More than half of Massey University's bachelor-level students do not complete degrees. The university says many of its distance learning students do not intend to complete degrees.

One in three university students do not complete a bachelor degree, according to new Government data.

Performance reports, released on Friday, assessed fee-paying students paying for their degrees – data on the success of those covered by the Government's fees-free policy won't be available until next year.

A spokesman for Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the Tertiary Education Commission's (TEC) findings, which show 36 per cent of bachelor degree-level students did not complete the qualification over the six years to 2017, had no bearing on the fees-free policy, which started in 2018.

National associate tertiary spokesman Simeon Brown said National stood by its policies and investment while in Government. National would look closely at the data over the past decade as they understood there were changes to the way data was gathered which affected completion rates.

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"We need to be confident that the Tertiary Education Commissions methodology compares to the rest of the world because international students, governments, and businesses judge us by these figures."

He said prior to the fees free policy, Government subsidised 80 per cent of tertiary study on average, so it was important to look at why students were not completing degrees. National was working in areas like career education in schools to make sure students understood job prospects or salary expectations.

Brown said the fees free policy meant people may not be as invested in study as they had less personal investment in the decision, which could reduce degree completion rates.

Universities contested the statistics, with Universities New Zealand director Chris Whelan saying the results "the potential to mislead students" because those who changed degrees were double counted as both a drop out and a successful completion.

Lachlan Maclean dropped his biology studies at the University of Canterbury after finishing his first semester with good grades, to switch to computer science at the Ara Institute of Canterbury.

Maclean said he left university because he figured there were probably not a lot of jobs in biology in New Zealand, and they were not likely to be high-paying.

"It's a lot of money to be going to university. There's really no point continuing, doing three more years, if you're going to get a mediocre job out of it."

Maclean said about half his friends from the biology course had also left the University of Canterbury, for a variety of reasons.

TEC chief executive Tim Fowler said the funding body accounted for universities' different student populations and delivery models: "Universities have in fact seen an increase in their qualification completion rate over the last three years."

Its data indicated Massey University had the lowest degree completion rate at 42 per cent of bachelor degrees.

A spokesman for the university said the result* was "not a surprise", attributing it to distance learners who comprise roughly half of its students.

"Because of the nature of the students, they tend to be older people who are just looking to upskill and have other commitments ... some people do papers with no intention of completing a degree.

DAVID WALKER/STUFF Lachlan Maclean left Canterbury University to take up a course at Ara.

Otago University welcomed its reported 71 per cent bachelor completion rate, significantly higher than second-place getter Auckland University (65 per cent).

Vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne said it reflected the calibre of its teaching staff, but was "ultimately earned by our students, who put a huge commitment into achieving their full potential".

According to TECs assessment, 34 per cent of bachelor students at Lincoln University** did not complete the qualification.

Chief commercial officer Phil O'Callaghan said the figure "may not give an accurate representation" of the university's performance, as it covered a time when Lincoln still operated its Balclutha campus, which offered sub-degree qualifications.

CHRIS HARROWELL/STUFF National associate tertiary spokesman Simeon Brown says National stands by its policies and investment while in Government.

Whelan said the sector had long considered the TEC's annual assessments a poor reflection of universities' performance. His organisation, which represents New Zealand's eight universities, has repeatedly raised concerns about them, he said.

Fowler said he was not aware of universities disputing its data but said they "may be debating the issue of comparing institutions with each other".

Universities had performed consistently across recent years, and those that struggled were offered support to improve, he said.

The performance data informs funding allocations for tertiary education providers, most recently for the 2019-20 financial year.

* An earlier version of this story suggested Massey's spokesman agreed low completion rates were a "poor result". This is not the case.

BACHELORS DEGREE COMPLETION RATES

Auckland University: 65 per cent

Waikato University: 64 per cent

Massey University: 42 per cent

Victoria University of Wellington: 64 per cent

Canterbury University: 64 per cent

Lincoln University: 66 per cent**

Otago University: 71 per cent

Auckland University of Technology: 63 per cent

** An earlier version of this story said Lincoln's completion rate was 51 per cent. In fact it was 66 per cent.

* Comments on this article have been closed.

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SUPPLIED Universities New Zealand executive director Chris Whelan says changes to TEC's methodology mean its recently-released performance reports aren't an accurate reflection of degree completion rates.