
Preamble
The Learning Connexion is New Zealand's centre for sustainable creativity.
TLC uses art as a context for discovering how creativity works and how to
apply it.
Creativity is evolution in action. It is the process of useful change. It may be incorporated in any area of human activity which requires new ways of thinking. It includes academic, personal, professional, community, cultural and spiritual elements.
Creativity is essential in achieving human potential, building healthy communities and a sustainable world.
1. Mission Statement
TLC's goal is to establish, encourage and nurture sustainable creativity.
The school was established in 1988 as a specialist provider of arts skills, arts industry experience and creativity skill development. It delivers a Diploma of Art and Creativity (Honours) which is approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority under the provisions of the Education Act 1989, and The Learning Connexion Limited is accredited to teach it.
The Diploma is a 2.5 year programme (or five years part time) at Level 6. Applications for levels 7 and 8 are in an advanced state of preparation.
The programme develops field skills in seven main areas: painting, drawing, 3D, design, photography, videography and computer graphics. Through these areas it develops generic creativity skills which are tested by way of exhibitions and other interactions with the wider world.
The programme is available on-site at the Taita campus in Wellington or via video-based extramural study (supported by notes, telephone and Internet communication).
TLC markets itself internationally and has a reputation as a provider with a high emphasis on self-directed learning supported within a high quality learning culture. It attracts students from all over New Zealand and is achieving greater participation from overseas students.
TLC caters for the learning, developmental and skill needs of people who seek alternative or complementary programmes to those provided by universities and polytechnics. TLC attracts high levels of participation from:
The Learning Connexion identifies as its stakeholders:
Through provision to this broad stakeholder base, TLC aligns with the 2002 - 2007 Tertiary Education Strategy by:
In its vision for the future TLC is committed to continuous professional development of its educational services through its management practices, its processes of stakeholder consultation, and through investment and support for research into creativity skills development and assessment. Through these initiatives TLC is building its capacity to:
Through this alignment TLC recognises a vital opportunity to further build its profile as an innovative, high quality, specialist education provider, delivering both stand alone and collaborative programmes that meet critical vocational and related personal development needs.
2. Special Character
We promote creativity as a core skill which is necessary throughout education
and is a key ingredient in New Zealand's cultural, environmental, technological
and economic well-being.
As an institution TLC is a role model for the teaching of art and creativity. The school focuses on what works and is constantly seeking to minimize bureaucratic intrusions which tend to stifle creativity.
At TLC we:
These features link together the means by which TLC meets student learning needs and interests, fulfils its objectives as a vocational provider, and marks out the specialist position it occupies within the spectrum of tertiary provision. They also reveal that the special character of TLC lies less in the conventional delivery of programmes of instruction and more in the successful drawing together and the management of factors that create an appropriate learning culture.
The purposeful intertwining of vocational and personal developmental dimensions helps identify the special position TLC occupies within education.
TLC is committed to:
TLC celebrates and supports:
Alignment:
3. Contribution to New Zealand's identity and economic, social and cultural
development
Through the Tertiary Education Strategy, Government presents a vision for
a 'knowledge society' which TLC shares, of a nation that participates fully
and successfully within the global economy by being:
TLC also recognises that the strategy is intended to bring about a greater alignment of the publicly funded tertiary system with national development goals. These being:
TLC aligns with these goals by supporting the learning and developmental needs of people who seek to enter, change or reframe their positions within the workforce. In particular:
TLC presently contributes about $8 million per annum to the New Zealand economy and this will rise substantially as the government maintains a climate favourable to creativity.
The key outcome and benchmark strategies which monitor contributions to national goals:
4. Contribution to the tertiary sector as a whole
TLC is positioned within the tertiary sector to contribute specialist elements
to the sector as a whole. In particular TLC:
Measurements by which this contribution is gauged:
Alignment:
5. Approach to cooperation and collaboration with other tertiary education
providers
TLC recognises within the Tertiary Education Strategy 2002-2007 an emphasis
on strengthening system capability and quality. TLC also recognises and is
responding to the priorities of:
TLC is committed to continuous improvement at all levels relating to these priority areas. In particular TLC:
Alignment:
6. Approach to fulfilling Treaty of Waitangi obligations

The TLC approach to learning is illustrated in the diagram "Initial thinking
about a definition" - Ministry of Education document described as "One Maori
model of foundation skills as illustrated in Te Ao Whakamua Building Futures:
The final Report on the Review of Training Opportunities and Youth Training",
MoE, May 2002.
TLC acknowledges the important contribution all education providers make to fulfilling Treaty of Waitangi obligations. In addition to providing an educational environment which aligns with Maori student learning styles and needs, TLC's current practice of identifying specific initiatives which contribute to the building of capacity in this area will continue in the future. For example:
Alignment:
Excellence: TLC maintains outcomes for Maori students that are as high
as non Maori. Maori students acknowledge that the opportunities offered by
TLC to learn and grow have been culturally appropriate.
Relevance: There is a considerable need for education which embodies
partnership. Maori students and staff share their knowledge and skills within
the school and create cultural synergy through their respective Iwi and Hapu
Whanau.
