Transition to tertiary study in New Zealand under the National Qualifications Framework and ‘the ghost of 1888’

Abstract

This paper discusses the transition from school to further and higher education in New Zealand following the recent implementation of the National Qualifications Framework. While a genuinely ‘seamless’ interface is emerging between upper secondary schooling and further education in the context of vocational programmes, the transition from school to university has been made more complicated owing to the complexity of the redefined university entrance requirements, and comparability issues arising from the existence of the two different kinds of curricular delivery and assessment modules that are in use (unit standards and achievement standards). The paper highlights the continuing anomaly of the possibility of entry to university degree programmes from the penultimate year of secondary schooling.

Acknowledgements

My sincere gratitude is extended to the following people who participated in the study: Ms Jo Blakely, Academic and Student Services Manager, Eastern Institute of Technology; Ms Jan Hausman, Academic Manager, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic; Dr Patsy Paxton, Academic Director, Auckland University of Technology; Mr Colin Prentice, Schools Partnership Office Director, University of Auckland; Mr Trevor Weir, Student Liaison Adviser, Massey University; Mr Mike Wilson, Schools Liaison Coordinator, University of Otago; and a further informant at an institution of further education who preferred not to be identified. My thanks also to Dr Helen Anderson, Academic Director, Manukau Institute of Technology, for valuable information about the Secondary–Tertiary Curriculum Alignment Project.

Notes

1. This has since been expanded to a 10‐tier structure.

2. National certificates span the NQF Levels 1–4 range. They are awarded in areas as diverse as mathematics, wool processing, forestry, computing, business administration, and the security and recreation industries. A small number of national certificates can be completed at school, such as the national certificates in mathematics and the national certificate in employment skills. Some national certificates are graded by NQF level, such as the national certificate in mathematics (Levels 1 and 2). There are also some national diplomas at NQF Levels 5–7.

3. Examples are ‘Pen up sheep for shearing’ (US5112, Level 2); ‘Operate a chainsaw’ (US6917, Level 3); and ‘Weld steel plumbing pipe and sheet’ (US2162, Level 3).

4. Examples are ‘Describe conflict in an historical setting’ (US5820, Level 1), ‘Manipulate algebraic expressions and use algebraic methods to solve problems’ (US5246, Level 2), and ‘Read closely and evaluate the effectiveness of poetic written texts’ (US12427, Level 3).

5. The difference between the pass grades is not uncommonly a matter of semantics, such as ‘Examine population patterns, processes and issues’, ‘Examine, in detail, population patterns, processes and issues’ and ‘Comprehensively examine population patterns, processes and issues’ for the three pass grades respectively (from Geography Achievement Standard AS90203, Level 1).

6. These credit points may be at or above the Level of the NCEA concerned. Up to 20 credit points may be transferred from lower levels for the Levels 2 and 3 NCEA. The Level 1 NCEA has ‘literacy’ and ‘numeracy’ requirements of eight credit points each.

7. These requirements do not apply to entry to undergraduate certificate and diploma programmes.

8. There is a growing tendency for such faculties to select students from the first university‐year cohort rather than from the school‐leaver cohort.

9. These regulations are separate from those pertaining to Ad Eundum Statum admission for persons aged 21 and above, which do not necessarily involve any prerequisite school qualifications at all.

10. It is not unusual for students at these institutions to progress to a final year of study culminating in a degree via stages associated with the acquisition of national certificates and diplomas. A first‐year student enrols in the national certificate, not the degree itself.

11. This study has not addressed the recently highly contentious issue of the New Zealand university scholarships examinations. These examinations have long been offered to only the most academically able Year 13 students. A pass may enable students to enrol in degree programmes at second‐year level, and imparts a strong competitive advantage for entry to highly selective programmes such as engineering.

12. In some cases, students with 14 or more credit points in English at Levels 2 and 3 had failed to meet the ‘literacy’ requirements. Some schools had evidently (and not unreasonably) assumed that English ‘majors’ would automatically satisfy the ‘literacy’ requirements.

13. A Cambridge Examinations Syndicate was set up by some schools to provide alternative or supplementary qualifications to the NCEA. Some schools are now also offering the international baccalaureate.