Master of Contemporary Education

Please contact dcl@themindlab.com or ring 0800 MINDLAB as soon as possible. Since the block sessions are a requirement of the course, you will need to apply for special circumstances, supported by suitable evidence, in order to continue your enrolment on the programme. If these are approved, individual arrangements will be made for you to complete the required work. Otherwise you may need to withdraw and re-enrol in a later intake to complete the block.

To be admitted to the Master of Contemporary Education, all applicants must have:

A recognised bachelor degree in the same or similar discipline, with merit achievement, deemed to be an average grade of B- or higher in all Level 7 courses;

Or

A professional qualification in a relevant discipline, recognised as being equivalent to merit achievement in a bachelor degree or equivalent;

And

Applicants must give their consent to undergo a process of Safety Checking* as set out in the Vulnerable Children (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”). This checking process will include:

1. Providing 2 forms of identification, and evidence of any name changes (if any);
2. Consent to The Mind Lab undertaking a Police Vet check, or a Criminal Record Check (as required), and advise The Mind Lab of any current charges or pending court matters;

iii. Providing a chronological summary of his or her work history, if any, for the preceding 5 years and the name of any professional organisations and/or licensing authorities and/or registration authorities that the student is a member of or been licensed by and that is relevant to the proposed placement (if required);

1. Providing the names of 2 referees who may be contacted by The Mind Lab or your placement provider (if required);
2. Attending a face to face interview (if required) for the purposes of a risk assessment as required by section 8 of the Act.

Applicants are also required to consent to the above information gathered as part of the Safety Check to be shared with a host institution for the purposes of any practicum placement.

*This clause is waived if the candidate has already fulfilled the requirements of the Safety Check as part of their current employment.

Applicants must have an identified education-based practice that would would normally be through current employment.

1.2 Whakaurunga Motuhake | Special Admission

Applicants must have:

1. attained the age of 20 years on or before the first day of the semester in which study for the programme is to commence; and
2. a qualification (at level 7 of at least 120 credits) in a relevant discipline area, with a B grade average or better, and a minimum of two years’ appropriate work experience; and
3. provided sufficient evidence of aptitude or appropriate work or other life experience that would indicate a successful outcome in the qualification.

1.3 Whakaurunga Kōwhiringa | Discretionary Admission

In exceptional cases an applicant who does not meet the general admission requirements and who has not reached the age of 20 on or before the first day of the semester in which study for the Certificate is to commence may apply for discretionary admission.

In assessing whether to grant discretionary admission in exceptional cases, the primary focus will be on the applicant’s level of preparedness for study at the required level.

1.4 Whakaurunga Reo Pākehā | English Language Admission Requirements

Applicants must have achieved a minimum standard of English as demonstrated by a minimum of 8 credits at NCEA Level 2 in English (4 in Reading, 4 in Writing).

We are not accepting applications from International students at this time. Please contact us for more information.

2. Paearu Kōwhiri Tukanga| Selection Criteria & Process

2.1 Paearu Kōwhiri | Selection Criteria

When the number of eligible applicants for admission exceeds the number of places available, the following selection criteria will be applied:

• Willingness to commit to the programme;
• Demonstrate competency in achievement, leadership, humility, respect and empathy, self-reflection and commitment to the vision of the MCE programme.

Applicants who meet the maximum number of listed criteria will be the preferred candidates

2.2 Tukanga Kōwhiri | Selection Process

Selection will be made by a subcommittee set up for the purpose with the delegated authority to offer places to applicants. The subcommittee will select students on the basis of written information supplied on the enrolment form. At the discretion of the subcommittee, an interview (face-to-face or electronic) may be required.

This is a practice-based Master’s highly relevant to your education context e.g classroom

• It will add value to your school (or other education context), so your manager or leadership team will be supportive of your study. Importantly, this Master’s is about your practice - the challenges, problems and opportunities that you face in your classroom (or other education context).
• This Master’s adds value to the Digital and Collaborative Learning Postgraduate Certificate which is Part 1 of the 3 part MCE. The PG-DCL and MCE become a suite of options for teachers and other educators to choose from and move between.
• The MCE focuses on the challenges of contemporary education including digital fluency through leadership and collaboration. The MCE recognises all teachers as leaders.
• The MCE Agile Inquiry Process is a framework that allows you to tackle complex change in learning environments where requirements are not fully understood or are ever changing.
• The learning is divided into sprints (chunks) that facilitate successful collaboration and shared learning. There is an individual and collective responsibility and a shared accountability with personalised learning through the selection and development of particular sprints that are focused to your context. With continuous improvement, regular reflection and iteration, the solution to the challenge emerges through the process.  
• The MCE has part-time and full-time options.

This depends on where you sit on the pay scale.

NZEI - Primary Collective Agreement states that:-

• Teachers who improve their qualification(s) shall, on the effective date of improving the qualification(s), receive at least the minimum commencing step for the new qualification(s)
• PPTA (Secondary) Trained teachers who improve their qualification(s) shall, on the effective date of improving the qualification(s), receive at least the minimum commencing step for the new qualification(s).

(ii) Those teachers who, in accordance with clause 3.2.1(e) above, have been held at the maximum point of the salary scale for their qualification group for one or more years of service for salary purposes and who subsequently improve their qualification(s) shall be entitled to progress one salary step towards the maximum step of their new qualification group from the effective date of improving their qualification(s). This date shall become their new anniversary date for salary progression purposes.

For part-time students we are looking at weekends and school holidays. This may be similar for full-time students but there may be some sessions on work days. There may be some flexibility around workshops/days of the week, but there is an expectation that you will attend these workshops.

Part 2, full time will be 27 hours per week, covering 4 courses in 26 weeks.

Part time commitment is 52 weeks, at around 13 hours per week.

Part 3 (single course): full-time will be around 26 weeks working on your practice-based change project or 52 weeks part-time.

You are able to complete the programme from any location in New Zealand, as long as you are able to attend the required workshops in Auckland or Christchurch. The first face-to-face session will either be in week 2 or 3.

Part 1 is 32 weeks part-time and is the PG-DCL (Postgraduate Certificate in Digital & Collaborative Learning).

Parts 2+3 will take 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time.

There are a limited number of scholarships available for candidates who identify as Māori or Pacific and for candidates who are over 60 years of age, who are not already receiving a scholarship and/or fellowship and/or any other financial support towards the fees for Parts and 3 for the Master of Contemporary Education.

• Tangata Whenua Scholarship: for candidates who identify as Māori
• Pacific Ako Scholarship: for candidates who identify as of Pacific Descent
• Taipakeke Scholarship: for candidates who are aged 60 years and over

These scholarships cover 50% of the full tuition fee for Part 2 and 3.

Scholarship applications close 15th March 2019. Applications must be fully enrolled in order for their scholarship application to be considered. To apply for a scholarship applicants will need to fill out the application form.

Applicants must provide some personal information to identify themselves. This information differs depending on which scholarship the applicant is applying for. All applicants will be asked to attach some evidence to their application to indicate how the scholarship and programme will benefit their education context.

These scholarships do not cover the costs for Part 1 (PG-DCL). Scholarships for Part 1 are available, please see the website for details.

Contact applymce@themindlab.com for more information, or for information about eligibility.

Discounts

There is a 10% discount if payment is made via credit card or Account-to-Account payment online when you enrol via The Mind Lab enrolments site.