Minister of Finance Steven Joyce has confirmed that a claim in a meme circulating online is essentially correct - he did not complete eight economics papers while at university in the 1980s.
But his press secretary says he was focusing on his fledgling radio career at the time.
The image, which has been doing the rounds on Facebook, purports to show the National MP's university transcript from 1984-1986.
Five economics-related papers are marked as DNC - Did Not Complete - and two are marked WD - Withdrawn. An eighth failed paper is marked with an E grade.
It is not clear from the transcript at what point Joyce withdrew from the papers, or whether he sat exams.