Tertiary Education

Tertiary education in New Zealand is often the final step for many young Kiwis before they launch themselves into a career in the real world. The courses of study which are undertaken at tertiary education providers are often extremely specified, giving students specific skills and knowledge bases to go out and successfully perform in a particular industry.
Teritary education can be undertaken from several different kinds of institutes, namely universities and polytechnics.
Universities in New Zealand offer courses which are normally theoretically based programmes. This means the base of your study will be listening, learning and researching. Many degrees, such as medical degrees have significant practical or "working" aspects to them, however more general degrees such as a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Commerce are almost wholly book-based.
Study at a NZ polytech on the other hand, often offers courses which stress employment-related, practical skills. This means the course involves undertaking the same work tasks as those performed in the real world, not just learning about them. From degrees in Exercise and Sports Science to Hairdressing, polytechnic courses have a much larger slant towards practical application of skill than many university degrees.
The University Option:
University study in New Zealand is strongly grounded in research and academia, giving students an expansive background in self-directed investigative learning.
Most undergraduate degrees at university are not specific to one particular career, making university a good option for those who are not entirely sure of the path they want to go down. In first year students have the ability to explore several different subject avenues in order to find out where their interests lie. Throughout further years students need to specify their study to a particular department, but still have the luxury of taking additional unrelated papers on the side to complete their study requirements.
While there are many degrees which will teach students the specific skills they need to perform a particular job, such as a Bachelor of Dental Surgery, most undergraduate courses at university require postgraduate study to gain the employment-related nous needed to perform in a profession without actual working experience. This is the case for university degrees such as sciences and arts or social sciences.
Upon graduating with a university degree students will have an extremely sound knowledge of a particular field of work, and with some practical work experience (such as internships), will be able to slot into the working world in a junior professional position. University graduates will however, will often still spend the first year or longer of their working career learning many job-specific skills that their degree did not cover.
The Polytechnic Option:
Many prospective students think that polytechnic education only caters for mechanics and the hospitality industry. While that may have once been the case, polytechnic study is increasingly offering more and more courses similar to those offered at universities, but with a more practical element to them. From media to business, landscape design to interior design, software engineering to journalism, the education programmes offered by polytechnics generally offer a more applied form of education.
Socially, university education is still considered to be a higher level of education than polytechnic education. This stigma is increasingly been proven a myth, with practical skills, or a combination of practical and academic skills, far overriding pure academic skills in the workforce.
Polytechnics often have a more direct relationship with industry, and are more actively involved in placing students with work experience and in actual jobs than universities. For university students, post-study experience and employment largely rests on the motivation to succeed by the individual student.
Which to Choose?
By completing an undergraduate degree at university you can show employers that you have a good mind and you know how to learn, as it develops good communication skills and enables you to think critically. Conversely, a qualification from a polytechnic offers specific skills and knowledge which can be directly applied to the workforce.
Unless you intend to become a medical doctor, lawyer or academic, in which case university is the only option, it is best to choose your tertiary education based on what the specific course or degree you are interested in offers - and where the skills that degree teaches you will lead you.
Looking for more information about universities or polytechnics in New Zealand? Check out the NZS.com directory.

Education in New Zealand

Education in New Zealand follows the three-tier model which includes primary schools, followed by secondary schools (high schools) and tertiary education at universities and/or polytechs.
The Programme for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand's education as the 7th best in the world.^[1] The Education Index, published with the UN's Human Development Index in 2008, based on data from 2006, lists New Zealand as 0.993, amongst the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark, Finland and Australia.^[2]
Education is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16, although in very special cases an exemption can be gained after applying to the MOE. These may be granted to students who are close to 16, have been experiencing some ongoing difficulty at school and have a job already lined up. Families wishing to home educate their children can apply for exemption. To get an exemption from enrollment at a registered school, they must satisfy the Secretary of Education that their child will be taught "as regularly and as well as in a registered school".^[3]
Children almost always start school on their 5th birthday, or the first School Day after it. Post-compulsory education is regulated within the New Zealand National Qualifications Framework, a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training.
The academic year in New Zealand varies between institutions, but generally runs from late January until mid-December for primary and secondary schools and polytechnics, and from late February until mid-November for universities.

