Tertiary Education Advisory Commission begins work
The Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education), Steve Maharey, met with members of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission today as the group got down to work.
The Commission, which was meeting for the first time today in Wellington, will advise the Government on how it can ensure tertiary education provision meets New Zealanders' needs in the knowledge society. Mr Maharey said he was pleased the Government has been able to bring together such a strong Commission able to draw on considerable expertise and knowledge of the tertiary education environment.
"This Government has made a strong commitment to ensuring all New Zealanders have the skills needed to succeed in tomorrow's knowledge society. We moved quickly to lower the cost of tertiary study with our changes to the loans scheme because we know that we must invest in people if our economy and society are to prosper.
"The formation of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission shows we are equally serious about getting the tertiary education system right. National created a tertiary education marketplace, putting at risk educational standards and threatening regional provision for the sake of ideological purity.
"Enough is now enough. I have asked the Commission to help me build a cooperative, collaborative and specialised tertiary sector that can respond to New Zealanders needs and properly equip us for the future.
"Today's first Commission meeting signals the start of a new focus on a quality, accessible tertiary education system. Last year we said we would commit this Government to reinvesting in excellence and focusing on our ability to build the skills of New Zealanders.
"I am pleased that TEAC has begun working on this project and I look forward to working with them over the coming years to get our tertiary system back on track," Steve Maharey said.
Contact: Michael Gibbs, Press Secretary, (04)
471 9154 or (025) 270 9115. Biographical details of members
of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission and summarised
terms of reference are attached.
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Membership
of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission
Norman
Kingsbury (Chair) is the Chief Executive of NZQA. He has
broad, high-level experience, gained over an period, with
the various types of providers that make up New Zealand’s
tertiary education sector. This has included experience as
Chair of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit,
and of the New Zealand Polytechnics Programmes Committee;
both organisations responsible for assuring the quality of
tertiary education, involvement in educational opportunities
for Maori, and in the implementation of major changes within
the sector. He was foundation Registrar for the University
of Waikato and foundation member of the Waiariki and Bay of
Plenty Polytechnic Councils.
Professor Jonathan Boston is
Professor of Public Policy at Victoria University. He has
specialised in tertiary education policy. He was a member
of the 1999 Ministry of Education Research Funding Reference
Group.
Tony Hall is the Director of the Academy Group, a
private training establishment specialising in a range of
educational and vocational options. He has experience in
the private education sector, and tertiary education
programmes such as Training Opportunities Programme,
Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource programme, and
industry training. He was a co-founder of the New Zealand
Association of Private Education Providers.
Dr Patricia
Harris is a prominent scientist and the Corporate Manager,
Science and Technology, at AgResearch. She has a strong
understanding of research policy, particularly scientific
research, both as a practitioner and from a strategic
perspective. She is a director of the Health Research
Council, member of the FRST Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Committee, and the Food and Beverage Exporters
Council.
John Ruru is a forestry management consultant.
He has a strong business background and Maori development
experience. He has experience with industry training, is a
director of Cedenco Foods Ltd, and Chairman of Te Aitanga A
Mahaki Research Unit.
Dr Linda Sissons is the Chief
Executive of Hutt Valley Polytechnic. She has experience in
the polytechnic sector, knowledge of issues relating to
women and education, and has a background in continuing and
distance education. She has been a member of the Board of
the Electricity Supply Industry Training
Organisation.
Associate Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith is
Director of the International Research Institute for Maori
and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland. She
has experience in research, policy, wananga, and Maori needs
and aspirations for development. She was a member of the
National Advisory Committee for the Employment of Women, a
founding member of the establishment group for Kura Kaupapa
Maori, and Academic Advisor for Whare Wananga O
Awanuiarangi.
Emeritus Professor Ivan Snook is Emeritus
Professor of Education at Massey University. He has
extensive experience in the pre-service and in-service
education of teachers both at colleges of education and
universities. He has been involved with various teacher
groups and Polytechnics, and has published extensively on
education issues. He was also the Foundation Chairman of
the Human Ethics Committee.
Sir Colin Maiden, Special
Advisor to the Chair, is an experienced company director and
former vice-chancellor of the University of Auckland.
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Tertiary Education Advisory Commission
Summarised
terms of reference
Education provided by tertiary education providers is vitally important to New Zealand building a true knowledge society and achieving economic benefits. The quality of our knowledge and skills base will determine our future success in the global economy and as a cohesive society.
Government's vision for the Tertiary
Education Sector
In order to become a world-leading
knowledge society that provides all New Zealanders with
opportunities for lifelong learning, New Zealand
needs:
a more co-operative and collaborative
tertiary education sector;
a commitment to
excellence in teaching, scholarship and
research;
a greater sense of partnership between
the key contributors to the sector;
a commitment
to the nation's future direction by all those involved in
the sector,
an environment where participation
by all is encouraged
an environment where the
needs of Mäori are supported, and which gives recognition to
the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles;
a
sector that fully supports regional and local communities;
and
well-managed institutions and providers
that work together to meet the education and research needs
of the nation.
The Commission's Role
The Commission is
a Ministerial advisory body that will provide advice to the
Minister on the strategic direction, and will carry out
further specific reviews as agreed with the Minister. The
work of the Commission will focus on the sector as a whole
rather than on individual institutions.
The Commission's
Work
The Commission will initially develop a strategic
direction for tertiary education in New Zealand. The
initial work will involve the fleshing out of Government’s
vision for tertiary education that will best serve New
Zealand’s human capability development into the future. The
aim shall be to produce a high–level strategic direction
which has wide acceptance that will endure over the medium
to longer term.
Over the term of this Government the
Commission will be asked to provide advice on:
the future 'shape' of the sector;
opportunities
for increased collaboration and co-operation;
how tertiary providers and students can be best positioned
to provide and participate in courses of study that
complement New Zealand’s social, economic and regional
needs;
the basic principles to guide funding for
research in tertiary education; and
the basic
principles to guide Government’s approach to financial
support for tertiary education that recognise the differing
cost of different education content.
Commission
Membership
The Commission will comprise up to eight
strategic thinkers selected for their vision, expertise and
credibility. They will have the ability to reflect upon the
outcomes sought from tertiary education, evaluate
approaches, and find innovative solutions to complex
problems. There will be an appropriate balance of gender
and ethnicity, public/private sector,
education/research/business/community, Maori, and
international/New Zealand expertise on the
Commission.