Tertiary Education Commission

Education Act 1989

Education (Proposed Investment Plans: Requirements, Content, Submission and Assessment) Notice

Pursuant to sections 159P, 159R, 159U and 159Y of the Education Act 1989, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) gives the following notice.

Notice

1. Title—This notice may be cited as the Education (Proposed Investment Plans: Requirements, Content, Submission and Assessment) Notice.

2. Commencement—This notice applies from the date of its publication.

3. Application—This notice revokes and replaces the Education (Proposed Investment Plans: Requirements, Content, Submission and Assessment) Notice 2012¹.

4. Introduction—The TEC may decide to fund the tertiary education programmes and activities described in a proposed Investment Plan (Plan) submitted by a tertiary education organisation (TEO) for a period of up to three years. To be eligible to access TEC funding from 2013 onwards, all TEOs other than those exempted by this notice are required to submit a proposed Plan. Previous allocation of TEC or Government funding does not create an entitlement to future funding at any level from the TEC. The length and complexity of the proposed Plan will depend on the size and complexity of the submitting TEO.

5. Plan content—The proposed Plan must concisely describe:

   • the TEO’s planning context, including its mission and role and the outcomes to which the TEO intends to contribute;
   • the activities and services (including mix of provision) that the TEO will undertake to contribute to these outcomes; and
   • how the TEO will measure its contribution to outcomes.

   The proposed Plan must therefore include the following parts, each of which must clearly connect and align with the others:

   (i) Plan Context

   The Plan Context must establish the framework for the proposed Plan by presenting the TEO’s strategic direction: that is, its particular mission, role and functions, reflecting any changes in response to the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) priorities and how it intends to give effect to those priorities in the short and medium term.

   The Plan Context must give key information about the TEO and its operating environment, including a summary of the nature and scope of the TEO’s functions and intended operations over the next three years. It must explain:

   • how the TEO intends to respond to Government priorities in the Tertiary Education Strategy 2010–15;
   • how the TEO intends to identify and respond to the needs of its community of learners and potential learners, industry and employers, and in particular:
     • how it will accelerate improvement of participation and achievement for Māori learners;
     • how it will accelerate improvement of participation and achievement for Pacific learners;
     • how it will accelerate improvement of participation, engagement and achievement of young learners aged under 25; and
     • how it will adapt its provision to support the needs of industry and employers;
   • how the TEO has performed against the commitments it made in its last Plan (for TEOs that have previously received Plan funding);
   • the findings of any quality assurance reviews; and
   • any key changes the TEO is making that are likely to have a significant impact on its educational performance or other outcomes.

   For tertiary education institutions (universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics, and wānanga) only, the Plan Context section should also briefly explain how the institution will manage its capital assets to support its mission and role over the period of the proposed Plan (including any new significant capital initiatives).

   (ii) Summary of Activity

   The Plan must include a Summary of Activity that sets out information on planned delivery over the period of the proposed Plan. The proposed activity must align with and support the achievement of the strategic direction presented in the Plan Context.

   The Summary of Activity must include information about:

   • planned programmes and activities for which the TEO is seeking Student Achievement Component (SAC) or Industry Training Fund funding, including learner numbers by New Zealand Qualification Framework Level;
   • other planned programmes and activities for which funding is sought from the TEC, including learner numbers;
   • total TEC funding sought;
   • planned learner numbers in more detail, if requested by the TEC, for non-SAC-funded programmes and activities; and
   • a brief description of other programmes and activities not funded by the TEC, including significant activities undertaken through subsidiary bodies.

   The TEC will provide guidance to TEOs about the format in which they must submit this information.

   (iii) Performance Commitments

   This section sets out proposed performance commitments that the TEC will use to evaluate the TEO’s performance. The TEC will provide all TEOs with information about specific metrics they must use when making certain performance commitments, and in some cases will specify minimum commitments for TEOs.

   In addition to the mandatory commitments set by the TEC, TEOs may propose additional commitments as they see fit in the following areas, aligned to their Plan Context and Summary of Activity:

   • Achievement against the Government priorities in the Tertiary Education Strategy 2010–2015;
   • meeting the needs of learners, particularly;