Facts and Figures Explained

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In the information pack we send out to prospective students, I’ve listed some vital facts and figures for anyone interested in us to consider.  As a person who has engaged in tertiary study before, I understand the need for prospective students and their loved ones to ensure their prospective students enrol at a provider who can offer them the best training, the best range of opportunities and the highest quality training to ensure they are employable after they complete their training.  You think questions like, “how likely is it I’ll get a job after I study this?”  “Will this course give me the skills I need in order to succeed in this industry?”  “How recognised is the qualification?”  And so on…

We used to list a huge amount of data on the “Why You Should Train With The National School of Aesthetics” sheet that comes with our course information pack (also known as a prospectus), but I took the liberty of simplifying this for the 2010 information pack.  We also moved to a more “overall” look with the information, so the information presented is from the 5 years prior (at the present moment) to give a better, more accurate picture of the facts and figures.

Instead of reviewing and explaining each fact and figure, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the rationale or how we figure that figure out behind each fact.

Students gaining one or more qualifications
In some of our courses, students can gain only one qualification, but in the Diploma in Beauty Therapy and Applied Aesthetics, students can gain three “embedded” qualifications as well as the large beauty therapy one.  Why we eventually went with the “one or more” figure was students can gain two qualifications out of the three in the Diploma in Beauty Therapy and still find employment in the industry (although all three is very much preferable, and the majority of our students do gain all three).  In addition, where a student might not pass a Certificate in Electrology (for example) through us, they may pass their ITEC Diploma in Epilation, which, essentially, allows them to work in the field.

The reason why some students don’t qualify in the third subject could be they had a legitimate reason for not being able to sit the component, i.e. medical reasons, or may have not been able to sit a part of that component, which may see them receive a lesser award.  It could be they didn’t meet the requirements or failed their final examination (students who have failed their final examination do have the option of resitting that examination at the next available opportunity).

In saying this, the number of students we have who do not complete all three embedded qualifications in their Diploma in Beauty Therapy and Applied Aesthetics is relatively low overall.

Graduates gaining 80% or 90% or higher in their course
The percentage gained by students is not rounded or distorted in any way.  We use a weighing system, whereby equal emphasis is given to all aspects of the course, i.e. 20% for attendance, presentation and other day-to-day activities, 20% for homework and projects, 20% for quizzes and tests.  The other 40% is loaded towards final examinations as the amount of work students need to do for that section is higher as case studies are completed throughout the year in addition to the actual examinations themselves.

And the work the students complete is not easy either.  We do not “dumb down” our requirements so we have a higher number of people completing and graduating, so the percentages are a true and accurate reflection of the National Qualifications Framework level requirements.

Passing external international examinations
Since some external international examinations are a unit-based system, and some students may have passed some units prior, we tally these types of examinations on a unit-by-unit basis.  Other types of examinations utilise one theory examination and one practical examination per subject, so we consider these on an examination-by-examination basis.  This gives the figure some consistency.

Employment and further study
The Government requires tertiary education providers to keep facts and figures about employment and further study.  Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules by which we should judge what is relevant and what is not, so some providers consider a one-week work experience “employment” in the industry.

We do not do this.

We include part-time and full-time employment in our facts and figures, as some graduates have family or other commitments and may only wish to work part-time.  Since beauty therapy and related fields include such a wide-scope of job opportunities and very customisable, we do include relevant jobs in associated industries, i.e. working at a cosmetics counter in a department store, using massage skills with personal training, et cetera.

Further study is considered to be any enrolment in any NZQA-Approved course or similar that can be used in conjunction with our qualification.  This may be a Diploma in Beauty Therapy graduate enroling in our Diploma in Spa Therapies, or a Certificate in Small Business Management through the Open Polytechnic, or a Certificate in Make-up Design and Production at the Design and Arts College of New Zealand or even a Bachelor of Nursing at CPIT.  Any related qualification is considered.  (Qualifications in areas like farming or mechanics, for example, would not be considered.)
This should give you a better picture of how we work out these facts and figures, and hopefully you will realise the information we give you is truthful, honest and relevant to our students, the industry and our graduates.

We are proud of the accomplishments of our students, graduates and staff, and we have nothing to hide when it comes to providing these facts and figures to you.

As always, if you have any questions about these facts and figures, or any other issue relating to the National School of Aesthetics, feel free to contact us during our office hours, and one of us will endeavour to assist you as best as we can.

Scott Fack is the Director of Operations for The National School of Aesthetics, the South Island’s leading beauty therapy, nail technology and spa therapies training provider.