After an external evaluation and review (EER), we place non-university tertiary education organisations (TEOs) into one of four categories based on their EER statements of confidence.
The categories are 1 (highest) to 4 (lowest).
Each category has appropriate incentives or sanctions associated with it, showing trust in high performers and restricting the activities of poor performers to protect learners.
Categories apply to
- Te Pūkenga and its subsidiaries
- wānanga
- private training establishments
- government training establishments.
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Te Hono o Te Kahurangi
Te Hono o Te Kahurangi is an approach to EER that allows tertiary providers to engage with NZQA using Māori approaches and values.
Learn moreWhy we use provider categories
To encourage high quality and high performance
Improving educational quality and performance is a central outcome of the evaluative approach to quality assurance.
We encourage TEOs to make improvements by giving them quality assurance incentives based on the statements of confidence achieved in the last EER.
Better performers need less oversight
This approach builds an environment of trust and accountability that gives confidence to learners and the public.
If we're very confident about a TEO's educational quality, our quality assurance processes will be more flexible.
Poor performers need more oversight
If a TEO has not demonstrated enough educational quality, or if we have concerns about the TEO’s capability to monitor its own performance, we increase the level of oversight.
NZQA then limits the TEO’s activities until they improve.
If a TEO’s category does not improve enough after a new EER, we can take regulatory action to further restrict the TEO’s activities.
More information
How we determine provider categories
We have 2 EER processes, each with different approaches and terminology. These are the standard process and Te Hono o Te Kahurangi process.
Although they have different approaches, they both measure the same aspects of a TEO and produce a comparable result.
EER produces 2 NZQA statements of confidence for a TEO.
Te Hono o Te Kahurangi
Ngā Hua o te Whare Ako
Te Whakairinga Kōrero
Standard approach
Educational performance
Capability in self-assessment
The statements of confidence from the most recent EER determine the TEO’s category.
Combining the statements of confidence
The table shows how we combine statements of confidence and determine a TEO's provider category.
|
Ngā Hua o te Whare Ako Educational performance |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahurangi Highly Confident |
Whakairo Confident |
Hukihuki Not Yet Confident |
Pounamu Not confident |
||
| Te Whakairinga Kōrero Self-assessment |
Kahurangi Highly Confident |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Whakairo Confident |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Hukihuki Not Yet Confident |
3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Pounamu Not confident |
4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
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For example, a wānanga receives 2 for Ngā Hua o te Whare Ako, and 1 for Te Whakairinga Kōrero. Its provider category after EER is 2.
More information
Section 11.1 of the Quality Assurance (including External Evaluation and Review (EER)) Rules 2022
Incentives and sanctions
When a TEO's category changes
The TEO takes on the new category's incentives or sanctions.
If the outcome is category 3 or 4, we require the TEO to undertake an improvement plan to raise its performance, its capability in self-assessment or both.
We may impose other activities, according to the Quality Assurance Rules.
Quality Assurance (including External Evaluation and Review (EER)) Rules 2022
More information
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact your NZQA liaison. You'll find them listed as the sector relationship contact in the providers portal.
For more information about the process of determining categories, email the evaluation team.