Report of External Evaluation and Review

Transcription

1 Report of External Evaluation and Review Health Ed Trust New Zealand Incorporated Not Yet Confident in educational performance Not Yet Confident in capability in self-assessment Date of report: 4 September 2015

2 Contents Purpose of this Report... 3 Introduction TEO in context Scope of external evaluation and review Conduct of external evaluation and review... 2 Summary of Results... 7 Findings... 9 Recommendations Appendix MoE Number: 8227 NZQA Reference: C17760 Date of EER visit: 24 and 25 March

3 Purpose of this Report The purpose of this external evaluation and review report is to provide a public statement about the Tertiary Education Organisation s (TEO) educational performance and capability in self-assessment. It forms part of the accountability process required by Government to inform investors, the public, students, prospective students, communities, employers, and other interested parties. It is also intended to be used by the TEO itself for quality improvement purposes. Introduction 1. TEO in context Name of TEO: Type: Health Ed Trust New Zealand Incorporated Private training establishment (PTE) First registered: 9 April 1999 Location: Delivery sites: Courses currently delivered: 1/54 Wordsworth St, Sydenham, Christchurch Delivery takes place on the job at 414 age care facilities throughout New Zealand. ACE (Age Care Education) Foundation Programme ACE Programme Extension ACE Advanced Programme: Supporting the Older Person ACE Dementia Programme: Supporting the Older Person ACE Diversional Therapy Programme Cleaning and Caretaking Programme for Support Workers On-site Assessor course Registered Nurse and Enrolled Nurse series The ACE Programme Code of Practice signatory: Number of students: No international students enrolled. Domestic: 1,018 students (Māori, 96; Pasifika, 133) Number of staff: Four full-time, three part-time (2014) 3

4 Scope of active accreditation: Distinctive characteristics: Recent significant changes: Follow the link below: Health Ed Trust engages in facilitating selfdirected, self-paced, workplace-based training in the health and disability sector, mainly in age care. Health Ed Trust underwent a significant restructure in In mid-2013, Health Ed Trust joined two aged residential care providers, Ryman Healthcare (Ryman) and Radius Residential Care (Radius) to form a consortium (led by Ryman). The consortium successfully bid for funding from the Tertiary Education Commission s (TEC s) Industry Training Fund Direct Funding Scheme. Implementation of the scheme began in April The PTE now engages in two related training systems, the first being its traditional training regime to private clients, which now makes up about one-third of its business. The other is the training through the consortium with Ryman and Radius as part of the TEC s Direct Funding Scheme. Some of Health Ed Trust s educational systems have undergone changes to accommodate TEC requirements. These changes include the integration of literacy and numeracy assessment and increased awareness of achievement rates for TEC targeted groups. There has been a change of management with a new chief executive officer starting in October The education manager resigned in December 2014 (this position is currently vacant). The Cleaning and Caretaking Programme for Support Workers was approved by NZQA in April Risk issues Previous quality assurance There are no current Risk issues with this PTE. Health Ed Trust has a good moderation record with 4

5 history: NZQA Tertiary Assessment and Moderation for The industry training organisation, Careerforce, moderates the assessment materials before they are used as well as a sample of the marked assessments at Health Ed Trust. The results of this moderation in showed some minor issues which have been dealt with promptly. Health Ed Trust previously had an NZQA external evaluation and review (EER) in March 2013, at which the judgements were Confident in educational performance and Not Yet Confident in capability for self-assessment. Other: Health Ed Trust produces educational material for on-the-job training in the health and disability sector in New Zealand. These training packages are licensed to individual care facilities which circulate the material to their trainees. The trainees are supported and assessed by assessors who are in most instances employed by the care facility. Moderators are employed by Health Ed Trust to check the integrity of assessment at the care facilities. 2. Scope of external evaluation and review The agreed scope of the EER of Health Ed Trust included the following mandatory focus area: Governance, management and strategy. The other focus areas were: ACE Programme: Supporting the Older Person (Level 3, 41 credits) This was the most popular programme in 2014 and is typical of the programmes delivered. ACE Dementia Programme: Supporting the Older Person (Level 4, 20 credits) This programme also has a high proportion of students enrolled in 2014 and is typical of the programmes delivered. These two programmes had trainees and assessors readily available for interview at the time of the EER. 5

