20536 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister for Tertiary Education

20536 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister for Tertiary Education: What is the most recent available attrition rate, if any, measured from commencement to graduation, for each of the Bachelor of Nursing, the Master of Nursing Science, and the New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Nursing and what attrition assumption, if any, is applied when forecasting any future graduate numbers in these programmes?

Hon Penny Simmonds: I am advised that the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) does not have a standard measure for attrition rates between commencement and graduation. TEC has provided the table below with the 2024 cohort-based qualification completion rate for that measures the proportion of learners who began a nursing qualification (degree or master’s in 2019, or an enrolled nursing diploma in 2021) and had completed it by 2024. Finalised 2025 EPIs will be published by TEC in July 2026. The table has been divided into three categories of nursing qualifications: • Degree-level Nursing: Degree (Level 7) and Degree with Honours (Level 8) nursing qualifications that are a pre-requisite to registration as a Nurse. • Graduate Entry Nursing: Masters (Level 9) nursing qualifications, designed for learners who have previously completed a degree in a non-nursing subject area, that is a pre-requisite for registration as a Nurse. • Enrolled Nursing: New Zealand Diploma in Enrolled Diploma (Level 5) qualification that is a pre-requisite for registration as an Enrolled Nurse. Enrolled nurses operate under the guidance of a registered nurse. Qualification category 2024 Qualification Completion Rate Degree-level Nursing 70.5% Graduate Entry Nursing 84.2% Enrolled Nursing 56.1% Data Caveats: Data is as at 02-June-2026 for reporting year 2024 and has been sourced through administrative data held by the TEC. Data is limited to learners reported to TEC under source of funding: • Domestic learners: Delivery of Qualification (DQ) • International learners: International Full-Fee Paying The cohort-based qualification completion rate shows the proportion of students in a starting cohort that go on to complete a qualification at the same level at the same TEO. A learner may complete a different qualification than that originally started. Qualification completion rate is calculated as follows: [Learners completed qualification on time] / [Learners in starting cohort]. Please see the latest Educational Performance Indicators: Definitions and Methodology document for more information: https://www.tec.govt.nz/assets/Forms-templates-and-guides/EPI-Guidelines-Methodology-Update-Sep-2021.pdf Results are based on information reported through the SDR for the purposes of funding tertiary education. The data does not include any reporting outside of the SDR and relies on the accuracy of data reported by TEOs. This data has been compiled specifically to respond to this question. It uses administrative data collected by the Tertiary Education Commission for the purposes of funding tertiary education and relies on the accuracy of data reported by TEOs. Care should be taken when making comparisons with data collected or compiled for other purposes.