Notice Type
Departmental
Notice Title

The Education (Tertiary Tuition Fee Maxima) Notice 2003

Maximum Tuition Fees (and Conditions) for Domestic Students That May be Charged by Tertiary Education Organisations1
Under sections 159ZA (1), 159ZA (2) (e) and 159ZA (6) of the Education Act 1989, the Associate Minster of Education (Tertiary Education) gives the following notice.
N o t i c e
1. Title-This notice may be cited as the Education (Tertiary Tuition Fee Maxima) Notice 2003.
2. Commencement-This notice applies from the date of its publication and continues in force until 31 December 2006.
3. Proposal-I propose:
(a) to set the following maximum tuition fees that tertiary education organisations may charge domestic students in courses that receive student component funding;
(b) to specify conditions that the Tertiary Education Commission must attach to student component funding, paid by the commission, to tertiary education organisations.
Proposed Maximum Tuition Fees for the Academic Years 1 January 2004 to 31 December 20062
4. Fees-(1) The proposed maximum tuition fees for courses of more than 0.06 Equivalent Full-time Student (EFTS) value are:
Funding Category Description 2004 2005(indicative) 2006(indicative)
A Arts; Social Sciences; General, including Community Education 3,900 3,990 4,074
B Science; Computing; Engineering (non degree); Agriculture (non degree); Nursing; Trades; Architecture (non degree); Fine Arts; Music 4,500 4,604 4,701
C Engineering (degree); Agriculture (degree); Architecture (degree); Audiology 5,500 5,627 5,745
G Dentistry; Veterinary Science; Medicine 10,000 10,230 10,445
H Specialist Large Animal Science 5,500 5,627 5,745
I Teaching 3,900 3,990 4,074
J Business; Law3 4,200 4,297 4,387
(2) The proposed maximum tuition fees for courses of 0.06 EFTS value or less are:
Funding Category Description 2004 2005 (indicative) 2006(indicative)
A Arts; Social Sciences; General, including Community Education 234 239 244
B Science; Computing; Engineering (non degree); Agriculture (non degree); Nursing; Trades; Architecture (non degree); Fine Arts; Music 270 276 282
C Engineering (degree); Agriculture (degree); Architecture (degree); Audiology 330 338 345
G Dentistry; Veterinary Science; Medicine 600 614 627
H Specialist Large Animal Science 330 338 345
I Teaching 234 239 244
J Business; Law3 252 258 263
Conditions Attached to Student Component Funding Paid by the Tertiary Education Commission to Tertiary Education Organisations
5. The following items will be included in the maxima: tuition fees, compulsory administration charges, examination fees, other charges associated with a programme of study, material charges, cost of field trips and any compulsory purchase of equipment or books through the organisation.
6. Postgraduate courses are excluded from the maxima. Any increase in post-graduate fees of greater than $1,000 per EFTS per annum will need to be approved by the Tertiary Education Commission through profile discussions.
7. If a student is charged a fee by a provider that is above the maximum tuition fee (on a pro-rata basis)4, the provider will not receive Student Component funding for the relevant course(s). If funding has already been paid to the organisation, the Tertiary Education Commission must recover that funding and may do so by any lawful means including set-off against future funding.
8. The fee maxima will not apply to private training establishments until the 2005 academic year and after. Private training establishments must either not exceed the maxima, or freeze tuition fees in 2004 in nominal terms at 2003 levels, whichever is the greater, as a requirement for student component funding.
9. Other tertiary education providers that charge tuition fees but do not receive Student Component funding must comply with the relevant maximum tuition fee in this notice; the School of Dance and Drama's courses will be included within the maxima for funding category B.
10. The fee maxima will not apply to cable logging and optometry courses until the 2005 academic year and after. Organisations are exempt from the maximum tuition fees for 2004 only, if their fees are above the maxima, but only on the condition that the existing fee is not raised for this qualification.
Invitation to Make Submissions
12. If any tertiary education organisation, or any other person, body or organisation wishes to make submissions on the proposed maximum tuition fees, they can make those submissions to:
Fee Maxima Submissions
Tertiary Education: Regulatory and Resourcing Policy
Ministry of Education
P.O. Box 1666
Thorndon
Wellington.
Email: tertiary.funding@minedu.govt.nz
Closing Date for Submissions
Submissions must be received by 12 June 2003.
Dated at Wellington this 20th day of May 2003.
STEVE MAHAREY, Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education).
Note: Effect of this Notice
This note is not part of this notice but is intended to indicate its general effect. The Education (Tertiary Reform) Amendment Act 2002, for the most part, came into force on 1 January 2003. The Amendment Act inserted a new Part 13A (relating to the establishment and operations of the Tertiary Education Commission) into the principal Act. The commission is required to fund tertiary organisations and can impose conditions on funding (including the maximum limits on tuition fees that may
be charged to domestic students). Conditions for that purpose can only be imposed if the Minister has issued this notice, considered submissions and determined the maximum tuition fee limits. The Amendment Act also inserted into the principal Act new sections 227 (1A) and 236C which prevent tertiary education institutions and private training establishments, that receive funding from the Tertiary Education Commission, charging domestic students tuition fees above the maxima specified in those conditions when imposed.
Footnotes
1The term organisation is defined in section 159B of the Education Act 1989 as an institution, a private training establishment, a government training establishment, an industry training organisation, and any other person or body that provides tertiary education and is funded through Vote: education for that purpose or identified by the minister by notice in the New Zealand Gazette.
2The maxima for subsequent years will be inflation adjusted. The figures provided here for 2005 and 2006 maximum tuition fees are indicative, based on budget economic and fiscal update inflation estimates.
3Business and Law relates to course and programme classifications 4 and 14.
4The maximum level of fees part-time students may be charged depends on the number of EFTS they undertake. For
example, if a student undertakes 0.6 of an EFTS in category A then the maximum fee will be: 0.6 * 3,900 = $2,340. If
students undertake study in a mix of funding categories their maxima will be a weighted average of the relevant maxima. For example, if 0.4 of an EFTS is in category A and 0.6 of an EFTS is in category B, then the maximum fee will be: 0.4 * 3,900 + 0.6 * 4,500 = $4,260.