Free Primary and Secondary education tuition is a right for all New Zealand children from age 5 until the end of the calendar year following the student's 19th birthday, and is compulsory for students between the ages of 6 and 16 (15 with parental and school permission). A recent proposal by the New Zealand Government, called Schools Plus, would see students required to remain in some form of education until age 18.^[4] Disabled students with special educational needs can stay until the end of the calendar year they turn 21.
While state funded tuition is free, students must still pay for course materials and related costs. Also, almost all schools charge a tax deductible "donation" that most parents pay. Private or independent schools charge tuition fees while state integrated schools, which are often church funded, may charge an additional levy for the school buildings. International students with valid student visas can also be enrolled in state funded schools provided they pay the appropriate international student tuition fees. A number of schools use international student fees to supplement their state funding.
Most students start when they turn 5, and remain in school for the full 13 years. Students living more than 5 kilometres walking distance from the nearest school (or public transport to school) may be exempted from attending school but may be required to enrol in a correspondence school. Many schools contract public transport operators to provide school buses that deliver students to the school gate in the morning and home again at the end of the school day.
While there is overlap in some schools, primary school ends at Year 8 and secondary school at Year 13. The last two years of primary school are frequently taken at a separate intermediate school instead of at a primary school, leaving 'contributing' primary schools to end at Year 6. Some areas though have 'full' primary schools which go to year 8. Outside of the following categories, many private schools, state area schools and state integrated schools take students from Years 0 to 13, or Years 7 to 13.
There are three types of school: state, private (or registered or independent) and state integrated schools. State and state integrated schools are government funded. Private schools receive about 25% of their funding from the government,^[5] and rely on tuition fees for the rest. State integrated schools are former private schools which are now "integrated" into the state system under the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975^[6] "on a basis which will preserve and safeguard the special character of the education provided by them". According to Independent Schools New Zealand, an advocacy group for private schools, about 86% of all school-aged children attend state schools, 10% attend state integrated schools and 4% attend private schools.^[5] In addition, parents may home school their own children if they can prove that their child will be "...taught at least as regularly and as well as in a registered school...",^[7] and are given an annual grant^[7] to help with costs, including services from The Correspondence School. The percentage of children home schooled is well under 2% even in the Nelson region, the area where it is most popular,^[8] but there are many local and national support groups.



Between 2000 and 2007 most New Zealand schools moved towards designating school class levels based on the years of schooling of the student cohort. The introduction of NCEA, computerised enrolment and school roll return guideline^[11] changes, amongst others, have been drivers for this change. Before this, a system of Forms, Standards and Juniors or Primers was used.^[12] Although those older terms are no longer used for most school administration they still appear in education legislation, at some (mainly independent) schools, and in talk with older generations, who often prefer to use the terms they are more familiar with. However, one should ask today's students "Which year are you in?" rather than "Which form are you in?", as many will confuse 'form' with form class.
There are 13 academic year levels, numbered 1 through to 13. Students turning five enter at Year 1 if they begin school at the beginning of the school year or before the cut-off date (31 March in legislation, later for most schools). Students who turn five late in the year might stay in Year 1 for the next school year depending on their academic progress. The Ministry of Education draws a distinction between academic and funding year levels, the latter being based on when a student first starts school – students first starting school after July, so do not appear on the July roll returns, so are classified as being in Funding Year 0 that year, so they are recorded as being in Year 1 on the next year's roll returns. Students in Years 7 and 8 may attend an Intermediate School which provides a transition from primary schooling to secondary schooling. The last year of primary schooling is Year 8, and students must vacate Year 8 by the end of the school year after their 14th birthday (although most students are 12–13 when they transition to secondary school). The first year of secondary education is Year 9. The Ministry of Education requires that a student's funding year and academic year are aligned in years 7, 8, and 9, irrespective of when they first started school. Students who do not achieve sufficient credits in NCEA may or may not repeat Year 11, 12 or 13, while attempting to attain credits not achieved in NCEA – repeating a year often depends on what credit have been attained and what NCEA levels the majority of study is at. Year 13 is seen as the traditional end of secondary school, with an extra funding year
Under the old system of Forms, Standards and Juniors, there were two Junior years followed by four Standard years in primary school, followed by seven Forms. Forms 1 and 2 were in intermediate school and the remaining five were in secondary school.

