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These pages contain the original text of the Tertiary Education Strategy documents. Only edit content if you notice the text is inconsistent with the final published document. Feel free to develop your own cross references and index structure. This is the first Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities (STEP) issued as part of the Government’s reforms to the tertiary education and training system. The reforms will ensure the development of a more strategic and coherent system, and are designed to ensure that the system meets the tests of excellence, relevance, and access. The changes are significant but they have been made on the basis of extensive consultation with the tertiary education and training sector, and the wide range of stakeholders and communities it serves. As we now proceed to implement these reforms, partnership will be of the essence - partnerships between central government departments and agencies and Tertiary Education Organisations (public and private providers and Industry Training Organisations), and partnerships with our external stakeholders and communities. In implementing these reforms, the Government will balance the need for change - and change there must be - with the need for certainty and predictability within the sector. New systems and processes will be needed, but compliance costs for Tertiary Education Organisations will be kept to a minimum. What is the Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities (STEP)? A detailed answer to this question is set out below. A Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities (STEP) will be issued by the Government at least once every three years, pursuant to Section 159O of the Tertiary Education Reform Bill 2002. This STEP is an interim document and will not be Gazetted as required under the proposed legislation. This is because the process for Gazetting an interim STEP could not begin until the proposed legislation is passed, which would make it inconsistent with agency and provider planning timeframes. This interim STEP, however, does signal the need for clear and measurable changes over the 2002–3 period. These will be supported by changes in the funding system and changes in Government’s approach to tertiary education policy generally. This Statement is also an important expression of Government’s future expectations, once the new system is fully operational. It is expected that a further STEP will be Gazetted in early to mid-2003 to build on this STEP. The next Statement will be issued at a time that will enable it to support both planning on the part of government departments and agencies (which need to be consistent with the budget processes), and Tertiary Education Organisation planning requirements. All future Statements of Tertiary Education Priorities will be underpinned by a number of key principles, including:
In essence, the STEP takes the Tertiary Education Strategy - which has a medium term reach through to 2007 - and looks at the short-to-medium term priorities for government departments and agencies, and Tertiary Education Organisations. In the normal course of events the STEP will look forward three years. This first STEP focuses on implementation of the Tertiary Education Strategy over the next 12 months. The Tertiary Education Strategy and the Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities provide the road map for reforming New Zealand’s tertiary education and training system. The Tertiary Education Commission will lead this process of reform through instruments such as tertiary charters and profiles, and a new funding system. The Commission will make an assessment of strategic relevance when negotiating with Tertiary Education Organisations to maximise excellence, relevance, and access in our tertiary system. While the Government is expecting our tertiary system to contribute much more explicitly to critical national development goals, this change in focus must not jeopardise the high participation levels of the last few years. Specifically, Government wishes to `steer’ the new system in a manner that improves the:
While the new system will not be fully implemented until 2004–5, Government is expecting to see change building over this period, and starting immediately. Indeed, as the changes have been widely consulted upon and signalled to the sector, quite significant changes have already occurred. Moreover, the reforms will be implemented in such a way as to ensure that there is not just continuity in the provision of education and training, but also significant increases in participation in areas such as workplace learning. Given the challenge entailed in effecting change of this magnitude, the emphasis in this document is on outlining practical first steps. Initial changes will be driven, above all, by the decisions and strategies adopted by Tertiary Education Organisations. These will be reflected in their strategic and business plans, which will be prepared in collaboration with their stakeholders and communities of interest. These external stakeholders will need to invest in relationships with Tertiary Education Organisations to ensure that the reforms are effective. The STEP is as much about identifying priorities for government departments and agencies as it is about ensuring that Tertiary Education Organisations are clear on how they can maximise their contribution. While the STEP speaks primarily to the Tertiary Education Commission and the Ministry of Education, it also indicates areas for other education Crown entities (NZQA and Career Services), to consider in their planning. As the reforms of the tertiary education system are implemented, the Government will ensure that the sector and its external stakeholders and communities are provided with a clear statement about what is important in the future. It will also provide a more certain and supportive policy climate to enable the desired changes to occur. I emphasise that in implementing the reforms the Government is committed to an approach predicated squarely on the principles and practice of partnership, and one that takes the best from what we presently have and applies that to the pursuit of excellence, relevance and access. These reforms of the tertiary education and training system are about ensuring that our shared investment results in a sector that is empowered to make its contribution to the development of a knowledge economy and society, and our economic and social development as a nation. Steve Maharey Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) |
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