Criminal charges have been laid against an international education provider in Auckland for passing students who should have failed.

The New Zealand Qualifications authority says it's the first case of its kind as it cracks down on dodgy operators.

One hundred international students studied business in an Auckland temple.

But the International College of New Zealand and director Chirag Solanki now face criminal charges laid by NZQA.

"We monitored their activities last year and we found four of their programmes did not meet standards. And there were cases of plagiarism and work that was being marked that should have been failed," said Grant Klinkum, NZQA deputy chief executive.

NZQA alleges up to 95 per cent of students were wrongly given pass marks on assessments.

Once discovered, NZQA cancelled the college's registration and is now taking the rare step of prosecuting.

"The rules are very clear, they're well known, and in cases where providers don't meet those requirements we'll take firm action," Mr Klinkum said.

Jonathan Gee of the New Zealand University Students Association says he wouldn't be surprised if we started seeing more cases like this in the future.

The college no longer has students and Mr Solanki didn't respond to requests for comment.

Student representatives are welcoming the prosecution.

International students "are paying thousands of dollars, probably three times as much as domestic students for tuition fees, to get a New Zealand education. The least they can expect is to get a quality education from these providers," Mr Gee said.

The students will get refunds, and Mr Klinkum says there may be some credits that can be used for a similar programme at another institution.

But some students are vulnerable and might need more help, including with visas.

"They're virtually starting again if they are moving to a new institution. So the harm has already been done," Mr Gee said.

In the past two years, eight tertiary education providers have had their registration cancelled by NZQA.