It started as one CEO’s idea and $7.25 million in community funding. Twenty-five years on, SIT’s Zero Fees Scheme is still New Zealand’s best-value tertiary education deal going.
Free tertiary tuition is hard to come by in New Zealand.
Average tuition fees for domestic tertiary students rank in the top quarter of OECD countries, Ministry of Education research shows, and we’re in the top five for students receiving public financial support, with nearly three in four relying on the Government’s student loan or grant system.
Most full-time undergraduate tuition ranges between $6000-$10,000 a year – and with the Government’s Fees Free Scheme coming to an end this year, the financial barrier to a tertiary education is soon set to be higher than ever.
Research shows not having the funds to study is one of the main reasons people decide not to do it.
But the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) in Invercargill bucks the trend, promising “the best education deal in New Zealand” with its Zero Fees Scheme for Kiwi students at all years and levels of study.
To date, the scheme has enabled more than 400,000 students to achieve tertiary qualifications, without the same burden of debt found elsewhere.
SIT says the plan removes barriers to learning – offering students the best possible education to set up their future while not worrying about scraping by each week or drowning in study debt.
Zero Fees is not only unique, but has been made possible by community support.
In 2002, Southland community and business funders contributed $7.25 million for three years on top of Government funding. The scheme was so successful that it has been able to continue ever since.
SIT offers a wide range of certificates, diplomas, bachelor and master’s degrees designed to deliver real, job-ready skills for school-leavers or later-life career changers in fields like business, IT, nursing, trades and creative industries.
The programme is available on campus, online, or a combination of both, tailored to the student’s lifestyle, and is open to New Zealand citizens, residents or permanent residents living here during their study and Australian citizens residing here during their study.
The scheme was the brainchild of then-CEO of SIT in 2000, Penny Simmonds. She’s a poster child for career change: when the institute celebrated the scheme’s 25th birthday recently, Simmonds returned to her old workplace as Minister for Tertiary Education and the MP for Invercargill.
Zero Fees is a real success story: SIT student numbers increased 46% in the first year and 29% in the second. The scheme has now provided an estimated 420,000 New Zealanders with the opportunity for a debt-free education.
SIT domestic marketing manager Warrick Low explains it’s all about opportunity.
“We work out at about one-fifth of the cost of studying at most universities – and that one-fifth gives you so many more options,” he says.
“You can get a part-time job and virtually pay for your study as you go. We’re not asking people to put themselves into debt for five or 10 years to study. They don’t have to be burdened by thinking, ‘What is this costing me?’
“They can move on to the next stage of their life nice and quick.”
Low believes everyone should have the ability to have accommodation, food and education, but worries education has “outpriced itself”.
“It’s kind of sad,” he adds.
Zero Fees offers options for different students. For school-leavers, he says, it’s all about having options.
“You can follow the crowd if you want, but you can only do that for so long in life. You’ve got to find your own way – and we’re big enough to have modern facilities and dedicated staff, but small enough that you’re not going to get lost in the crowd.
“You’re going to get hands on, you’re going to work with industry, you’re going to work with the tools of the trade. It’s giving you solid options for a future you’ll love.”
Then there are later-life students, like that former CEO.
“We offer something to somebody who’s done the hard yards and thought, ‘You know what? I want to go higher’ or ‘I want to do something completely different’.
“They’re great learners. They’re people who can weave their life knowledge, life experience, and can adapt and make this place their own. We’ve got many career-changers who come here and find a way to balance the responsibilities of life with the opportunities of education.
“They can work and get part-time jobs, build industry connections, work with like-minded people. They can find a path that will get them where they want to go quickly – and affordably.”
Equally, it’s a win-win for the region. Low says Southland has seen its communities become more vibrant by people coming to take advantage of the natural and social resources and benefits that it has.
Being able to attract those kinds of people “has paid dividends”.
“Industry is taking off, we have some of the best sports teams and stadiums in the country, a brand-new mall, a brand-new museum.
“It’s a southern thing; while we often fly under the radar, we punch above our weight in many ways. We don’t have the biggest population, but we’ve got a booming industrial environment and some of the best facilities in an ITP [institute of technology and polytechnics] in the country.
“If we’ve got something that you’re interested in studying, do the due diligence. Don’t live in regret at making the wrong decision because you didn’t open a door that could have changed your life for the better.”
To find out more about studying at SIT, visit sit.ac.nz