Talk:New Zealand University Bursary

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see this page for more information: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications/ssq/prevqual.html

NEW INFORMATION:
The main article and the linked page on the NZQA website refer to these qualifications as administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) after 1990.

It should be strongly noted that when these qualifications were administered by the New Zealand Universities Entrance Board, up until 1990 (as briefly noted in the main article), they were structured differently and graded differently -- although the means of obtaining an 'A' or 'B' Bursary were essentially the same.

However, the big difference up until 1990 was that University Entrance (commonly known as UE) was a distinct qualification typically taken at the end of Form 6 (Year 12), which qualified successful candidates for entrance to university, ie, it was New Zealand's matriculation certificate, although most prospective university entrants chose to complete Form 7 (Year 13) and attempt the University Bursaries Examination and maybe the significantly more difficult University Entrance Scholarship Examination as well.

The University Entrance Qualification was gained in four, five, or six subjects, with English being a required subject, and the remaining subjects offered being rather traditional academic subjects, with the exception of Practical Art.

Unusually for New Zealand national qualifications at the time, UE could be accredited by the individual secondary schools, and the schools typically accredited students it was considered would easily pass the external examinations if they sat them. All remaining students sat the external examinations. Accredited students received a certificate from the Universities Entrance Board listing the subjects they had been awarded, but unlike those who sat the examinations they received no individual grades/marks or a results notice.

UE and the Sixth Form Certificate were both typically gained at the same time, and a very good Sixth Form Certificate of 18 or less in the best four subjects including English conferred a University Bursary.

To be clear, someone who had been awarded the University Entrance Qualification by the Universities Entrance Board had met all the requirements for matriculation at university. He or she did not have to complete Form 7 (Year 13) and receive the Higher School Certificate conferred on all those who completed five years of secondary education (Forms 3-7/Years 9-13), or pass any University Bursaries papers, as was the case under the NZQA after 1990.

At the time, professional programmes offered by New Zealand universities typically had an "intermediate" year, where students studied a general arts/science programme in the first year and were offered places in professional programmes based on the final grades they received for their first year programme. The exception was medicine, which typically required applicants to have a minimum of a very good 'A' Bursary.

University Bursaries and Entrance Scholarship Examinations were typically taken at the end of Form 7 (Year 13), although some exceptional students took them at the end of Form 6 (Year 12). The University Bursaries Exam consisted of five subjects, with English being a required subject and Practical Art a double subject. In addition, students could elect to sit Entrance Scholarship Examinations in three subjects, with the eight examination results combining for the possibility of being awarded one of a limited number of prestigious University Junior Scholarships.

Unlike the NZQA, the Universities Entrance Board did not give letter grades for Bursaries or Scholarship exam papers, only percentage marks. As with the NZQA, a 'B' Bursary was awarded for a total of 250-299 marks in five subjects, and an 'A' Bursary was awarded for a total of 300 or more marks in five subjects.

Unlike the NZQA, the Universities Entrance Board did not confer the University Entrance Qualification for passing three subjects in the University Bursaries Examination -- although it did grant a credit in the University Entrance Examination for each subject in which a mark of 40% or more was gained in the University Bursaries Examination, which is very similar, but not exactly the same, as the situation that subsequently existed under the administration of the NZQA.

The University Entrance Qualification could be gained from the University Bursaries and Entrance Scholarship exams: Not less than 200 marks in five Bursaries papers together with not less than 150 marks in the three Scholarship papers, which is a very unlikely means of so achieving the UE Qualification. Alternatively, not less than 200 marks in five Bursaries papers, or not less than 160 marks in four Bursaries papers, including English in either case, and excluding any subject with less than 25 marks.

Lastly, the University Entrance Qualification could be achieved by combining exam credits gained over two or more years from the University Bursaries exam and/or the University Entrance exam. Credits in English and three other subjects (two other subjects if one subject is University Bursaries Practical Art) constituted an University Entrance Qualification.