Tertiary teaching in New Zealand/Educational culture in New Zealand/Where have we come from?/NZ Tertiary education

New Zealand tertiary education[[Image:E-learning.jpg|thumb|right]]
As in other developed countries, eLearning plays an important role in New Zealand tertiary institutions - but this is not the whole story. Face to face teaching and practical experience still play a major part in most NZ tertiary programmes. Many teachers use a blended approach, with activities appropriate to the learners, the content of the material, and the context in which the learning is being done. We will examine blended learning in more detail in later units.

The New Zealand tertiary sector covers private training establishments (PTEs), institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs), wananga, universities and workplace training.What is a wananga? Click here to find out.

These all deliver a variety of educational options, often in flexible ways to meet the needs of adult learners. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) acts as a quality assurance body and approves all qualifications for the above institutions, apart from universities.Click here to find out more about NZQA.

The NZ Government's agency which manages funding for tertiary providers is called the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). Click here to find out what it does.

Tertiary education providers offer courses which range from transition (school to work) programmes, through to postgraduate study and research. There are no fixed divisions between the types of courses offered by each sort of provider. The focus is on their ability to offer education to the required quality standards, rather than based on their type.

Higher, degree-level education is mainly offered at universities. Programmes are research-led and generally academic, as distinct from vocational. Vocational degree level education is offered at ITPs, wänanga and a few larger PTEs. Such degrees tend to be specific and applied. PTEs’ programmes are mostly in specific vocational niches at certificate and diploma level.