Terms and conditions

KEY POINTS

The following are some of the key points to our Terms and Conditions; however they are meant for reference only. You should read the entire Terms and Conditions below along with our Privacy Section.

Terms and Conditions

Te Kura needs to confirm the ākonga academic record to date with their previous school. The principal or class kaiako (teacher) from the previous school must complete an ākonga educational profile if requested. If the ākonga has been home schooled, the family must provide details. The privacy statement below explains who will have access to this information. If you have any concerns, please contact us.

Te Kura is required to collect personal information from ākonga in order to comply with obligations laid down by the Ministry of Education and the Education and Training Act 2020. This information will be used to provide for the educational and general advancement of the ākonga and for the purpose of carrying out the activities of the School.

The School may also provide this information to third parties where the information relates to the education, health, welfare or safety of the ākonga, both during and after enrolment at Te Kura. These third parties include government agencies such as the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the Ministry of Social Development, and online education providers which Te Kura recommends as a beneficial educational resource supplementary to its own courses. Ākonga name, identification number, email address and the email address of the parent/caregiver/guardian of the ākonga, may be provided to these online providers to facilitate ākonga registration on their sites. By submitting an application for enrolment, ākonga authorise the School to disclose such personal information to third parties in accordance with this privacy statement. Under the Education and Training Act 2020 and the National Administration Guidelines, parents and guardians have the right to access information directly relating to matters concerning the education of their child/ākonga.

Under the Privacy Act 2020, any other personal information held by Te Kura about an ākonga can only be released to the ākonga. Personal information about an ākonga will only be released to another party, including parents and guardians, with the ākonga written permission or where the Privacy Act provides for an exception to be made.

You have the right to access and request corrections to personal information held by the School. Please put your request in writing to Te Kura’s Privacy Officer. Any requests for personal information about an ākonga not directly related to their education should also be put in writing to Te Kura’s Privacy Officer.

Please advise the School if you have any concerns about the information held by us. 

See our Privacy section for more details.

If the supervisor nominated in an application, or later nominated, is not the ākonga parent, caregiver, or guardian, the parent, caregiver or guardian must:

  • know the individual nominated as the ākonga supervisor
  • believe that the individual can adequately supervise the ākonga, is a fit and proper person to be an ākonga supervisor and does not pose a risk to the safety of the ākonga
  • not be aware of anything that would make the individual unsuitable to be an ākonga supervisor (including but not limited to any previous criminal convictions). Agreement to the Declaration Statement in the ākonga enrolment application is confirmation of this.

Te Kura has to ensure that work presented for assessment is the ākonga own work. The ākonga or supervisor of an ākonga enrolling in courses that lead to New Zealand national qualifications must ensure that they/the ākonga understands that the work sent in for assessment must be their own. Plagiarism detection software may be applied to any work presented for assessment. 

This means:

  • the ākonga undertakes to present their own work for assessment. If working online in Te Kura’s online learning environment (My Te Kura), the ākonga accepts an authentication statement at the start of each course. The ākonga is also reminded of the authentication requirements for all assessment activities at the time of submission
  • in courses that lead to New Zealand national qualifications, assessment activities may require supervision. These will be accessed by or provided to the supervisor, must be done with the supervisor, be completed under test conditions, and the completed assessments returned to Te Kura by the ākonga in the designated dropbox in My Te Kura. The ākonga must complete the online authentication statement and supply their supervisor’s name, and their relationship to the supervisor, when uploading the assessment activity to the designated dropbox in My Te Kura.

The same procedure applies for practice exams to be used in support of a derived grade application, the exam conditions must meet NZQA requirements by having an exam supervisor who is independent of the ākonga and their whānau. The supervisor’s identity and relationship to the ākonga must be verified by a person who is recognised as having standing in the community. The exam supervisor will be required to have online access to download and supervise the submission of exams. Agreement to the Declaration Statement in the ākonga enrolment application is confirmation of this.

The following Te Kura Information Communications Technology (ICT) Student Use Agreement is for the protection and safety of ākonga enrolled at Te Kura. When using ICT it may not always be possible for Te Kura to filter or screen all appropriate material. For a guide to the range of material that Te Kura would regard as inappropriate, go to the Netsafe website. It is therefore your responsibility to:

  • not deliberately access such material
  • not distribute such material by copying, printing, emailing, posting on the internet or any other method, and
  • not have any involvement with such material.

You should only use Te Kura ICT for purposes relating to schoolwork and Te Kura ICT must not be used for any purpose or in any way that harms or might harm other people. If you become aware of or accidentally access any inappropriate material on Te Kura ICT, you must immediately report this to your kaiako. Te Kura reserves the right to monitor your communication, work or data relating to communication technologies. Agreement to the Declaration Statement in the ākonga enrolment application is confirmation of this.

Te Kura may be required to withdraw or restrict enrolment to courses at any time. If you enrol in a course that is subsequently withdrawn or restricted in terms of enrolment, we will contact you to discuss other study options. Refer to Subjects and courses for the latest information on available courses, along with materials, equipment and books required for each course.

