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Adult and Community Education

Adult and Community Education delivery requirements

Requirements for Adult and Community Education delivery at universities

Adult and Community Education (ACE) offered by universities is different to ACE offered by other tertiary education organisations (TEOs). Universities share their expertise and available research base with the local community.

In recognition of the different nature of university ACE provision, the TEC has developed five university-specific ACE priorities.

  1. Providing specialised and research-informed higher level learning that contributes directly to the creation of an advanced and rapidly evolving knowledge economy
  2. Contributing to the knowledge society through the preservation, dissemination and application of university research
  3. Promoting the development of critical and reflective thinking, and active and informed citizenship locally, nationally and globally
  4. Facilitating pathways into and through university education
  5. Building capability in the wider ACE sector (while having regard to the ACE Professional Development Strategy).

Notional EFTS

Rule TRA002: Universities may aggregate the enrolments when it is not practicable to record individual course enrolments in an ACE activity. This aggregation of enrolments results in 'notional EFTS'.

Notional EFTS units must amount to no more than 10 percent of an individual university's annual ACE funding.

Universities must record notional EFTS computations, and the reason why notional EFTS have been claimed, for audit purposes.

ACE delivery by schools, OTEPs, rural education activities programmes (REAPs) and community providers.

Rule TRA003: No class of day school students, delivered by schools, 'other tertiary education providers', rural education activities programmes, or Community providers, may be re-organised as an ACE course even if taken outside usual day school hours.

ACE delivery through schools

Schools may deliver ACE directly, or through local community providers who work closely with schools to plan and provide ACE programmes for adults outside of school provision.

Rule TRA004: Schools delivering Adult and Community Education (ACE) must have an ACE advisory group. The advisory group must include representatives from the Board of Trustees; and local people nominated by community providers and appointed by the Board of Trustees. The advisory group's composition should reflect local adult and community learning aspirations, and be balanced in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity.

The advisory group is responsible for all the following:

  • Assisting the ACE coordinator with the development of the ACE programme
  • Ensuring that the ACE programme is approved by the Board of Trustees
  • Making recommendations on the use of ACE resources to the Board of Trustees.

Rule TRA005: Fee levels for learners enrolling in ACE programmes are to be recommended by the advisory group and the coordinator and approved by the Board of Trustees. Fees must realistically reflect the actual cost.


Rule TRA006: Schools must make a minimum of 9.5 percent of their total Adult and Community Education (ACE) funding available for use by community providers (community allocation) to provide learning opportunities for adults. This allocation must be guided by the school's ACE co-ordinator.

The allocation of funding to community providers is intended to meet identified community learning needs, and should be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that this outcome is being met.

A school may subcontract all or part of the total ACE provision, including the administration of ACE activities.

Rule TRA007: Community providers must not be required to pay any fee to the school for the administration of the community allocation. Any other fee is to be jointly calculated and specified in the contract between the school and the community group.


Rule TRA008: The school's Board of Trustees (the Board) remains accountable for the use of ACE funding provided to community providers. The Board must ensure that community providers fulfil the requirements outlined in the contract between the school and the community providers, as well as any other requirements specified by the Board.

ACE delivery by Rural Education Activities Programmes

The TEC acknowledges that part of the REAP model of provision is to broker and facilitate community learning opportunities to communities of learners.

Rule TRA009: Rural Education Activities Programmes may seek and receive co-payments from sources other than the TEC for the development and operation of brokerage and facilitation services for community learning opportunities to communities of learners.

Restrictions on ACE delivery

Prohibitions on the use of ACE funding apply in the following areas: 
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