6 3. Conduct of external evaluation and review All external evaluation and reviews are conducted in accordance with NZQA s published policies and procedures. The methodology used is described fully in the web document Policy and Guidelines for the Conduct of External Evaluation and Review available at: The TEO has an opportunity to comment on the accuracy of this report, and any submissions received are fully considered by NZQA before finalising the report. The EER consisted of a team of two evaluators who visited the Health Ed Trust central office in Sydenham, Christchurch over two days. Prior to the EER, Health Ed Trust supplied the lead evaluator with descriptive information about the organisation and a summary of its self-assessment activities, including the changes that have occurred since the previous EER. This assisted the lead evaluator in developing the scope of this EER. During the on-site visit, the evaluation team interviewed the directors and management of Health Ed Trust, assessors, writers, administration staff and students of the short courses, and some of the clients. The clients, along with additional students and graduates, were interviewed by telephone, and the others were interviewed on the premises. A range of documents was examined to confirm items that arose from these discussions. 6

7 Summary of Results Statement of confidence on educational performance NZQA is Not Yet Confident in the educational performance of Health Ed Trust New Zealand Incorporated. This level of confidence is supported by the following factors: A small but well-motivated board of trustees work as volunteers and bring valuable specialised skills to the organisation. A very good basis for the learning is provided by the quality of the learning materials developed by the PTE. The provision of these materials to the care facilities where training is taking place is the core part of the Health Ed Trust business. Health Ed Trust has a good administrative system for the collection of results and reporting of student achievement of unit standards to NZQA. The training provided is part of a Ministry of Health initiative to lift the skill levels of a traditionally under-regulated sector. The successful trainees meet the minimum requirements of the Ministry of Health in regard to gaining the required training for working in the sector. The ACE programmes that Health Ed Trust offers can lead to the trainees achieving National qualifications. The trainees become competent in the workplace and gain valuable unit standards to enhance their records of achievement. There is insufficient knowledge within Health Ed Trust about how well students progress in their training, and about their level of motivation to gain National and New Zealand qualifications. Trainees and most assessors are employed by the care facility in which the training takes place, and not directly by Health Ed Trust. There is a detachment or disconnect between the operations of Health Ed Trust and the actual training activity as it occurs on the job. The evaluators did not gain confidence that much direct contact is had with individual trainees by Health Ed Trust employees. 7

8 Statement of confidence on capability in self-assessment NZQA is Not Yet Confident in the capability in self-assessment of Health Ed Trust New Zealand Incorporated. This level of confidence is supported by the following factors: Health Ed Trust has close links to the health care sector. Many of its staff and management have ongoing experience in, and involvement with the sector. As the training of healthcare workers provided by Health Ed Trust takes place in the workplace, access to the industry is direct and ongoing. This allows for first-hand exposure to industry developments and gives direct benchmarking to gauge industry training outcomes. There are good moderation systems to maintain the standard of assessment and marking in the training. Moderation is the main area of direct face-toface contact that Health Ed Trust has with the workplace assessors. The learning materials are updated and maintained using well-developed evaluation and review processes. There is not a lot of systematic understanding and monitoring of the training to ensure that effective and supportive practice is being used. There is a lack of personal contact directly between the PTE and the trainer, and there is a lack of direct ownership and responsibility for the learning. The management at Health Ed Trust has limited knowledge of trainee needs or the support mechanisms required to achieve improved outcomes. There is a lack of clarity around the role of Health Ed Trust for understanding and meeting the needs of Māori and Pasifika students. In the private side of the business, the areas of understanding student retention, and improving educational outcomes and achievement rates, are not currently the direct focus of Health Ed Trust, so there is a lack of understanding in these areas. Until recently, Health Ed Trust was registering Training Agreements when students completed rather than at the beginning of training. In effect, the trainees were being enrolled at the end of the programme. This made selfassessment less than effective. 8

