NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 73

28 JUNE 2012

• whether the institution has good management capability in forecasting, planning and implementation, and can provide supplementary information such as capital asset management reporting;

• whether the institution meets the expectations expressed in this notice regarding the inclusion of a forecast SSP in its Plan; and

• when assessing programmes and activities through the competitive process for Student Achievement Component funding at level 1 and 2:

  • whether the amount of funding sought for providing level 1 and 2 programmes and activities is the best value for money, having regard to the Government’s stated objectives for foundation education, price proposed by other TEOs, the nature of the proposed programmes and activities, and regional and national need.

(ii) For industry training organisations, private training establishments, community providers and schools only, the TEC will use the following criteria to assess proposed Plans:

• Whether the TEO’s proposed mission and role, and its proposed outcomes, show an awareness of the TEO’s place in the regional and national tertiary system;

• whether the TEO has clearly and accurately identified its key stakeholders, which must include:

  • employers, businesses or industries relevant to the TEO’s areas of delivery; and
  • learners or prospective learners, in particular those who are Māori, or Pacific, or under the age of 25, or who have low levels of literacy, language, and numeracy;

• how the TEO has ascertained the needs of its key stakeholders, including through consultation and the use of statistical information about regional or national demographics and labour market demand;

• how the TEO has planned its proposed programmes and activities to respond to the needs of its stakeholders and the priorities of the Tertiary Education Strategy 2010–2015;

• whether the TEC considers that the TEO is likely to be able to carry out the programmes and activities, and achieve the outcomes, outlined in the proposed Plan;

• whether the TEC considers that the TEO’s proposed programmes and activities are desirable and appropriate in the context of regional and national need and the proposed programmes and activities of other TEOs;

• whether the TEO’s proposed performance measures (ie the metrics used) are:

  • relevant, so that they give meaningful information about the TEO’s performance against its objectives;
  • complete, so that they cover all significant programmes and activities the TEO intends to undertake, and all important dimensions of those activities;
  • clearly presented, so that their content and relevance is clear;

• whether the TEO’s proposed performance commitments (ie the targets set) are appropriate and achievable, and whether they represent a meaningful improvement on past performance against the objectives of the Tertiary Education Strategy 2010–2015, especially with respect to outcomes for priority learner groups;

• whether the TEO has performed adequately against current or past Plans, including:

  • whether the TEO’s educational performance is satisfactory, and whether it meets the upper thresholds of the TEC’s Performance Linked Funding framework;
  • whether the TEO is financially viable and sustainable; and
  • whether the TEO has good management capability in forecasting, planning and implementation; and

• when assessing programmes and activities through the competitive process for Student Achievement Component funding at level 1 and 2:

  • whether the amount of funding sought for providing level 1 and 2 programmes and activities is the best value for money, having regard to the Government’s stated objectives for foundation education, the price proposed by other TEOs, the nature of the proposed programmes and activities, and regional and national need.

When assessing Plans against the criteria, the TEC may use a range of evidence, including, without limitation, the information contained in a proposed Plan, TEC monitoring information (including funding, organisational and financial data), Quality Assurance Bodies’ reports, Plan engagement (where applicable), and both national and regional demographic and economic data.
The TEC will also decide whether any conditions or limits on funding approval are required, having regard to appropriations and any relevant funding determinations issued by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment under the Education Act 1989.

9. Exemptions

The following TEOs are exempted from the requirement to prepare and submit a proposed Plan for funding for 2013 onward:

• Schools whose only funding from the TEC is for Gateway;
• TEOs with which the TEC is contracting only pilot initiatives and which receive no other funding from the TEC;
• Employers receiving only Workplace Literacy funding from the TEC;
• Government training establishments;
• TEOs that receive only the English for Migrants pre-purchased English tuition fees from the TEC; and
• Worldskills New Zealand.

The TEOs that receive only Modern Apprenticeships Coordinator funding from the TEC are not required to submit a Plan, as this funding is not administered under a funding mechanism that provides for funding via Plans.

10. Timelines and processes

The TEC’s Plan Guidance and other information to assist TEOs in developing their proposed Plans, including information about timelines and submission processes, is published on the TEC’s website www.tec.govt.nz.

Dated at Wellington this 26th day of June 2012.

BELINDA CLARK, Chief Executive, Tertiary Education Commission.

1 New Zealand Gazette, 29 March 2012, No. 37, page 1109
2 Refer to sections 220(2A)(f) and 220(2B) of the Education Act 1989 and section 156 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.