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Approval, accreditation and registration

Approval, accreditation, and registration define NZQA's quality requirements for education organisations and the programmes they provide.

The different processes of approval, accreditation and registration are part of the initial entry processes for tertiary education organisations (TEOs).

The purpose of these processes is to ensure that TEOs operating in or from New Zealand provide quality education for students that meets the requirements set out in NZQA rules and the Education Act 1989.

Approval is a process where a TEO seeks permission to develop or implement a new quality assured product.

Accreditation is a process where a TEO seeks permission to use or deliver an NZQA-approved programme that has already been developed, including one developed by another TEO.

Registration is a process where an organisation seeks to be recognised by NZQA as a private training establishment (PTE). An organisation needs to be registered as a PTE before applying for any NZQA approvals or accreditations.

Approval, accreditation and registration for TEOs

The approval, accreditation and registration processes that NZQA runs are:

Approval

Tertiary: Consent to assess against standards on the Directory of Assessment Standards
Secondary: Consent to assess against standards on the Directory of Assessment Standards
Listing qualifications on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework
Programme approval
Training scheme approval
Degree approval and monitoring

Accreditation

Registration

Registration as a Private Training Establishment

Maintaining approval, accreditation and registration for TEOs

Once a TEO has gained approval, accreditation or registration, the TEO needs to continue to meet NZQA requirements and rules to maintain them.

There are different requirements for different processes. For more information see the appropriate guidelines at Guidelines and forms.

Stay informed

Keep up with changes to regulations, quality assurance processes and other information of interest to the tertiary sector by checking out the eQuate newsletter.

You can also sign up to receive an email update when a new eQuate is published.

Update your details on your Tertiary Education Organisation profile

Tertiary education organisations must update their phone, email, fax, website, key contact, and some other details through their TEO Profile.

Log on using your Education Sector Authentication and Authorisation (ESAA) user ID and password to access these details.

Only users with TEO Management Representative access are able to edit these details.