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1.  A clear sense of priorities

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A broad statement of direction — limited guidance on priorities — too many objectives

The interviews on the use of the TES found that people across the sector saw the TES as a broad positioning document, but lacking a sense of priorities.

This view was consistently expressed across sub-sectors and stakeholder groups. The TES was seen as a guiding document with limited use for detailed planning and prioritisation. A particular criticism was that 35 objectives were too many and there was no sense of priority between the objectives.

A similar view was picked up in other research on the TES:

The recent review of the education sector also noted that stakeholders perceived the TES and STEP to be

The review team considered that the “agencies need to work together to translate [the TES and STEP] into effective strategies and policies”.

In the absence of the TES setting explicit priorities, the tertiary education sector has developed its own consensus about priority areas. The analysis of profiles found that there was a consistency of priorities expressed through profiles across TEOs. These represent the priorities as identified by the sector.

These ‘top ten’ areas include quality of teaching and learning, focus on access, improving capability, meeting skill needs of industry, Māori participation and achievement at higher levels, and contributing to Māori development.

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2.  Well communicated to the sector and stakeholders

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Well communicated to TEO managers — variable communication to staff, stakeholders and communities — style of writing may have got in the way of the message

There was considerable communication of the TES to chief executives, vice-chancellors, and TEO planning staff. In particular, the requirements for charters and profiles to reflect the TES ensured that senior managers and planning staff in TEOs became very aware of and familiar with the TES. In research on the use of the TES, it was commented that communication to tertiary organisations “was as a result of the major exercise in producing our Charter and Profile, as this required a process of disentangling the objectives and relating them to the institution’s practice”.

However, broader dissemination of the TES appears to have been more variable. The interviews on use of the TES raised questions as to the extent to which staff in TEOs were aware of the Strategy.

There were also comments made about the Strategy not being well communicated to stakeholder groups, such as Pasifika and industry. It was noted that “Pasifika people need time to digest the TES in a way that is Pasifika” and that “documents that suit an educational institution do not necessarily suit industry”. Research on the school-to-tertiary education transition aspects of the Strategy found that schools had a general knowledge of the TES, but not of the detail. Variable understanding of the Strategy across government departments was also raised in the interviews on use.

It would appear that communication has worked best where it is part of an ongoing dialogue and relationships. In the interviews on use of the TES, comments were made about successful discussions that led to greater understanding of the Strategy and its intentions. Examples included the TEC’s process to develop the profile guidelines with universities and useful dialogue on the meaning of foundation skills. However, comments were also made about missed opportunities to enter into such discussion and dialogue.

The style of writing in the TES document also had an impact on communication. While many readers found it successful in conveying the overall messages, some have commented on the way in which the message is conveyed.

One critique of the TES has drawn attention to what can be seen as the overly grand vision and high-handed language of the document. The critique points out that the TES “frequently makes bold and significant assertions about our future” and questions the underlying meaning of the frequently used word “will”:

There was also concern expressed that the Strategy did not sufficiently demonstrate a knowledge of what is already happening in the sector and community.

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2.1  Enabling alignment of government and sector goals

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Varied response from sector: guide for planning; framework for articulating TEO goals; basis for advocating provision

The information from monitoring and evaluation provides a mixed answer to this question. As discussed in section 5, the Strategy has mostly been used by TEOs to consider how they fit into the bigger picture.

The Monitoring Report 2004 noted that

The recent review of the education sector pointed to the need for greater strategic leadership from government agencies to push the development of strategies and effect change. It also noted that agencies needed to build their capability to take a strategic approach to policy implementation.

The analysis of 2005/07 and 2006/08 profiles found several that were universally addressed by TEIs in their profiles, irrespective of their characteristics, such as a focus on improved equality of access and quality of teaching and learning. Other areas of the TES were addressed according to the characteristics of the TEI, such as foundation education and Pasifika development. The analysis also found that TEO responses to the TES in profile objectives were concentrated in a few areas.

The extent to which and the way TEOs have aligned their goals with the TES vary across sub-sectors. In general, universities have continued strategies established before the publication of the TES, and where necessary, presented these in terms of the TES. This reflects a concern of universities to retain their institutional autonomy and academic freedom. There is also a view from some academics that the focus of the TES on knowledge “production” risks eroding what they see as “the primacy of the ‘profession of truth’ as the underlying purpose of the University”.

ITPs have been much more engaged with the TES as a guiding document. In many cases it has been used as part of the planning process. However, some ITPs found it does not go much beyond a “framework for dialogue”. Some ITPs have engaged with the TES as a useful tool for guiding their planning and self-examination, while others have viewed it as a compliance framework.

Private training establishments have used it more as a basis for advocating for their areas of provision. This has been more successful in some areas than others. Industry training organisations (ITOs) have generally not seen it as a useful document and are more likely to be driven by their business plan than the TES. Some were not well disposed to what they saw as the “social engineering aspects”. However, at least one ITO found it “liberating and providing a framework across their business”. Wānanga saw it as “a vital social and economic mechanism, rather than as simply a guide to the delivery of educational programmes”. However, they are frustrated with what they see as poor implementation.

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2.2  Enabling stakeholders to see their goals and aspirations being achieved

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Vital to achievement of Māori and Pasifika development; supportive of business and industry; little relevance for schools — concern that implementation has been lacking

Both Māori and Pasifika stakeholders see the TES as being vital to the achievement of their social and economic goals. It provides a foundation for thinking about Māori and Pasifika within the wider context of tertiary provision and the nation. It has therefore influenced thinking across the sector. However, Māori and Pasifika stakeholders have been disappointed by the lack of consistent implementation.

Business and economic development stakeholders generally see the TES as an expression of government directions for the sector and useful in this regard. They acknowledge that it does provide a clear message about building stronger linkages with business, but the message is diluted by the breadth of the document. In their view, the document fails to give a sense of what will be done and by when.

It would appear that there has been limited engagement with the TES from the school sector. Where this has occurred, it is seen as a document that is generally not relevant and outlines things they are doing already.

The recent education review noted that:

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2.3  Focusing the tertiary education sector on what matters

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Document not clear about what matters most - In practice — has provided renewed focus on foundation education; reinforced focus on quality of teaching and research and Māori and Pasifika participation

The answer to this question echoes the answer to the first question on priorities above. Most people see the TES as providing a broad framework, but lacking focus on a few significant areas for change. Therefore, it is hard to tell from the document what matters most.

The area on which the TES has achieved a notably greater focus has been foundation education. This was commented on in the key informant interviews across sub-sectors and groups. Māori and Pasifika stakeholders saw the TES as important to providing a greater focus on their development aspirations.

The analysis of profiles found that there was an increased focus on several areas from the 2005/07 to the 2006/08 profiles. Top of this list were quality of research and of teaching and learning, followed by Māori and Pasifika participation and achievement at higher levels. However, the analysis also notes that these are the areas where there have been significant proposed or actual changes to funding, implying that TES themes have had greater uptake when they are linked with changes in funding policy.

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