Course completion rates
Course completion rates
'Course completion’ is one of the indicators we use to measure the performance of tertiary education organisations (TEOs) . This page includes performance data by year and provider type using the 'course completion' indicator.
'Course completion’ is one of the indicators we use to measure the performance of tertiary education organisations (TEOs) . This page includes performance data by year and provider type using the 'course completion' indicator.
What the indicator shows
The ‘course completion’ indicator shows the proportion of courses that were successfully completed in a given year. It is a short-term indication of how successful TEOs are in helping their students to complete courses.
Courses are usually parts of qualifications and are sometimes referred to as ‘papers’. Some TEOs, however, offer a single year-long course which results in a qualification. In this case, students complete both their course and their qualification.
Passing courses is important in terms of gaining knowledge and skills, and because it contributes towards finishing a qualification.
Successful course completion is important across all levels of study, with the exception of Masters and Doctorate degrees (levels 9–10). At these levels, qualifications tend to be built around research-based work, rather than individual courses. That’s why we don’t publish course completion rates for those types of qualifications.
Overall performance
The following tables show the course completion rate by level of qualification between 2014 and 2016. The rates are for Student Achievement Component (SAC) and Youth Guarantee (YG) funded students. These course completion rates have been calculated using our previous educational performance indicator (EPI) methodologies.
Table 1: SAC rate of successful completion of courses across all tertiary providers by level of qualification (EFTS = equivalent full-time student) |
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Year |
|
Level 1-2 |
Level 3-4 |
Level 5-6 |
Level 7-8 |
2014 |
Rate |
74% |
80% |
79% |
86% |
EFTS |
13,444 |
49,914 |
24,303 |
126,583 |
|
2015 |
Rate |
74% |
78% |
79% |
86% |
EFTS |
47,863 |
47,863 |
23,437 |
124,330 |
|
2016 |
Rate |
72% |
76% |
79% |
87% |
EFTS |
11,374 |
47,602 |
23,050 |
124,283 |
Table 2: YG rate of successful completion of courses across all tertiary providers by level of qualification. (EFTS = equivalent full-time student) |
|||
Year |
|
Level 1-2 |
Level 3-4 |
2014 |
Rate |
62% |
74% |
EFTS |
7,061 |
2,555 |
|
2015 |
Rate |
63% |
76% |
EFTS |
6,722 |
2,640 |
|
2016 |
Rate |
62% |
75% |
EFTS |
6,227 |
2,678
|
Table 3: SAC rate of successful completion of courses in each sub-sector by provider type (EFTS = equivalent full-time student) |
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Year |
|
Universities |
Institutes of |
Wānanga |
Private |
2014 |
Rate |
86% |
80% |
80% |
84% |
EFTS |
115,769 |
61,194 |
23,945 |
26,767 |
|
2015 |
Rate |
86% |
80% |
79% |
81% |
EFTS |
114,953 |
59,715 |
22,499 |
24,664 |
|
2016 |
Rate |
86% |
79% |
77% |
80% |
EFTS |
115,439 |
58,442 |
23,559 |
23,292 |
Table 4: YG rate of successful completion of courses in each sub-sector by provider type (EFTS = equivalent full-time student) |
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Year |
|
Institutes of |
Wānanga |
Private |
2014 |
Rate |
72% |
70% |
63% |
EFTS |
2,330 |
586 |
6,670 |
|
2015 |
Rate |
73% |
71% |
64% |
EFTS |
2,493 |
583 |
6,233 |
|
2016 |
Rate |
74% |
61% |
63% |
EFTS |
2,449 |
523 |
5,909 |