Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:661;Page:9680] 
10. 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister for Tertiary Education 
: What responses has he received to his proposal to link a proportion of university funding to students’ pass rates? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education) 
: 
 Firstly the policy is not just about universities but about all tertiary institutions. Secondly there has been a generally positive reaction from the public students and tertiary providers to the Government’s proposal to improve the value for money of its investment in tertiary education by focusing institutions on students’ results and not just on enrolments. We will continue to work with the sector as we continue to finalise this policy. Naturally it is important that the approach be balanced. In the final design we want to avoid any perverse incentives that could arise. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Does the Minister acknowledge that such a policy risks pressuring institutions to lower their standards in order to guarantee funding or encouraging institutions to avoid enrolling Maori Pasifika or second-chance students thus narrowing the base of tertiary enrolments and depriving New Zealanders of access to tertiary education? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: No. Firstly nobody said that we would be expecting 100 percent pass rates for all levels of education. There are a couple of reasons why that would not be the case including the fact that institutions would be expected to operate in the norms that their sector and sub-sector operates in and the levels of education they are providing. 
Allan Peachey 
: Why is the Minister making changes to the way that tertiary institutions are funded? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: We need to know that the money that we are spending on tertiary education is being well used and is giving young people the skills that employers demand and that will lead to productive and meaningful employment. Students also invest their time and money in tertiary education and want to know that they will be supported to complete their qualification. Educational performance will be measured using indicators like qualification completion course completion and student progression to further study. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Is he aware that a student who enrols in one discipline for a year and fails all or most papers re-enrols in another discipline for a brief time and then changes to a third discipline which he or she finally pursues to completion is registered in a university as having done at least two if not three incomplete courses; if so how will such a student’s eventual successful experience be allowed or permitted under his newly announced policy? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I actually have personal experience of that situation which is good because the personal experience that I think the member is alluding to is a little bit different from what she suggests. In my case for example I passed all my papers in my first 3 years at university rather than what she is suggesting both in the House and on her blog site. Certainly my latter years—year 4 year 5 and my attempt at year 6—were less exciting and frankly I should have been shuffled out of university by then anyway. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Does the Minister recognise that students such as the one described—whose experience is as he says very like his own—can go on to be fully contributing members of society? How will such students be given opportunities if under this new policy they are to be discouraged from re-enrolling which will clearly be one of the outcomes? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: As I said I think it is quite reasonable—and certainly I would endorse it from my experience—for taxpayers to expect some form of academic progress during somebody’s time at university if that person is to borrow with student loans. I am quite comfortable measuring my academic record in that respect. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Institutions wouldn’t re-enrol you again Mr Joyce. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Well yes I think that they would but I say to Ms Street I do not think we should personalise it about just me. I am happy to table my academic record if that would help the member with her assertions as she is simply incorrect. I seek leave to table my academic record in order to help Ms Street. I point out that my C+ in vertebrate zoology in the second year was disappointing as was the invertebrate zoology mark of only C. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: This is actually a point of order. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.