About the consultation
The implementation of the integrated Quality Assurance Framework (iQAF) began in January 2026. This consultation seeks feedback on the final design feature of the iQAF, describing tertiary education provider quality.
In the two public consultations on iQAF in 2024 and 2025, some tertiary education providers (TEPs) expressed their desire for a more graduated mechanism than the binary 'compliant/non-compliant' approach we had proposed to represent the overall quality of individual TEPs.
Government agencies also expressed a preference for a more nuanced way to summarise TEP quality to inform their respective activities.
Read the iQAF consultations and summaries of submissions:
Consultation on the draft integrated Quality Assurance Framework (iQAF)
Consultation on the design of the integrated Quality Assurance Framework (iQAF)
Our response to your feedback
In response to this feedback, we have drafted a proposal for how an up-to-date view of organisational-level TEP quality could be defined, summarised and communicated.
The proposal includes 4 quality criteria that would provide evidence of the extent to which a TEP has the ongoing capability to deliver high-quality education and training:
- Programme and micro-credential design
- Delivery of education and training
- Assessment practice
- Quality management system implementation.
Each criterion would be weighted and assigned a score based on evidence already held by NZQA and known by the provider.
The cumulative score would correspond to 1 of 3 overall descriptors of a provider’s effectiveness in delivering credible and robust qualifications and credentials that meet needs:
- Highly effective
- Effective
- Not effective
We'd like your feedback
This consultation seeks your feedback on the proposed:
- quality criteria that collectively provide evidence of the extent to which a TEP has the ongoing capability to deliver high-quality education and training
- weighting and scoring for each criterion
- overall quality descriptor
- publishing of the quality descriptor.
NZQA is particularly interested in how the descriptors would be used by the wide range of TEPs that we regulate, and any implementation challenges across different provider types or sectors.
Download the consultation document:
Describing tertiary education provider quality under iQAF [PDF, 638 KB]
On this page
How to provide your feedback
There are 6 questions throughout the consultation document. These correspond to those in the online questionnaire.
The questions are intended as prompts only. You are welcome to comment on any aspect of the proposal.
You can give your feedback by:
- completing the online questionnaire (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link) (external link)
- emailing QAFredesign@nzqa.govt.nz
Tertiary education providers with a categorisation under the rules revoked by rule 10(1) may only refer to their latest categorisation, and must state with that categorisation the year the categorisation was received and that the EER system is no longer in operation.
Find out more
You can learn more about the proposed quality descriptors by attending a webinar.
Register for a webinar
Wednesday 19 August 2026, 2.30 to 3.30 pm (external link) (external link) (external link)
Monday 24 August 2025, 11 am to 12 noon (external link) (external link) (external link)
Common questions about the quality descriptor
Below are some common questions and answers about the proposed quality descriptors. We will add to these as we receive questions and common themes emerge.
Contact us
If you have further questions about the consultation, please contact:
What happens after the consultation
We will review and publish a summary of the submissions and feedback.
We will continue working with agencies and other key stakeholders to further fine-tune the proposed approach based on feedback gathered through the consultation.
Subject to consultation outcomes, we will develop Rules (if needed) to support the implementation of the quality descriptors. We would expect to consult on any associated Rules in February/March 2027.
We anticipate the implementation of the TEP quality descriptors will begin in July 2027.