Ākonga and their support people can discuss their learning needs and concerns with Te Kura staff. If the concern cannot be resolved Te Kura has formal complaints procedures. Te Kura recognises that anyone making a complaint should feel safe and supported and that by making a complaint ākonga will not be disadvantaged.

Refer to Complaints for information about our complaints process.

Some courses may require you to provide your own materials, and/or audio/video equipment and/or textbooks. If your course is online, you will need access to a computer with internet connectivity. Refer to What you'll need section for more information.  In order to utilise audio/video resources, you will need access to the equipment required to play or receive them. Other courses may require you to provide particular materials and/or equipment.

Refer to Subjects and courses for the latest information on available courses, along with materials and equipment required for each course.

Most Te Kura courses are available online or use online resources. You will need to have access to a computer with internet connectivity in order to enrol in these courses. Please ensure you have such access or are eligible for our Laptop and Connectivity programme, before enrolling in an online course.

Refer to Laptop and Connectivity for information about our device and internet assistance programme.

Full-time ākonga and Young Adults

No enrolment fees are charged for ākonga who meet the Ministry of Education’s funded enrolment criteria.

Adults

All adult enrolments are charged a Tuition Administration Fee per course. This must be paid in full at the time of enrolment and cannot be paid in instalments. The Tuition Administration Fee is non-refundable after the enrolment process is completed.

Refer to Fees for current Tuition Administration Fee and Tuition Fee amounts.

Fee-Payers

All fee-paying enrolments are charged a tuition fee per course or per programme. This must be paid in full at the time of enrolment and cannot be paid in instalments. A half-year fee is charged to ākonga enrolling after 30 June.

Eighty percent of the course fee(s) paid by a fee paying ākonga will be refunded provided the withdrawal application is received before the expiry of one month after the enrolment application has been approved. Refunds for any withdrawal applications received outside of this one-month period will be at the discretion of the Manager, Student and Whānau Support and may only be considered where exceptional circumstances are demonstrated.

Refer to Fees for current Tuition Administration Fee and Tuition Fee amounts.

Full-Time Ākonga

Full-Time ākonga may remain enrolled up to and including the end of the school year in which the ākonga turns 19 years of age. The ongoing enrolment is dependent on the ākonga continuing to meet the eligibility criteria determined by the Ministry of Education. If you do not return work on a regular basis you will be removed from the roll.

Young Adults

Young adult ākonga may remain enrolled up to and including the end of the school year in which the ākonga turns 19 years of age. The ongoing enrolment is dependent on the ākonga continuing to meet the eligibility criteria determined by the Ministry of Education. If you do not return work on a regular basis you will be removed from the roll.

Adults

The duration of enrolment is until all relevant course assessments are complete, or the end of the calendar year, whichever is sooner. If you do not return work on a regular basis you will be removed from the roll. A further tuition administration fee is required if you wish to re-enrol to complete a course or enrol in a new course.

Overseas

Full-Time and Young Adult ākonga may remain enrolled up to and including the end of the school year in which the ākonga turns 19 years of age. The ongoing enrolment is dependent on the ākonga continuing to meet the eligibility criteria determined by the Ministry of Education. If you do not return work on a regular basis you will be removed from the roll.

Early Childhood Ākonga

Early Childhood ākonga may remain enrolled up until the ākonga turns six years of age. The ongoing enrolment is dependent on the ākonga continuing to meet the eligibility criteria determined by the Ministry of Education.

Dual Ākonga

The duration of enrolment is until all relevant course assessments are complete, or the end of the calendar year, whichever is sooner. A further course fee may be required if you wish to re-enrol to complete a course or enrol in a new course.

Examinations for externally assessed achievement standards can be sat overseas only if you met the following requirements. (This does not apply to ākonga in the Cook Islands or Niue.) You must be:

  • living outside New Zealand at the time of NZQA exams in New Zealand (usually early November to early December each year)
  • enrolled through our full-time overseas gateway OR fee-paying overseas gateway in at least three NCEA subjects
  • able to meet NZQA requirements by having an exam supervisor who is independent of the ākonga and their family. The supervisor’s identity and relationship to the ākonga must be verified by a person who is recognised as having standing in the community. Note: overseas exams are held in October and are arranged through Te Kura
    • Some examples of persons of standing in the community are: currently practicing lawyers; medical doctors/dental surgeons; elders/pastors from a church, temple, mosque or synagogue; serving members of the armed forces; police officers and senior government officials.

Please note, ākonga cannot sit New Zealand scholarship exams overseas.

Fee-Paying Ākonga with a Home-Schooling Exemption

The ākonga parent/legal guardian must retain control of the overall education direction, including pastoral care, as required by holders of an exemption from enrolment at a registered school.

Fee-Paying Ākonga with a School

The ākonga enrolling provider must retain control of the overall educational direction, including pastoral care, as required by the Ministry of Education.