New Zealand Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching (Level 5)

If you’re employed as an adult educator in an academic or workplace setting, this programme will build on your knowledge and skills.

You will become proficient in your field of work, and able to promote equitable outcomes for adult learners.

Learn more

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Availability

Our distance learning courses are offered throughout the year to help you fit study around your work and life commitments.
Courses are offered up to 12 times per year depending on demand and availability of academic staff.
Exact start dates are in the course information pages and in our Enrolment dates page:

Enrolment dates

Cost

• Course costscan be found on all course pages.  The fees may increase annually.
• Qualification cost – to give you an idea of how much a qualification may cost in total over the duration of your studies, an approximate cost is provided for many of our qualifications. This is based on the required number of courses to complete the qualification and the average cost of those courses. It does not include annual administration fees, text books and course materials or external exam fees, and is subject to annual course fee increases.

Credits

Courses are assigned credits depending on how much time and effort is needed to complete their learning outcomes. In general, each credit represents approximately 10 hours of study time.

Delivery method

• Online – The course materials for online courses are delivered in an online format and all assignments are submitted online.
• Mixed – These courses are delivered using a mix of online and paper based course materials. This may include receiving paper course materials, submitting  assignments online, or being required to participate in online forums and learning activities.
• Print Only - The course will be delivered using paper based courses materials, and assignments may need to be submitted in hard copy rather than online. This will depend on the course.

Whether courses are delivered online, on paper or a mixture of both, there may also be components such as workshops, noho marae, work experience and practicum to participate in. To find out what your course involves check the course information page.

EFTS

EFTS stands for equivalent full-time student. An EFTS is the study time required for each course and is used by the Tertiary Education Commission to decide if a course is part-time or full-time. 

One year of full-time study is generally between 0.8 and 1.2 EFTS.

Level

You can tell how hard a course or qualification is by the level it is set at:

• Levels 1-4 are about the same as secondary school and basic trades training.
• Levels 5-7 are the same as university study.

Prerequisites

• Prerequisites are courses that must be completed before another course can be studied.
• Co-requisites are courses that can be studied at the same time as another course.

If a course has a specific prerequisite or co-requisite course, it will be listed on the course page under the title 'Prerequisites'. If no courses are listed, check the entry and other requirements under the qualification you are studying for. Some courses require you to have studied at a particular level prior to enrolling.

Student loans

Not all qualifications or students are eligible for student loans. You will need to meet criteria such as studying a minimum number of credits over a specific study period. It is up to you to apply for a student loan via StudyLink - Open Polytechnic does not do this for you.

Information about student loans and eligibility

StudyLink website

Teaching weeks

Teaching weeks is the number of weeks that we teach a course. This differs from the enrolment period, which is based on the course start and end dates.

For example, a 20-week enrolment period will have 16 teaching weeks, followed by four weeks to accommodate marking, any extensions and reassessments, or exams.

Workload

The workload estimate given on a course page is calculated like this:

Number of credits x 10, divided by the number of teaching weeks for the course. The hours will be rounded up to nearest whole number.

Please note, this is a guide only. You may need more or less time for study, and you may also need to do more hours during assessment due dates or exams times.

• Level

5

• Credits

60

• Student loan Not applicable.

For more information about watch the programme overview video below.

 

 

Zero fees Offer

This programme is currently offered under zero fees. For full details and terms and conditions please click the 'Zero fees offer' tab above.

 

Employment pathways

Graduates of this qualification will have the skills and knowledge for roles such as:

• vocational or workplace educator and trainer
• academic staff member/tutor
• training, education or learning advisor.

[Education increases mana

With over 22 years working for Government agencies, and in that time, 16 years holding several training portfolios , Wellingtonian Ariano (Ari) Tovio was motivated to formalise his knowledge and experience by completing the New Zealand Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching through Open Polytechnic.

Ariano Tovio

New Zealand Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching (Level 5)](/study-with-us/student-stories/ariano-tovio/)

 

What you will learn

When you achieve this qualification you will be able to:

• Design learning that is pedagogically and culturally appropriate to meet specified learning outcomes in diverse contexts.
• Facilitate quality learner-centred teaching that respects the mana and diverse cultural backgrounds of adult learners, and the wider educational and societal context.
• Use a range of facilitation and teaching strategies, including technology-enhanced teaching and learning.
• Embed literacy and numeracy skills appropriate to the demands of the programme and needs of the learners.
• Enhance learning through the application of a range of assessment, feedback, and moderation practices.
• Evaluate own professional practice and develop and implement plans to improve it.

Programme conditions

To be awarded this qualification it must be completed in no more than 2 years from first enrolment in the programme, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

This programme is built around programme conditions specified by NZQA. Aspects of it may challenge you to re-think the way you contextualise and facilitate the diversity of learners in New Zealand. It includes:

• a base of good practice in adult education and training
• current validated adult learning research and theory
• addressing the needs of diverse learners, including Māori, Pasifika, and youth
• drawing on Māori pedagogies for learning
• developing and embedding literacy and numeracy skills appropriate to the demands of the course and needs of the learners. This uses a framework such as the NZ Adult Literacy and Numeracy Progressions

The programme also includes a range of pedagogical principles. These principles include those informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This is to ensure that the indigenous status of Tangata Whenua and the role of Tangata Tiriti are understood.

The principles include those informed by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific location and multicultural environment. 

Study pathways

After you’ve achieved this qualification you can study towards:

• New Zealand Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Vocational/Workplace)

Maximum Programme Completion Time

To be awarded the qualification, the programme must be completed in no more than 2 years of first enrolment, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

NZ Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching frequently asked questions