Academic Quality Action Plan

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to the second update on the Academic Quality Action Plan – our EER plan, which has been approved by NZQA and guides our work ahead of the next EER, scheduled for October 2020.

The aim of these updates is to keep everyone informed of our progress with implementing the plan, our current activities and what you should be doing.

How are we tracking?

Below is a high-level view of how we are responding to the 13 NZQA recommendations, generated by their last EER visit in 2018. Overall we are doing well – we certainly have lots of work ahead of us, but our progress so far is sound.

All the EER work contributes to academic quality and learner success, and you’ll see that most of it is part of our ‘business-as-usual’ activity. This is a really key point to note. The most important thing you can do to achieve a successful EER is to focus within your team on doing your regular jobs well and continuing to improve. Manaakitia te Rito and your own team action plans will help guide you on what you need to do to contribute to a return to Category 2, then on to Category 1.

Schools are now busy with implementing a set of I See Me initiatives that support the goal of parity for Māori and Pacific students by 2022. The basic idea behind I See Me is that we know our learners are more likely to remain in study and succeed if they can learn in an environment that is culturally familiar, and that accommodates their approach to learning.

This is particularly crucial in the first six weeks of study, when the environment is unfamiliar for many of our learners. The I See Me initiatives include activities such as mentoring support, whānau/fanau evenings, pōhiri for all students and the introduction of ‘early, low-stakes assessments’ in first year courses. You can see more information on Moodle.

As the parity goals apply to the whole institution, we will be encouraging Support teams to get involved in their own I See Me initiatives in 2020.

Overview of NZQA recommendations progress: Click on the image below to see the full plan including actions, expected outcomes and timelines.

Our 2020 calendar of activities

Through 2020 we will be undertaking a range of activities, listed in the table below, that are both ‘business-as-usual’ and part of preparing for an NZQA visit in October. We will let you know as soon as any details are confirmed, including focus areas and exact dates for the panel visit.

In the meantime, we’ll keep in touch with Schools and Support teams to ensure everyone knows what’s coming up. Again, our key message for now is to keep doing what you do well and to focus on contributing to academic quality and learner success.

Where can I get more information?

If you have any questions or advice about EER preparation, feel free to contact me. I’d also welcome invitations to come to talk with your teams about the EER visit and how best to prepare.

Look out for our next update in January, which will include an overview of the Āta Kōrero/PEP process.

Ngā mihi

Simon Nash
Director - Ako, Learning and Teaching