification from the NZQA Register of Quality Assured Qualifications and your list of active qualifications from STEO.

For more information see the STEO user guide.