The 2025 Funding Conditions require you to deliver Youth Guarantee (YG) face-to-face (for example, not delivered online or via distance learning), unless you have received our prior written approval for another form of delivery due to exceptional circumstances.

On this page: 

• Face-to-face delivery of foundation-level tertiary education
• Assessment of exemption applications to allow extramural delivery due to exceptional circumstances
• Apply for extramural delivery

Face-to-face delivery of foundation-level tertiary education

Foundation level learners can require more pastoral care and learning support than higher level learners.

To ensure YG provision is suitable, TEC must be confident that providers can ensure sufficient pastoral care and learning support for learners, including appropriate formative assessment, access to learning equipment, and high levels of engagement. This level of pastoral care and learning support can be more difficult to provide through extramural delivery.

TEC must also be confident that programmes meet the intent of the fund, which is to improve young peoples’ transition from school to further study, training and employment.

Assessment of exemption applications for extramural delivery due to exceptional circumstances

You can apply for an exemption under exceptional circumstances that relate to a group of learners or individual learners.

Exceptional circumstances for a group of learners, may warrant extramural delivery of a programme. TEC can approve an exemption at the programme level, and would expect the programme to be tailored to provide the necessary learning support and pastoral care.

Exceptional circumstances for an individual learner, may warrant mixed delivery of a programme, providing intramural delivery for learners without exceptional circumstances, and extramural delivery for a learner with an exemption under exceptional circumstances.

Assessment

Applications for exemptions will be assessed on a case-by-case basis based on the following requirements:

1. Exceptional circumstances
2. Delivery method
3. Pastoral care and learning support

Assessment of exemptions to deliver YG extramurally will also consider the policy intent of the fund; to provide fees-free tertiary study to support young peoples’ transition from school to higher study, training and employment.

Exceptional circumstances exist where a learner/s:

• meets the policy intent of the fund, and
• has circumstances that are out of the ordinary for most learners in New Zealand and the circumstances are:
  • significant in the context of the learner/s, and/or
  • comparatively rare.

Examples of exceptional circumstances include circumstances where the learner/s are unable to access intramural delivery due to:

• living in a remote and/or rural location
• limited public transport options or significant travel times to the delivery site
• no facilitators or educators in the local area
• mobility issues
• specific learning needs (e.g. neurodiversity)
• childcare responsibilities
• a natural event.

The following circumstances are relevant to WLN funding, where learners are employees in the workplace:

• Learners in a distributed workforce.
• Learners with a varied work schedule including shiftwork.

The following are not considered to be exceptional circumstances:

• Financial constraints of the TEO.
• Wanting to deliver to more numbers to increase revenue.
• Other circumstances intended primarily to meet a TEO need. 

Delivery method

We expect that, where possible, extramural delivery is synchronous and provides learners with a classroom experience. Synchronous delivery allows learners to engage directly with peers and educators and allows the facilitator to gauge learners’ understanding and provide support and pastoral care when required.

In most circumstances, extramural delivery is expected to be online, synchronous delivery, and not asynchronous. This position reflects the both the level of funding and to ensure learners are provided supportive learning environments that enable them to succeed.

In circumstances where synchronous delivery is not practicable for learners, asynchronous delivery may be considered, if additional pastoral care and learning support is provided to support learners to a similar level of synchronous delivery.

Pastoral care and learning support

TEC must be confident that any exemptions for extramural delivery have considered pastoral care and factored it into the design of the programme(s) to ensure learners are supported to succeed.

Learners at this level are gaining foundational skills so require a higher level of more tailored pastoral care and learning support.

Regardless of the method of delivery, TEOs must provide pastoral care in relation to learners’ needs while studying and in accordance with the Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners.

Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners

Individualised learning opportunities

TEOs must provide careful consideration and planning to ensure they are able to respond to the diverse needs of their learners. This includes providing evidence of how the TEO will ensure the learner/s have individualised learning opportunities and support.

Learning environment

As part of the pastoral care requirement, TEOs must ensure that learners have an appropriate learning environment and equipment to undertake extramural learning. This includes ensuring learners have the following:

• Sufficient internet connectivity (if synchronous delivery) and an appropriate device.
• Space to attend online classes or carry out asynchronous work.

Apply for extramural delivery

To apply for an exemption please contact us at customerservice@tec.govt.nz with subject: (EDUMIS number) extramural exemptions request.

In your email, please briefly outline:

• the fund you are applying for the exemption under
• the programme/s you are applying for
• the exceptional circumstances
• information about the delivery method (extramural or asynchronous), and
• information about how you are factoring in pastoral care for impacted learners.

We will send you a list of questions to answer to provide more information for your application.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact us at customerservice@tec.govt.nz or 0800 601 301.