Loading...
Wisenet

      Fees Free

      Fees Free is an initiative from the New Zealand government offering eligible learners fees-free funding for their first year of tertiary education for provider-based study or two years for industry training.

      We highly recommend subscribing to the Fees Free Newsletter so you can receive updates and tips to help you make implementing fees-free easier for you and your Learner.

      For more information see feesfree.gov.nz 

      Who is Eligible?

      To be eligible for fees-free payments, an eligible Learner must be enrolled in an eligible course OR in an eligible industry training programme.

      To learn more about eligibility criteria see TEC.gov.nz 

      How to Identify and record Learner Fees Free Eligibility?

      Eligibility Check

      TEC is responsible for determining if a learner is eligible however, TEO’s will need to check eligibility on a monthly basis.

      There are 3 ways to check this:

      1. Use the Fees Free Eligibility feature in the Learner > Edit Personal Details > Check Eligibility
      2. Via Workspace 2
      3. Individually looking up via NSN numbers by going to www.feesfree.govt.nz 
      4. For large volumes of NSNs, email in a CSV file to feesfreedata@tec.govt.nz 
        • Use report 2100 to generate the required information. How to generate a report 
        • Make sure you Generate Report and then Export to CSV
        • Eligibility results will be sent back to you the next TEC business day. For instructions and guidelines on each option please see NSN for fees-free eligibility 

      Record Eligibility

      There is a field in the Learner > Personal section for collecting the Fees Free Eligible value.

      Best practices:

      1. Set to Y if Eligibility is Y, 8, 9, 0, or 1
      2. Set to U if Unknown
      3. Set to N if Not Eligible
      4. Leave empty if yet to determine whether eligible

      This can be set individually per Learner or in bulk using the Course Offer > Enrolments > Bulk Update Learners feature.

      If Learners return an unknown eligibility, they will need to complete a statutory declaration process.

      For more information see feesfree.gov.nz 

      Fees Free Monthly Data Return

      The TEC provides access to reporting requirements within Workspace 2.  The core reporting is for FeesFree Learners, their Qualification, Courses, Course Fees and other Student Services Fees. The TEC document upload template is here:

      1. Fees Free Data Upload Template  – Accurate as of March 2019. You can obtain this from Workspace 2.

      Wisenet is able to report all data except the Student Services Fees. We are working through requirements with Customers to determine the best way to implement this.

      In the meantime we have built a report that lets you extract the Learner and Course Enrolment data to help simplify the reporting process. Use the following steps:

      1. Go to Reports > Exports and select the option FeesFree Export
      2. This will load a new screen that shows data for the current year. If you change the Year, you will need to also choose the option to View Report.
        1. This report is designed to include the following records:
          1. Learners with FeesFree Eligible NOT = U, N or empty
          2. Unit Enrolments
            1. with a Start Date in the selected Year
            2. with SDR Outcome NOT
              1. empty
              2. W – Early Withdrawal (Not reported in SDR, FeesFree or UIP)
              3. R – RPL (Not reported in SDR, FeesFree or UIP)
                NOTE: There are 2 Outcome Codes for R and W which allows a provider to choose to include or exclude unit enrolments based on whether fees need to be reported or not
      3. Select the Excel option under the export option dropdown and then click Export
      4. Once the Excel file opens, copy the data from the report and Special Paste using Values Only into the TEC Template (see above for template)
      5. Review the exported data
        1. Use the field mapping and logic below
        2. Tweak the data as necessary eg. Add any Compulsory Service Fees if you have any for each Learner
      6. Once the data looks correct it should be ready to upload to TEC

      Furthermore please see table below with field mapping for Fees Free export:

      Feedback Appreciated!

      Do not hesitate to contact us if you have feedback regarding additional enhancements Wisenet can make.

      FeesFree Reporting Schedule

      The TEC updates their Payment and Reporting requirements including the schedule on their website.

      Was this Resource helpful?