Even though I am jetting off for New Zealand just to complete an internship, I inevitably looked into how their education system is organized as a consideration for later coming back to study. First and foremost, it should be stated that like the rest of the country, their tertiary institutes (education colleges, polytechnic institutions, etc.) are very welcoming to international students (personally, perhaps not financially – but more on that later). Furthermore, their institutes are ranked among the Top 50 of universities around the world. This is impressive considering they only have eight universities in the country.
Each university has a selective admission process for entry just like colleges back in the United States. However, these universities function differently from ours in many ways. For example, they follow the format of the British education system in terms of the time frame of granting a degree which can be seen below in a flowchart. Most these universities also have vice-chancellors from each institution that sit on an educational governing body known as Universities New Zealand.
The Postgraduate Diploma after a Bachelor’s Degree is also known as a Honours Programme. These yearlong programmes are only open to high achieving students and can act as the first year of a Master’s Degree or as the pathway to a Doctorate program. A notable difference from its mother system is that there is a type of public institution called a wānanga. It differs from the mainstream system in that it seeks to provide education in a cultural Māori context and even offers programs up to a doctorate level. It is a less formal educational setting and has a “forum” approach for arriving at a deeper understanding.
Something that I found interesting about their education programs was that while their studies are seen to be vigorous in nature, the overall workload and atmosphere of the classroom is known to very laidback. The workplace is known to be like this as well. The mantra for education is “Dare to Be Wise.” In their small class sizes, students are encouraged to find their own solutions, especially ones that are outside of the box. The quality of education is held to a standard established by the New Zealand Qualifications Network. It acts to benchmark skill and knowledge level to compare to other countries. It also helps to establish a career pathway. Academic support was shown to vary between institutions, but the University of Otago, Wellington (where I’ll be interning) had a variety of support available, particularly for international students.
To meet qualifications, certain grade criteria must be met. In New Zealand, they operate on a 4-letter grading system, A through D. An A is somewhere in the 80-100% range whereas a D is below 50% and considered failing. For an Honours Programme, the level of grades refers to the class degree. By this, I mean that an A-grade degree would be first class, a B-grade degree would be second class, and so on.
In terms of credits, I have a differing situation is that I am earning internship credit rather than normal college credit. However, my research found that credits are granted on a point system basis. Once you earn a required number of credits toward a qualification, you have earned that qualification. Credit transfer is usually on an individual basis and is sometimes compared to the home grading system.
In my case, fulfilling the qualifications of my internship would have it credited by my home institution after an assessment of the work that I did. Also, I must earn at least 6 hours of internship to qualify for summer financial aid as well for the internship credit on my transcript. At my internship site, this is at the discretion of my advisor at the University of Otago and when I return, at the discretion of the Core Curriculum chair at Maryville College in regards to earning the credit for the World Cultures requirement.
Lastly, it should be kept in mind that international students are not eligible for government financial assistance for their education. Domestic students typically have fees subsidized by the government and can borrow money under a Student Loan Scheme. They can also apply for a Student Allowance to pay for additional outside expenses and this doesn’t need to be paid back. The only programmes that international students are eligible for financial assistance in are PhD programmes.
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