Welcome to Code News
In this edition, we cover:
- Covid-19 lockdown
- The new Code
- What it means for you
- What you need to do
- How we’ll support you.
Covid-19 lockdown
Thank you for the work you are doing to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students across Aotearoa as we move through Alert Levels.
The number one priority during this time continues to be the welfare of students and staff. We encourage you to contact our team with any concerns or questions relating to your international and domestic pastoral code obligations.
The new Code
On 16 July 2021, the Ministry of Education (MoE) released a new Code.
This new Code aims to improve the wellbeing and safety of all tertiary and international ākonga.
The new Code builds on and combines requirements for domestic tertiary and international students.
It comes into effect on 1 January 2022.
What does the new Code mean for tertiary providers?
For tertiary providers, the key changes are:
- A requirement to take a whole-of-provider approach to learner wellbeing and student voice.
- New and strengthened requirements for:
- inclusive learning environments
- staff training and support (including staff in student accommodation)
- better protections for learners making complaints and resolving disputes
- better consistency within and across providers when responding to emergencies.
- Combined requirements for tertiary international and domestic learners, meaning some new requirements for international providers.
Further to the new Code, a new disputes resolution scheme for domestic tertiary learners will come into effect from 1 January 2022.
This scheme will sit alongside the scheme already in place for international students. Further updates from MoE to follow.
Implementing the new Code
As Code Administrator, NZQA is responsible for monitoring and supporting the sector to give effect to the new Code.
The new Code is designed to be flexible, so that all providers and wānanga can apply it in a way that appropriately responds to their unique learners and contexts.
NZQA is taking a tailored approach to the quality assurance of the new Code, working with student, provider, and wānanga leaders in each distinct sub-sector to co-design and co-develop resources and activities to ensure an appropriate approach to monitoring and support.
What you need to do
We are working closely with Universities New Zealand (UNZ) to confirm how the new Code will be quality assured and will be providing universities with further guidance in due course.
The first step in getting ready for the new Code is similar for all providers, and involves a simple review of existing practice to identify where practice may need to be updated for the new Code.
Between now and 1 January 2022, we expect all tertiary providers to:
- become familiar with the new Code and its requirements.
- undertake a gap analysis between the current Code(s) and new Code.
- create an action plan to address any gaps.
- complete a survey in December to inform our capability building in 2022.
By January 2022, we expect providers to be familiar with the new requirements, have identified areas for improvement, and have planned to begin making those improvements.
There are no further formal requirements for the existing codes.
How we'll support you
To support students and providers to get ready for the new Code, NZQA will:
September – October 2021
- Work with UNZ and a university sector advisory group, including staff and students, to co-develop implementation guidelines that will be fit for purpose for universities.
- Provide online information sessions to outline the new Code and the expectations.
- Publish tools to help you review and update your internal systems and processes.
November 2021
- Publish new implementation guidelines.
- Deliver new Code 101 workshops.
December 2021
- Send a pastoral care survey to understand capability building needs across the sector.
- Publish our plan for Code administration in 2022 to clarify expectations.
January – June 2022
- Provide ongoing capability-building activities and individual support by phone and email as needed.
July 2022
- Start formal monitoring of the new Code.
International providers
We understand the impacts of Covid-19 and border closures on international Code signatories.
We also understand that these impacts might have meant losing key staff members. We would like to ensure that information and guidance on the Code is easy to understand and implement. If you have any concerns on the new Code, or what to do to meet your obligations, please feel free to contact us.
Any questions or feedback?
Feel free to contact us via the details below:
0800 697 296 (ask for Code team)
International Code (external link)