can I skip the PAR and just do an IQA?

[Asteger]

Okay, getting ahead of things a bit but I'm sure someone will have some good comments on this...

As I understand it when going for an SMC, for example, one of the first things you do is get an NZQA PAR. If things go well and you're selected to give a full application, then later you have to (pay again for and) do a full IQA.

I'm not doing this at present, but need to do an NZQA to support some applications I will make to NZ universities. Looking to the future, when done any studying I would hope to work in NZ and at that point would also need an NZQA evaluation for registration in my profession (teaching).

I've already started the NZQA application, and see you should select the purpose(s) behind the assessment. I've already put down (can't remember exactly) 'study' and 'work' and 'teacher registration' something like that, but haven't submitted the thing yet.

My question is as I already have to do an NZQA assessment now, if I put myself down for the other non-study categories for the assessment, am I correct in assuming that this same for-study assessment now will still be valid and can be used in another 1.5 years and beyond for other purposes in NZ, such as teacher registration and work/residence applications? I believe the NZQA assessment for tertiary study applications is the IQA verson and no, what I think is, the simpler PAR for NZQA.

Gosh, I hate all these acronyms...

Trying to find out if I can only do the assessment thing, IQA or other, once as they are expensive and a hassle.

[JandM]

You certainly don't need to do both PAR and IQA for the submission to INZ. PAR is a total waste of time and money, and IQA is perfectly admissible to put in with your EOI.

I don't know about an IQA being considered valid at a later date by bodies other INZ. INZ have said that they continue to regard an IQA as valid as long as it doesn't have a 'valid until' date on it, which, just to be confusing, some DO, and some DON'T.

[Asteger]

INZ have said that they continue to regard an IQA as valid as long as it doesn't have a 'valid until' date on it, which, just to be confusing, some DO, and some DON'T.

Validity dates? I'd thought that for some time they've been considered valid indefinitely, so that's worrying.

Well, what can I do. About $750 for the assessment plus the courier fees, etc. Bite the bullet.

[JandM]

If an IQA states that a foreign degree is comparable to a current NZ one, it's possible to envisage a day when that NZ degree WON'T be running, and therefore the IQA won't be still correct.

[Asteger]

If an IQA states that a foreign degree is comparable to a current NZ one, it's possible to envisage a day when that NZ degree WON'T be running, and therefore the IQA won't be still correct.

That makes some sense, perhaps. I think you mean that it's possible that sometimes certain tertiary programmes might no longer be taught/offered in NZ, and so then their foreign equivalents should be viewed in a different light too. However, if some foreign qualifications might be seen to lose their validity or worth in time, than their NZ equivalents would have to, too. I doubt that NZQA would downgrade levels assigned to NZ qualifications.

I can see this having some worth only in fields which evolve a lot and where things learned in the past might no longer be useful - technology, for instance. However, while there are always developments and some progression, medicine will always be medicine, math will be math, and so on.

Will be interesting to get my NZQA result, eventually. Most of my qualifications are from the UK and I know their levels under the UK's qualfication framework. Hope I don't get shortchanged.

[JandM]

However, if some foreign qualifications might be seen to lose their validity or worth in time, than their NZ equivalents would have to, too.

No, you've taken that too far. An IQA application which includes an Appendix B request for NZQA to check if the content (what was studied, how long, and to what depth) is comparable to a current NZ qualification is something which happens when the applicant needs to claim bonus points for their skilled job being on the Long Term Skills List. For instance, here http://skillshortages.immigration.go...iness-analyst/ is the page for one skilled job, and if you click on the green box for LTSSL, you will see the NZ qualifications, ONE of which your foreign qualification would need to be comparable with if this was your job, and you needed bonus points on your EOI to reach the 140 threshold for selection. So an IQA will say, if all goes well for that applicant, that his degree is at NZ Level 7, and he has a specific outcome that his degree is comparable to (for instance) Bachelor of Arts (Information Science), which is on the LTSSL list.

If someone's degree is once assessed as Level 7, even if the course for the NZ qualification to which it was found comparable stops being offered, that is no disrespect to the foreign qualification, which is and always will be at Level 7 - it's just that the IQA saying it had the comparability required for LTSSL and bonus points is no longer correct.