9 Findings 1 Background Health Ed Trust has undergone many changes in the recent past. Significantly, it underwent a major restructure in 2012 which resulted in a reduction of staff and the downsizing of some of its monitoring functions. The evaluators learned that internal moderation coverage of assessment has now been scaled down from total coverage to a sampling of 10 or so unit standards a year for each assessor. As this moderation is the principal form of monitoring between Health Ed Trust and training at the care facilities, the coverage is not as broad as it was and does not completely guarantee student results. The PTE now engages in two related training systems, the first being its traditional training regime to private clients, which now makes up about one-third of its business. The other is the training through the consortium with Ryman and Radius as part of the TEC s Direct Funding Scheme initiative which started in April Health Ed Trust will be concentrating on offering the New Zealand qualifications for the scheme s programmes, and the system for recording trainee performance has been enhanced to meet TEC reporting requirements. Other implementations are now also being made, such as the incorporation of literacy and numeracy content into the programmes and using the online measuring tool to determine any improvements in literacy and numeracy, but the effectiveness of these changes is still to be evaluated. There have been a number of significant staff changes in the last few years, and many of the staff only have recent experience of working at Health Ed Trust, including the chief executive. This means that organisational knowledge is not as strong as it could be, and the PTE is in transition. A manager for self-assessment processes has been appointed recently, but the effects of this appointment have yet to be seen. The main functions of Health Ed Trust have been as a provider of training materials to facilitate on-job training in care facilities around the country, to report trainee achievement results to NZQA, and to distribute certificates for presentation to trainees on completion of their training. The age care sector is difficult to manage as the workers are fairly transient in nature, predominantly middle-aged, with many working part-time. It is a sector that attracts migrant workers. There is a growing need for trained health care workers as the number of elderly requiring care grows and as the industry seeks formalised skills recognition for its workers. 1 The findings in this report are derived using a standard process and are based on a targeted sample of the organisation s activities. 9

10 Governance and management The governance and management of Health Ed Trust is in a phase of redevelopment and adjustment. The redevelopment is occurring as the organisation appoints new personnel to key positions and adjusts to the new Direct Funding Scheme model of training and its role in the consortium with Ryman and Radius. The evaluators were unclear about how Health Ed Trust monitors its contractual arrangements with its consortium partners, or how much responsibility it exercises over the teaching and learning, apart from the provision of materials and the reporting of results. It is also not clear how the relationship with the care facilities is managed to ensure that the best-quality learning is maintained and the best results are achieved. At Health Ed Trust the chief executive provides a monthly report which goes to the directors, the consortium partners and management. These reports are an ongoing summary of enrolments and completions for the year to date. The evaluators found that areas that would benefit from a more focused approach are those of student welfare and maintaining the quality of training in the workplace. The board of trustees meets monthly. The trustees are volunteers. The current directors are very motivated and committed to their tasks, and have a personal interest in seeing the organisation perform well. The chairman has a long history of association with the institution and the age care industry. The directors also bring important business skills to the board, which are an asset as they have managed the PTE through a lot of changes in recent times. Health Ed Trust has engaged in the recent partnership with Ryman and Radius to provide educational materials and educational guidance in a new TEC employer-led training initiative which now constitutes about two-thirds of Health Ed Trust s business. In line with TEC policies, the consortium has specific performance targets to guide TEC funding in this area. Health Ed Trust responds to the challenges of its position in the new partnership. It has invested in new software to track student achievement and sought assistance from a consultant to assist with the production of a self-assessment summary to improve the self-assessment systems in preparation for the EER, and to guide and support the PTE in its functions. Management have strong backgrounds in the age care industry and are good at keeping abreast of developments in the sector. There has been some internal streamlining to improve the reporting of results against unit standards in recent times. There are good processes of consultation and dissemination of ideas at management level. Board meeting minutes were supplied to the evaluators going back to 2011, showing that there have been regular meetings about four times a year. Management meetings are held monthly, and are minuted. An instructional 10

11 designer/coordinator position was set up shortly before the EER to manage selfassessment processes. It is noted that the managers meeting minutes showed that there is very little discussion in the meetings about self-assessment, and those discussion points are more about policies and procedures and less about monitoring for improvement. While outcomes are tracked and collated for the purposes of reporting, there is little analysis for the purposes of improving delivery and performance. It is acknowledged that the self-assessment for the design of the learning materials is quite robust and leads to development and improvements, as this branch of the business has been in operation for some time. Student achievement Student achievement is good, as is shown by the figures generated by Health Ed Trust for the Direct Funding Scheme programmes. The feedback produced from trainee evaluations shows that trainee satisfaction with the training is quite high. Until 2012, achievement data was inaccurate as the trainees were registered in the programme of study when they successfully completed, hence there was a constant completion rate of 100 per cent. This situation informed very little about trainee retention and drop-out rates. It also meant that tracking trends over time was not possible. Recent developments have encouraged change, and meaningful data is now coming to hand which will allow better scrutiny of retention and completion rates and will help to gauge programme effectiveness, although this analysis has yet to occur. Currently there is good data collection, and the basis of information to analyse and form strategies for improvement and development is in place. There has been insufficient collection of data over time to form conclusions based on trends, and it is too soon to see the results of any improvement strategies that have been initiated to date. The figures given to the evaluators showed that Health Ed Trust has 1,519 completions of National qualifications in 2014, from an enrolment of 2,419 (some students enrol in more than one programme). Because of the self-paced nature of some of the programmes, it is hard to quantify the achievement rate from these figures as it can take longer than a year for some trainees to complete their programmes. The PTE does not provide cohort results which would be a good indicator of trainees progress relative to the performance of the group. The new funding system for the aged residential care consortium is allowing Ryman/Radius to take more control of the training of their workers in the sector. The evaluators saw that comprehensive collection of data is taking place to satisfy the requirements of reporting to the TEC and NZQA. Enrolments are documented and student progress is tracked. Trends over time are not able to be studied yet. Once again, it is too early for this data to be used in a meaningful way to inform future strategy and development. 11

