Review of gazetted criteria for course approval and accreditation

The criteria for course approval and accreditation for tertiary providers are being reviewed to ensure they continue to be a relevant and up-to-date measure of quality.

A working party of representatives from all standard-setting bodies has been set up. This working group will draft a new version of the criteria. After that an eight-week consultation period will ensure the views of the sector are taken into account as part of the review process.

A consultation document will be available on the NZQA website once it is completed by the working group.

The scope of the review will include the relationship between course approval and recognition of qualifications. It will also focus on course approval and accreditation issues relating to:

The review will evaluate changes made earlier as part of a 2002 review, including the separation of the approval and accreditation functions, the references to the Treaty of Waitangi and the establishment of one set of criteria for sub-degree and degree level courses.

The review is due to be completed by September 2006 and the criteria will be gazetted by December 2006.

Secondary school qualifications today

A brochure explaining how secondary school qualifications work, prepared for students' parents, is now available in a number of languages, as well as in English.

The languages available are: Māori, Samoan, Tokelauan, Tongan, Chinese, Japanese Korean, Thai, Niuean, Fijian, English, Cook Islands Māori

You can order copies at no cost by emailing coms@nzqa.govt.nz or download them from www.nzqa.govt.nz.

New Zealand Secondary School Qualifications - what they are and how they work.

This brochure is aimed at international students and their families. It gives a basic overview of the qualifications available at secondary school in New Zealand.

This brochure is currently only available in English, but will soon be translated into simplified Chinese, Korean, Thai, Japanese and Spanish. You can order copies from coms@nzqa.govt.nz or download copies from www.nzqa.govt.nz.