Government data shows universities performing at a high level

New Zealand's eightuniversities are performing at a high level according to data published by theTertiary Education Commission (TEC) today. 

The tertiarysector's educational performance indicators show that 84% of government fundeduniversity students successfully completed their courses, 82% continued with orcompleted their studies and 66% completed their qualifications last year.    

"These resultsdemonstrate that our universities are delivering value for money," says DerekMcCormack, Chair of Universities New Zealand-Te Pōkai Tara.  "Not only is the expenditure on universitiesan efficient use of public money, but it's also an investment that will payback many times over, producing significant long-term economic, social andcultural returns to New Zealanders." 

While theinformation published today presents an overview of institutional performancein tertiary education, McCormack warns that using this data to rankuniversities in league tables would be a mistake. 

There are manyfactors that influence these indicators on an institutional level.  The part-time versus full-time mix, age,ethnicity and socio-economic background of students, as well as the types andlengths of courses or qualifications offered, all contribute to aninstitution's results.  The raw data thatthe TEC uses for these indicators does not adjust for any of these factors andis misleading if taken out of context.

For example, auniversity with a large number of part-time, older and extramural students maynot perform as well on these indicators as a university with a more traditionalstudent body.  This is a reflection ofthe particular character of the university's catchment rather than a reflectionof the quality of the education it delivers.

"Universities NZ accepts that there must be accountability for the public funds that universitiesreceive" says McCormack. "However, the data published today by the TEC only providesthis information in the broadest sense. Other sources, such as universityannual reports, provide more meaningful information."