12 Māori and Pasifika achievement In its self-assessment summary, Health Ed Trust states that more than 20% of our students are Māori or Pasifika (Self-Assessment Report Health Ed Trust, p.4). This is a significant proportion of the student body, and it transpires that 13 per cent of the student body is of Pasifika origin (Ibid p.8). While the proportions are known, it is not clear that achievement rates for these groups are being specifically studied and understood. It is not known how well these groups are achieving, or if there are inherent problems that need some response. The self-assessment statement goes on to note that educational materials will be adapted to suit these learners (Ibid p.4), but there is no evidence of this and it remains unknown what on-site support is needed or how it could be given. Student support The evaluators found that there is a disengagement between the Health Ed Trust administrative arm and the training that occurs in the workplace. It is unclear how much control Health Ed Trust has directly over trainee welfare. The trainees have direct contact with the assessors, and the evaluators learned that they develop good relationships with the assessors. The assessors are well motivated and committed to the training and are generally selected for their positions by their employer because of their interest in training. It was evident that there is not much direct contact between the students and the staff at Health Ed Trust office. The main form of direct contact Health Ed Trust has with the training is in the moderation of assessment practices. Moderation is used to give support and feedback to the assessors and to assure that assessment practices are appropriate. It is not apparent that there is a lot of direct face-to-face contact with the assessors; however, they do receive monthly newsletters, telephone and contact, and attend the annual seminars. Trainees have the opportunity to provide feedback on aspects of the training by completing the evaluation forms which are attached to the assessments. It appears that not all students avail themselves of this opportunity. The feedback form is at the end of each assessment, and in this medium is sometimes overlooked by the students. The assessors get to see the feedback and it is dispatched to Health Ed Trust for collation. It is not clear that the collated material from student feedback is available to the assessors after that. Some issues that students expressed to the evaluators were that they want to keep their resource material for future reference, but this is not always possible currently as some age care facilities take the material back. Some students were not quite clear about what the student handbook is or what it contains, which is a concern because handbooks often contain important academic information. The evaluators learned that assessors did not always give the expected post-assessment feedback to Health Ed Trust either. The training concentrates more on the practical aspects of the job rather than classroom teaching, which is appropriate given the nature of the work, but the evaluators heard that in some instances the facilities for teaching theory were 12

13 lacking and variable depending on which facility the student engaged with for training. The evaluators determined that the PTE could give more emphasis to cultural aspects and communication skills for migrant workers. Students find the audiovisual instruction of the DVDs useful. Assessors provide individual student support for students as required and cope with ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) requirements as best possible. No specific ESOL training is given to the assessors by Heath Ed Trust, which would be useful given the number of recent migrants who work in the age care sector. There was evidence that management is starting to value the collection of informal feedback to gain an understanding of unforeseen issues. The new awareness among management of promoting reflective practice in all staff resulted in a meeting for the staff in March 2015, and it is intended to have four such meetings per year. It is, however, too soon to gauge the impact of this initiative. Monitoring and understanding Māori and Pasifika achievement is not focused at this stage, and this is an area that needs improvement. Giving value and meeting needs The evaluators found that this area is quite well serviced by Health Ed Trust students, but the self-assessment aspect could be improved. The trainees gain useful skills and the training has assisted them to understand and empathise with their clients. They feel that they are able to do their jobs as caregivers better. Health Ed Trust gives value to the training by providing a good standard of resources for the programmes. These resources are regularly reviewed and updated, and the trainees find them helpful and easy to understand. This value is emphasised by the students saying they would like to retain the text as a point of reference when the programmes end. The costs of the programmes are either absorbed by the employer, who is funded by the TEC (in the case of the consortium) or paid for through a licence in the case of the private training. The evaluators were informed that in many cases part of the training is an industry expectation as certain basic training is a requirement for employment. Depending on the employer, the students sometimes have to pay for the credit reporting and certification costs of unit standards and qualifications. Further value is added as employers often encourage further studies as a means of upskilling and maintaining the motivation of staff. The upskilling of this sector is in line with government policies, as age care is a growing sector and in the past the workers have been largely unqualified. To help meet the needs of the trainees, Health Ed Trust writes programmes for Ryman/Radius and other providers. The material is purchased under licence and distributed to the students as required. Health Ed Trust s moderation service also provides support back-up to the assessors and to ensure that appropriate standards are maintained in the assessment of a sample of standards from each 13

