The Government, students, their families, wh�nau, iwi and communities invest significant resources in tertiary education. The Government alone invests around $4 billion each year. Rising demand for tertiary study in a period of significant fiscal constraint means that we expect our investment to be used efficiently and effectively by tertiary education organisations and students. We want to enable providers to be innovative and responsive to the needs and aspirations of students.

The Government has identified six main structural policy drivers that will improve our economic performance and support more sustainable growth in future. These are improving the regulatory environment for business, lifting the performance of the public sector, supporting innovation and business, ensuring New Zealand has the skills it needs, improving infrastructure, and making the tax system as fair and efficient as possible. The tertiary system will play a key role in the skills driver, which is focused on improving literacy and numeracy, youth achievement, and tertiary system performance. It will also play an important part in supporting the evolution and growth of industries through the innovation and business support driver.

This Tertiary Education Strategy describes the Government�s strategic direction for tertiary education over the next five to 10 years. It outlines the Government�s priorities in terms of the shifts we expect to see, and intend to do something about, over the next investment plan cycle, starting in 2011.

This Strategy will revoke and replace the previous Tertiary Education Strategy 2007 � 12, as required by the Education Act 1989. It guides the Tertiary Education Commission�s investment decisions, to maximise tertiary education�s contribution to New Zealand.

For more information visit: Ministry of Education