Why is there an NZSA programme?

The New Zealand Specialist Agent (NZSA) programme is run by Education New Zealand (ENZ) in depth, new and emerging markets around the world. The main aims and benefits of the programme are:

1.    To support qualified and motivated education Agents, and their personnel, to become more effective at marketing New Zealand education and New Zealand education institutions.

2.    To make NZSA members known to New Zealand education institutions and other industry stakeholders so that they can benefit from working with the most qualified, professional and effective education Agents.
    
3.    To create a database of trained specialist agents for NZ institutions.

It should be noted that, while NZSA members are trained and accredited by ENZ, NZ institutions are free to work with any education agent.

Membership is granted to Agents, not individuals
Today, an Agent (Agency), not an individual owner, manager or counsellor (as was the case when the programme was originally established in 2007), gains NZSA membership. This is because experience over the past two years has shown that:

•    It is quite common for individual education counsellors to move between Agents, leaving the sponsoring Agent out of pocket for the accreditation fee and with no status.
 
•    Even if the counsellor’s NZSA status contributed to their success in obtaining a new role elsewhere, if the new employer has no interest in promoting New Zealand, and/or New Zealand is not included within their business strategy, then the counsellor’s accreditation status becomes irrelevant.

•    NZ institutions have agreements with Agents, not individual counsellors. As a result, when contacted at the reference checking stage, many NZ institutions responded stating that they know the Agent, but have not dealt with that particular individual counsellor.  
Accrediting Agents rather than individual members from within them gets around these draw backs.

As part of the change from individual member accreditation to Agent accreditation, an additional clause to the existing NZSA Agreement has has been added requiring Agents to take responsibility to train any new staff members hired during the accreditation period whose portfolio is to promote NZ education. The Agent now receives a branded Accreditation Certificate, with individual owners, managers and counsellors receiving a participation certificate.  This new system will be reviewed again in July 2011.

Where transition from individual to agency member status is required:
In situations where an individual had gained NZSA member status but their agency had not (pre 2010), ENZ encourages those agencies to secure NZSA member status as soon as possible. Preference will be given to the owner or most senior staff member in the first instance from those agencies to attend an NZSA training workshop.

Accreditation process overview

For an Agent to gain and retain NZSA membership, it must:

1.    Meet stipulated NZSA Membership Criteria;

2.    Have appropriate Agent personnel attend a formal training workshop organised by ENZ in their country and have all participating personnel pass the workshop test

3.    Pass stipulated reference checks;

4.    Sign (by the Agent owner) and adhere to the NZSA Agreement;

5.    Undertake a formal renewal of membership every two years, which involves meeting stipulated NZSA membership renewal criteria.


NZSA Membership Criteria and Process

Training
An Agent will be eligible to enrol one or more personnel on an NZSA training workshop when it meets the following criteria:

•    Provide three NZ education institution references, where at least one of the references is from a New Zealand government funded tertiary institution. Each referee must be from the institution’s international office and have worked directly with the Agent. Please note that if all three references have not been received by ENZ within 3 months after the training workshop, the agency will automatically be considered as not having met the criteria, even if its personnel passed the training workshop test.
                                                    
•    Have sent collectively at least five students to its reference institutions and at least 1 student to each of those reference institutions; and actively worked with all of them over the 12 months prior to the training workshop.

•    Nominate one or more Agent personnel to undertake the NZSA training, where at least one of them is a very senior manager or owner of the Agent.

•    Have a dedicated office from which to run its business. i.e. a room in a private home would not be acceptable.

•    Be committed to adhering to all aspects of the NZSA Agreement, including actively promoting New Zealand as a destination to their prospective students.

It is intended that accredited agents attend a refresher course only at the time of accreditation renewal and not during the two year validity period. If an accredited agent does wish to send trained personnel for a refresher, or new personnel to NZSA training during the two years, a fee of $75 + GST per attendee will be applicable.

A fee of $100 + GST will be applicable to individuals who are not currently employed by an accredited agent and wish to attend an NZSA training workshop, but do not intend, or are unable, to gain agent accreditation.

Accreditation
NZSA membership will be recognised by the issuance of a branded Accreditation Certificate, with individual owners, managers and counsellors from the Agent who attend and pass the workshop test receiving a Participation Certificate. Membership will be granted to an Agent and its same country branches only (but not other country branches, subagents or franchises) when:

•    Each of its personnel attending the training workshop has successfully passed the test. A pass is awarded to scores of 75% or higher.

•    The Agent’s owner has signed the NZSA Declaration.

•    ENZ has received all 3 NZ education institution references, using the prescribed template, and deemed that they are satisfactory.

•    A fee of NZ$300 + GST, covering up to 2 Agent personnel, has been paid. Please note that a NZ$50 + GST fee will also be charged for each additional Agent member beyond 2 personnel at the training workshop.

Renewal
NZSA membership is valid for a period of two years, after which membership must be renewed. For renewal to be successful, NZSA members must meet the following criteria:

•    Have adhered to all aspects of the NZSA Agreement.

•    Have increased their student numbers to New Zealand by 5% over the 2 years prior to renewal, except under reasonable circumstances. Supporting documents need to be provided to ENZ for both the increase in student numbers and/or explanation of non-performance. ENZ reserves the right to make final decisions in these circumstances.

•    Pay a nominal application fee of $75 + GST to renew their NZSA membership certificate.

•    Provide two references, of which one is a government funded institution, using the prescribed template, from NZ institutions that the NZSA member has worked with during the past 2 years.

•    Receive either a visit or telephone call by an ENZ staff.

•    Have at least one Agent member attend a refresher training workshop if this is provided by ENZ.

ENZ reserves the right to make exceptions to the NZSA Membership Criteria in cases where an Agent has fulfilled all but one criterion; and has compensated for this by excelling in another area, or areas, in their support and marketing of New Zealand education.

For further details on NZSA membership contact [email protected].