Fees Free is a New Zealand government initiative offering eligible learners fees-free funding towards their first year of tertiary education for provider-based study.
Although TEC is responsible for determining if a student is eligible, providers will also need to double-check.
The best time for your team to verify whether a student is eligible is at the time of creating an enrolment into a programme. You must have an Active NSI for your student. This can be checked at the National Student Index (NSI) website https://nsi.education.govt.nz/. If you have the NSI interface within SELMA, you will be able to check their status here.
SELMA recommends the following resources to assist you with understanding and administering Fees Free reporting:
- check out TEC information on their website: https://www.tec.govt.nz/funding/funding-and-performance/funding/fund-finder/fees-free/
- subscribe to the Fees Free Newsletter: TEC provides updates on upcoming reporting and feedback on common errors they deal with, along with tips for easier management of fees free within your team and also your learner. Email customerservice@tec.govt.nz to be added to the mailing list. In the meantime, you can read archived newsletters https://www.tec.govt.nz/funding/funding-and-performance/funding/fund-finder/fees-free/guidance/
- refreshing your knowledge as an experienced user: it is always a good idea to make sure you’ve got all the areas covered for fees free, even if you’ve been working in this reporting since inception in 2018. One of the best resources we have seen is the Fees Free Starter Pack for TEOs – 2023. Highly recommended https://www.tec.govt.nz/assets/Forms-templates-and-guides/Fees-free-/Fees-Free-Starter-Pack-for-TEOs-2023.pdf