STAR glossary

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Accreditation

The status awarded to an organisation that has shown that it is capable of delivering an approved course or assessing against standards on the National Qualifications Framework.

Achievement standard

A nationally registered, coherent set of learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria, together with technical and management information that supports delivery and assessment; achievement standards specify three different standards of performance and the method of assessment, which may include national external assessment.

Approved course

A coherent programme based on clear and consistent aims, standards and assessment practices.

Credit

A numerical value, assigned to a standard on the National Qualifications Framework or a qualification on the Register, that represents the estimated time needed for a typical learner to demonstrate that all the specified outcomes have been met; credit points give a transferable value to that learning once it is completed.

Domain

An area of learning within a subfield of the National Qualifications Framework, as defined in the National Qualifications Framework classification system.

Field

A broad area of learning on the National Qualifications Framework, as defined in the National Qualifications Framework classification system.

Gateway

A programme, administered by the Tertiary Education Commission, that offers senior students the opportunity to complete a work-based learning experience and have their learning assessed against unit and/or achievement standards on the National Qualifications Framework and integrated with their current programme of study.

Industry training organisation (ITO)

An industry-specific body, recognised under the Industry Training Act 1992, that sets skill standards for its industry and manages arrangements for industry training that will enable trainees to attain those standards.

Learning areas associated with the national curriculum

The range of subjects that schools are funded to teach through the school's own operational funding and therefore normally excluded from eligibility for STAR funding.

Memorandum of Understanding

An agreement between a school and provider that details services, procedures, and other relevant information; also called a memorandum of agreement.

National certificate

A qualification on the National Qualifications Framework that recognises skills and knowledge that meet nationally endorsed standards (unit and achievement standards); national certificates are usually registered between levels 1 and 4 and require a minimum of forty credits at or above the level at which the qualification is registered.

National diploma

A qualification on the National Qualifications Framework that recognises skills and knowledge that meet nationally endorsed standards (unit and achievement standards); national diplomas are registered between levels 5 and 7. The top seventy-two credits define the level at which the qualification can be registered, and at least 120 of all credits contributing towards the qualification must be at level 4 or above.

National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

Collectively, all nationally registered qualifications, unit standards and achievement standards, together with the relationships among these.

National Student Index (NSI)

A system that assigns to every student a unique identifier that will be a lifetime identification number that a student keeps, even if they study with more than one provider.

New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)

The government agency charged with responsibility for accrediting and approving qualifications and courses and registering tertiary education organisations (TEOs) to deliver these qualifications. NZQA quality-assures secondary and tertiary qualifications as well as TEOs.

Non-national curriculum courses

Courses or subjects for which there are no achievement objectives in the New Zealand Curriculum and no achievement standards.

Private training establishment (PTE)

A privately owned education organisation, registered with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), that provides education, training or assessment services.

Provider

An individual or organisation that supplies education and/or training and/or assessment services; providers include schools, polytechnics, private training establishments, government training establishments, wānanga and workplaces.

Record of achievement

An individual learner's transcript of unit standards and achievement standards credited and national qualifications completed, provided by the NZQA from a national database.

Registration (of unit standards, achievement standards and qualifications)

A process that ensures that unit standards, achievement standards and national qualifications have received appropriate national endorsement and meet the technical requirements of the NZQA; the process concludes when these are entered onto the Framework database; standards and qualifications are reviewed periodically.

Short introductory course

A short course of teaching and learning that gives students an idea of what a career or a tertiary course is all about. Short introductory courses (SIC) can be offered to any student in years 9–13.

STAR excluded list (SEL)

The list of domains that are considered to be conventional subjects and funded through the school's own operational funding; these cannot be funded using STAR.

Subfield

An area of learning within a field of the National Qualifications Framework; defined in the National Qualifications Framework classification system.

Tertiary education

All involvement in post-school learning activities, including industry training and adult and community education.

Tertiary Education Commission (TEC)

The government organisation that has the role of steering and funding the tertiary sector to achieve tertiary reforms; it was established by the Education (Tertiary Reform) Amendment Act 2002 and commenced operation on 1 January 2003.

Tertiary education organisation (TEO)

An organisation that offers tertiary education or tertiary-related services; TEOs may be public, private or community based.

Tertiary education providers (TEP)

All the institutions and organisations that provide tertiary education; these include public tertiary education institutions (TEIs), private training establishments (PTEs), other tertiary education providers (OTEPs) and government training establishments (GTEs).

Unit standard

A nationally registered, coherent set of learning outcomes and associated performance criteria, together with technical and management information that supports delivery and assessment; all unit standards are registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), are assigned a level and a credit value, and may contribute to the award of a national certificate or diploma.

University

A public education institution that is primarily concerned with advanced learning and knowledge, research, and teaching to a postgraduate level.

Wānanga

A traditional Māori school of learning.

Work-based learning

Practical experience, within a work environment, that is actively supervised by competent and experienced workers and directed towards specific educational goals and skills training.

Youth apprenticeships

The Youth Apprenticeships Pilot is a one-year pilot operating in 20 schools nationwide in 2008; the pilot is a joint-agency initiative involving the Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA); the Youth Apprenticeships Pilot is working with lead Gateway schools to develop an industry-related pathway through secondary schooling and links to the Youth Apprenticeships scheme available from 2009.

Youth Guarantee

Ensures all young people have access to a programme of study in senior secondary school, tertiary education or the workplace that leads to worthwhile qualifications and meaningful employment.