Improve educational performance
Effective self-assessment helps tertiary education organisations (TEOs) improve their educational performance. It does this by helping an organisation identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as:
- gain knowledge that leads to actual, worthwhile improvements for the organisation and its stakeholders including learners
- value the diversity of staff and the contribution each member makes to the organisation
- engender trust between stakeholders through working together to identify and meet needs
- value lessons learned from mistakes
- identify, clarify and instil beliefs
- challenge assumptions and knowledge, seeking improved methods and processes
- develop an environment that encourages innovation and creativity.
On this page
Self-assessment is a regulatory requirement
TEOs and private training establishments (PTEs) must conduct self-assessment and engage in external evaluation and review (EER) to maintain registration.
Both EER and self-assessment are required for registration under the Education and Training Act 2020 (the Act).
External evaluation and review
Regulatory arrangements
Organisational self-assessment and EER are separate and complementary elements. They are requirements for course approval and accreditation (sections 439 and 441 of the Act) for all TEOs entitled to apply.
We set the requirements (the rules, criteria and policies) for course approval and accreditation and other quality assurance processes under section 452 of the Act.
NZQA is responsible for ensuring TEOs continue to comply with the policies and criteria after initial approval and accreditation of courses or registration is granted. The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee (NZVCC) has statutory responsibility for university compliance.
Quality assurance framework
The above policies and criteria are gazetted under the Education and Training Act 2020. They provide a quality assurance framework established by NZQA comprising four components:
- initial entry processes of course approval, accreditation to deliver a course, registration of PTEs and accreditation to assess standards on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework
- self-assessment
- EER
- managing the consequences of a TEO’s poor performance.
The framework uses the theory and practice of evaluation to focus on the quality of educational outcomes and key contributing processes. Evaluation as a discipline provides a systematic basis for answering questions about quality and value.