For state schools, the Education Amendment Act 2000 puts in place a new "system for determining enrolment of students in circumstances where a school has reached its roll capacity and needs to avoid overcrowding." Schools which operate enrolment schemes have a geographically defined "home zone". Residence in this zone, or in the school's boarding house, if it has one, gives right of entry to the School. Students who live outside the school's home zone can be admitted, if there are places available, in the following order of priority: special programmes; siblings of currently enrolled students; siblings of past students; children of board employees and staff; all other students. If there are more applications than available places then selection must be through a randomly-drawn ballot. The system is complicated by some state schools having boarding facilities for students living beyond the school's zone. Typically these students live in isolated farming regions in New Zealand, or their parents may live or work partly overseas. Many secondary schools offer limited scholarships to their boarding establishment to attract talented students, such as rugby players from Fiji, in imitation of private school practice.
Critics have suggested that the system is fundamentally unfair as it restricts the choice for parents to choose schools and schools to choose their students although it does allow all students living in the community to have entry, as of right, regardless of their academic or social profile. In addition, there is evidence that property values surrounding some more desirable schools become inflated, thus restricting the ability of lower socio-economic groups to purchase a house in the zone, though this is off set by the fact that students are accepted from rental accommodation or from homes where they are boarding with a bona fide relative or friend living in the zone.

Diplomas in Design

The world of design is an exciting and visually inspiring place but it is not just limited to traditional pen-to-paper artwork or simple logo design.
There are a large number of variations of design diploma that are readily available to study in New Zealand institutions.

Diplomas in Design available in New Zealand include:

• Computer Graphic Design
• Animation and Digital Video
• Interactive Design
• Digital Media

Diploma in Computer Graphic Design

Diplomas in Computer Graphic Design will help you to develop and combine your creative skills with technological skills in order to communicate ideas and information in a way that is visually appealing while efficiently promoting your message.
These design courses also give you skills and knowledge in print design theory so that you can competently create a wide range of printed promotional and informative materials at a commercial level.

Diploma in Animation and Digital Video

You only have to look at what's screening at your local cinema to see that 3D animation is becoming more and more popular and more and more advanced. If this is something that inspires you to flex your creative mind, a diploma in animation and digital video will give you the skills and recognition you need to start your career in digital animation.
Creative design skills combine with storytelling and audio to create stunning animations and 3D imagery.

Diploma in Interactive Design

The interactive design industry is thriving throughout the world with more and more people and businesses becoming regular users of the internet.
Diplomas in Interactive Design provide you with skills to create a wide variety of interactive digital media including web design and interactive advertising design as well as the popular fields of interactive game design and development.

Diploma in Digital Media

Digital media provides the optimal outlet for a desire to combine creative talent with skills in digital technology. If you were to take on a Diploma in Digital Media, you can expect to use digital still imagery and video cameras and computers to create a range of original art combining both traditional and digital media.
This diploma will advances your skills in digital illustration techniques as well as the ability to create images and pages suitable for web publication. Skills learnt in this diploma will benefit your career in print, motion graphics or interactive media.

To find an educational organisation that provides the diplomas listed here and more, visit the industry training organisations category in the NZS.com directory.