14 assessor. It is notable that feedback data is more intensively documented in the period and that information is now being actively collated. It is evident that there have been some changes in procedure since the arrival of the new chief executive in However, the work done is too recent to be able to see how it is used and ascertain what effect it will have. From those students who complete feedback, it is evident that satisfaction with the training is high, and this is supported by feedback from evaluations and from the interviews and telephone discussions. The literacy and numeracy needs of the trainees are assessed at the start and the end of the courses as required in the consortium training programmes. Measures of literacy and numeracy progress were not available at the time of the EER visit. This is because literacy and numeracy has only just become a feature of training. Annual development seminars are held for the assessors, and the content of these is constantly under review to better meet the needs of the assessors and ultimately improve training for the students. Health Ed Trust plans other developments designed to increase assessor effectiveness. It is unclear whether Health Ed Trust is able to monitor the on-the-job effectiveness of its workshops as it has very little other direct face-to-face contact with the assessors. The systems used to inform development of training materials are well advanced and effective. Health Ed Trust is using subject experts to help in the modification of materials and resources for students. The subject experts have identified a need to design and publish facilitation tools for the assessors. The use of focus groups to enhance and inform the development of material for the programmes (e.g. real-life illustrations in the workbooks) is a positive move. The PTE can implement some of the useful strategies from this part of its operation to other facets. A further positive initiative is the establishment of an improvement plan for each internal Health Ed Trust unit to determine how it can improve its functions and better meet the needs of the sector. The need for this development is ultimately based on feedback from students and assessors. Teaching effectiveness There are some indications that the teaching facilitated by Health Ed Trust is effective, but there is a lack of appropriate data and information to support this. Student feedback shows satisfaction with the training; however, it is difficult to translate this satisfaction into good achievement rates with the data that is currently available. Key Health Ed Trust staff have good qualifications and industry experience in health and caregiving. Some have educational qualifications and teaching experience which they use in their positions. Assessors come from the care facility sector and are employed as senior staff members there. They engage in an annual half-day workshop run by Health Ed Trust to help with their development and to maintain currency and relevance in their subject and in facilitation and assessment 14

15 skills. The content of these seminars is always under review to ensure the latest information is included. Meeting TEC requirements for funding has meant that literacy and numeracy content is now integrated into the training material for students. Literacy and numeracy training for the assessors is not yet occurring, and it is felt that such training would be very beneficial so that the assessors can maximise the good effects of the integration of literacy and numeracy. It is too early to judge the effectiveness of the integration of literacy and numeracy in the programmes. With the large proportion of migrant workers, English being a second language sometimes poses problems, and the evaluators learned that the training materials are designed to provide visual assistance to these learners, and the assessments are conducted in an open-book format to assist them. Assessors deal with student learning problems on an individual basis as they are able. Formal ESOL training is not generally given to the assessors. As Health Ed Trust is distant from the actual training, it is unclear how much it is aware of these issues. The assessors are a key component of the training regime. There is some confusion around the appropriate ratios of assessors to trainees, and there are no guidelines for this. Newly appointed assessors undergo a mentoring programme, and have full moderation for the first five standards that are assessed. Partial sample moderation is carried out for assessors work from that point onwards, unless there is a problem. Health Ed Trust has two moderators to service 358 assessors and moderate samples of assessment. The PTE s moderators attend meetings with Careerforce to compare moderation strategies and assessment results. The evaluators found that Health Ed Trust staff do not have a direct hands-on role in the workplace training and so the effectiveness of the training and the support of the trainees are remote to them. The evaluators found that assessor availability is an issue in some care facilities. A significant number of students stated in the interviews that assessors are not always available, as some assessors are present at the workplace only one or two days per week, and some are a little slow to give feedback because of their other duties in the workplace. Facilities that have no in-house assessors use the services of a roving assessor who is contracted to circulate around such facilities and so is only available to trainees at specified times. It was not apparent that the assessors had a lot of structured preparation as trainers or facilitators. They are required to hold unit standard 4098, which covers assessment of unit standards, and they are supported to get this if necessary. Assessors receive communications from Health Ed Trust in various ways. Health Ed Trust produces the Newsflash bulletin to circulate for the purpose of keeping assessors abreast of developments. While assessors do see the completed student surveys from their own students, they do not receive compiled summaries of all feedback or management analysis of these, nor do they get to understand the factors that inform the feedback. While assessment is being moderated, it is unclear whether the quality of training is under systematic scrutiny. The evaluators learned that independent learning plans are used with students who are having difficulty in keeping up with the training. 15

