Students to gain fee protection

By REBECCA WALSH

Students at private training institutions will not miss out on fees or education if their institution folds, under rules to be introduced next year.

Tertiary Education Minister Steve Maharey said the Qualifications Authority would introduce a registration requirement that private training establishments (PTEs) prove they can repay student fees or provide an equivalent course if they closed or were deregistered.

Providers would be required to arrange fee protection insurance or enter into "mutual support arrangements" with other PTEs.

The move has been welcomed by the New Zealand Association of Private Education Providers, which says it provides assurances for students and protects the reputation of PTEs.

Speaking at its annual conference in Wellington this week, Mr Maharey said several recent high-profile examples of financial failure or of deregistration by the Qualifications Authority - including the NZ Film and Television School and Te Tumu Wananga - had shown that students were vulnerable in cases where courses closed part-way through.

"Students may have nothing to show for the course fees they have paid, no prospect of any fee refund, and may be unable to access their academic records to gain credit for work completed."

Mr Maharey said the new requirement was a rejection of National's "buyer beware" policy.

George Borthwick, president of the Association of Private Education Providers, said the association fully supported the move as a quality control measure.

"Where you get the odd PTE that makes an error, whatever the size of that provider, it does reflect badly on the sector. We want to ensure there's a system in place that does offer protection to students."

A Qualifications Authority spokeswoman said relatively few of the country's 828 PTEs had fee protection insurance.

In the two years to September 1, 86 had been deregistered and a further 64 had voluntarily withdrawn.

All PTEs will be subject to the new rules from January 31.