NZ Student Loans

Furthering your education with tertiary study is a no-brainer for many New Zealanders, and while our course fees are generally affordable in comparison with the rest of the world, most students will have to take out a student loan to pay for some or all of their study costs.
Being burdened with a large loan is a huge commitment before you’ve even entered the professional workforce, and trying to understand all the ins and outs of your loan structure can be intimidating – especially if you’re not an accounting major.
Getting to grips with the basics of your student loan will help you make an informed decision when it comes to deciding what courses you’ll take, and how much of your expenses you’ll add to your overall loan total. It might also make you think twice before claiming extra money for ‘course related costs’ so you can spend your first week of orientation spending large at the uni bar.
For further financial information from other parties, there are a number of businesses offering financial advice that you can talk to.
What is a student loan?
Basically, a student loan can help to finance your study. In New Zealand it's made up of three parts: compulsory fees, course-related costs and living costs, and while it may seem like free money if you’re fresh out of high school, you will ultimately have to pay it back.
When you apply for a loan, you choose the parts you want to apply for, depending on what you need and qualify for. Remember that you should only borrow what you need. You’ll be signing a contract with the Government agreeing that you’ll pay back your student loan once you start earning money
Compulsory fees
The compulsory fees part of your student loan allows you to borrow the total amount of fees for your course, including the compulsory Student Association fees that are charged by your education provider.
Whether you already have some money saved for your education, or you’re starting with a blank slate and empty savings account, you can borrow either all or part of your compulsory fees. If you decide to pay part of your fees the amount you've paid will be deducted from the amount you can borrow. That means that if your fees for the year are $6000 and you’ve saved enough to pay $2000 towards them, you will be able to borrow $4000 for compulsory fees for your student loan.
Your compulsory fees are paid directly to your education provider, so you must be fully enrolled in your course for any part of your student loan to be paid.
Course related costs
If you do have genuine course related costs you need assistance with, such as stationery, books, computer equipment, travel, you can borrow up to $1000 a year for course-related costs. You don't have to claim all your costs at once, but you will need to provide evidence of your costs like a quote or receipt.
Course-related costs are paid directly to your bank account, with the earliest payment being 14 days before your course starts. You can apply for your course related costs online.
Living costs
The living costs part of your student loan can help with your weekly expenses if you don't qualify for a Student Allowance or don't qualify for the full amount of the Student Allowance.
You can borrow up to $163.38 each week for living costs while you're studying, but if you’re also working and don’t need to borrow that full amount it’s a good idea to reduce your living costs payments. Living costs payments are direct credited to your bank account, and your living costs payments start in the second week of your course (you are paid one week in arrears).
How do I get one?
To receive a student loan you need to be a New Zealand citizen, permanent resident or refugee, and you have to be enrolled in a Tertiary Education Commission approved course. You’ll need to be studying full time, or part time if your course goes for 32 weeks or longer.
You’ll need to take out a new loan every time you start a new course, but each new loan will be tacked on to your total to keep things relatively simple.
To get your student loan you’ll apply through Ministry of Social Development agent Studylink. Their job is to ensure that students get the finance and support they need so they can complete their study, and most tertiary campuses have a Studylink office on site. If you have any questions about your loan or the loan process, they should be your first port of call in getting things sorted.
How do I pay off my student loan?
Paying back your student loan is as simple as choosing the correct tax code once you start working, although you can also make voluntary repayments on top of your compulsory payments if you’d like to pay off your loan more quickly.
If you earn more than the repayment threshold of $19,084 – around $367 a week – you’ll be required to start making compulsory payments, which are deducted from your pay as you earn. While your student loan will accrue interest, this interest is wiped each year for student loan borrowers working in New Zealand. If you live outside of New Zealand the interest rate is 6.6 percent.
You’ll receive regular statements from Inland Revenue Department so you know the balance of your loan and how much you have left to pay back each year. You can also check the balance of your student loan online at www.ird.govt.nz.
For more information about loans check out the loan providers in the NZS.com directory.