16 Feedback from the interviews indicates that there is little contact between Health Ed Trust and students, and contact with the assessors only as required. This supports the view of a lack of direct contact between Health Ed Trust and training in the workplace, and therefore the PTE has only superficial knowledge of the direct learning needs of the trainees. 16

17 Key Evaluation Questions and Focus Areas Key Evaluation Questions are the overarching questions that form the basis for discussion between the evaluators and the TEO in order to reach evaluative conclusions. Focus areas are selected because they are areas of interest to NZQA and/or are representative of the educational activities of the provider. The evaluative inquiry during the EER visit is based on the focus areas. Key Evaluation Question 1.1 How well do learners achieve? 1.2 What is the value of the outcomes for key stakeholders, including learners? 1.3 How well do programmes and activities match the needs of learners and other stakeholders? 1.4 How effective is the teaching? 1.5 How well are learners guided and supported? 1.6 How effective are governance and management in supporting educational achievement? Focus Area 2.1 Focus area: Governance, management and strategy 2.2 Focus area 1: The ACE Programme 2.3 Focus area 2: ACE Dementia Programme Educational performance rating Good Good Educational performance rating 17 Capability in selfassessment rating Capability in selfassessment rating

18 Recommendations NZQA recommends that Health Ed Trust: 1. Work on bridging the gap between the staff and management at Health Ed Trust and what happens in the training facility. 2. Engage in closer and more frequent liaison with assessors and students. This is desirable so that the quality of the training and trainee support is better understood and improvements in trainee performance can be implemented and monitored. 3. Engage in a more specific focus on understanding Māori and Pasifika learners needs and their specific achievement rates. 4. Adopt a more focused approach to understanding and improving trainee achievement outcomes, retention and qualification uptakes. 5. Consider whether training the assessors in ESOL and literacy and numeracy teaching skills would enhance the training. 18

19 Appendix Regulatory basis for external evaluation and review External evaluation and review is conducted according to the External Evaluation and Review (EER) Rules 2013, which are made by NZQA under section 253 of the Education Act 1989 and approved by the NZQA Board and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment. Self-assessment and participation in external evaluation and review are requirements for maintaining accreditation to provide an approved programme for all TEOs other than universities. The requirements are set through the NZQF Programme Approval and Accreditation Rules 2013, which are also made by NZQA under section 253 of the Education Act 1989 and approved by the NZQA Board and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment. In addition, the Private Training Establishment Registration Rules 2013 require registered private training establishments to undertake self-assessment and participate in external evaluation and review, in accordance with the External Evaluation and Review Rules (EER) 2013, as a condition of maintaining registration. The Private Training Establishment Registration Rules 2013 are also made by NZQA under section 253 of the Education Act 1989 and approved by the NZQA Board and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment. NZQA is responsible for ensuring non-university TEOs continue to comply with the rules after the initial granting of approval and accreditation of programmes and/or registration. The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee (NZVCC) has statutory responsibility for compliance by universities. This report reflects the findings and conclusions of the external evaluation and review process, conducted according to the External Evaluation and Review (EER) Rules The report identifies strengths and areas for improvement in terms of the organisation s educational performance and capability in self-assessment. External evaluation and review reports are one contributing piece of information in determining future funding decisions where the organisation is a funded TEO subject to an investment plan agreed with the Tertiary Education Commission. External evaluation and review reports are public information and are available from the NZQA website ( The External Evaluation and Review (EER) Rules 2013 are available at while information about the conduct and methodology for external evaluation and review can be found at 19

20 NZQA Ph E qaadmin@nzqa.govt.nz 20