Notice 2003
Under section 159AC of the Education Act 1989, and following consultation with the Tertiary Education Commission, the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) gives the following notice.
N o t i c e
1. This notice may be cited as the Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities Notice 2003.
2. This notice applies from the date of its publication.
Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities
The Government has set a new strategic direction for the tertiary education system to ensure that it is more strategically aligned to the needs of New Zealand and has
a greater focus on excellence.
This new direction is outlined in the Tertiary Education Strategy 2002-2007 ("the strategy").
Derived from this strategy is the Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities (STEP).
The role of the STEP is to outline the short-to-medium term priorities that Government expects government agencies and publicly funded tertiary education organisations (public
and private providers and industry training organisations) to focus on in order to achieve the goals articulated in the strategy.
This second STEP restates the priorities outlined in the interim STEP that was released on 9 July 2002.
As such, the key priority for the period of this STEP is to develop the infrastructure and process to support the new tertiary education system.
This includes:
? understanding the key changes and strategies articulated in the strategy and incorporating them into the internal planning strategic and business processes of all tertiary education organisations;
? the development of the Tertiary Education Commission as a strong and credible organisation;
? the implementation of the new steering instruments such as charters and profiles and funding reform; and
? the continuation of the dialogue amongst stakeholders established during the public consultation on the strategy and the exploration of collaborative relationships across the system.
All government agencies and tertiary education organisations are expected to begin to respond to the strategy's key change messages and to contribute to its specific strategies.
The key change messages are:
? greater alignment with national goals.
? stronger linkages with business and other external stakeholders.
? effective partnership arrangements with Maori communities.
? increased responsiveness to the needs of, and wider access for, learners.
? more future-focused strategies.
? improved global linkages.
? greater collaboration and rationalisation within the system.
? increased quality, performance, effectiveness, efficiency and transparency.
? a culture of optimism and creativity.
The six specific strategies are:
1 Strengthen system capability and quality.
2 Te rautaki matauranga Maori - contribute to the achievement of Maori development aspirations.
3 Raise foundation skills so that all people can participate in our knowledge society.
4 Develop the skills New Zealanders need for our knowledge society.
5 Educate for Pacific peoples' development and success.
6 Strengthen research, knowledge creation and uptake for our knowledge society.
The particular objectives that government agencies and publicly funded tertiary education need to focus on to advance these specific strategies are outlined in the STEP.
The STEP can be viewed at this web site:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/step
Alternatively a copy of the STEP can be obtained from either the Ministry of Education (care of Kyla Steenhart, Tertiary Education: Regulatory and Resourcing Policy,
P.O. Box 1666, Thorndon, Wellington, or telephone (04) 463 8590) or from the Tertiary Education Commission (Communications Unit, P.O. Box 27-048, Wellington, or telephone (04) 462 5245).
Dated at Wellington this 2nd day of August 2003.
STEVE MAHAREY, Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education).