Access: TLC has an open entry policy which is conducive to Maori enrolments.
Capability: TLC involves Maori staff and students in all levels of
the development and operation. TLC provides opportunities for deeper sharing,
partnership and understanding between Treaty partners.
7. Approach to meeting the needs of Pacific peoples
TLC acknowledges the evolving nature of New Zealand society and the trend
towards a unique pacific region community in which the majority of people
will identify themselves as having Maori or Pacific cultural origins.
The TLC style of self-directed art/creativity learning encourages people to explore their relationship with the society the find themselves in, and the cultures and families from which they originate. This process leads to outcomes which, in addition to specific vocational skills, include:
TLC aligns with the Tertiary Educational Strategy and the Specific Tertiary Educational Priorities, by regarding these outcomes as foundations for participation within a culturally complex and changing society.
While the current enrolment levels of people from Pacific backgrounds is small, TLC expects this to expand as a result of the purchase of a teaching site in Hutt City. In a similar way to TLC's approach to meeting the educational aspirations of Maori, as the cultural base of the school evolves, TLC anticipates adjustment to its teaching, staff development and governance strategies, to meet the needs of people from Pacific origins.
Alignment:
Excellence: TLC maintains outcomes for Pacific students that are as
high as non-Pacific Pacific students acknowledge the opportunities offered
by TLC to learn and grow have been culturally appropriate.
Relevance: TLC provides an ideal fit with Pacific traditions in the
visual arts.
Access: TLC has an open entry policy which is conducive to Pacific
enrolments. The school recognises from past experience that Pacific enrolments
are sensitive to location and consequently it has moved to provide opportunities
in Hutt City.
Capability: TLC gained considerable experience with Pacific students
when it was based in central Wellington. The school expects to achieve similar
results on its planned Hutt campus.
8. Approach to meeting the educational needs of learners
Creativity is teachable and it is so strongly connected with New Zealand's
prosperity and well-being that it should be treated as a core subject at all
levels. TLC maintains that creativity is the highest brain function and it
is the school's task to nurture it.

Hierarchy of nervous system functions, Karl H Pfenniger, professor of cellular
and structural biology, University of Colorado School of Medicine - p91, The
origins of creativity, ed Pfenniger and Shubik, Oxford University Press.
TLC's Mission Statement recognises that students have a very broad range of educational needs and interests in relation to their vocational and personal development objectives.
TLC's primary educational strategy is to meet the needs of learners through the promotion of learning through action within a supportive group learning culture (see Special Character). A critical element is the employment of tutors who are active in the community as creative people and who bring to the learning environment appropriate skills, industry experience and sensitivity to adult learning needs. As well as providing students with access to expertise within the school, these tutors also link the school and students to the professional arts environment within Wellington and beyond.
TLC recognises the need for greater levels of educational intervention on behalf of some students. When monitoring systems indicate that such intervention is appropriate, TLC has specialist staff and access to external specialists who can offer students information, strategies and hands on assistance with:
TLC's programme is helping people to become more robust in the marketplace and creating opportunities for their continuing education.
TLC regards former students as stakeholders and keeps in touch with them through the newsletter, exhibitions, Website and emails and keeps track of their progress. TLC achieves a course completion rate in excess of 70%.
Alignment:
Excellence: TLC enables students to work with tutors to define their
own learning outcomes. Tutors are appointed according to the excellence of
their creative experience and current practice. Tutors serve as guides and
role models for students.
Relevance: The TLC approach meets the needs of students who want to
work outside the square. It provides an option for those assertive non-conformists
who are bored and frustrated by conventional education. It suits Maori and
Pacific students who want to work in a creative environment and to be accepted
on their own terms. It imparts rigorous skills and discipline to students
who might otherwise squander their potential.
Access: Open access transcends past failures and the limitations of
other providers.
Capability: TLC continues to develop a unique set of educational skills
to deliver an effective creativity programme with special strengths in meeting
individual needs. The school maintains an infrastructure that provides for
ongoing professional development of all staff to ensure that the whole organisation
operates in a manner which is aligned to its teaching goals.
9. Approach to developing and supporting a staff profile that reflects
its mission and special character
All of the school's tutors and staff work in alignment with the values that
are the basis of TLC's special character. TLC uses guiding principles for
staff recruitment and development that safeguard and further develop its special
character and the capacity to meet educational objectives.
Alignment:
Excellence: TLC maintains a gifted and stable staff team who consistently
achieve excellent results.
Relevance: TLC provides tutors with a highly creative, non-bureaucratic
environment in which they enjoy a high measure of professional freedom. Support
staff are able to learn and practice skills which enhance their own creative
abilities.
Access: TLC provides employment to a range of gifted people who prefer
an unconventional workplace. It is a comparatively rare employment opportunity.
Capability: Tutors and staff run the organization. They have pivotal
roles in all areas of delivery and management. They make the difference between
TLC as an idea and TLC as a reality.
10. Governance and Management Structure and Principles
The Learning Connexion is a privately owned family business which operates
as a non-profit organisation. TLC has the statutory obligations of a company.
The Strategy Group (Managing Director, Deputy Director and General Manager of Programmes) coordinates strategic decisions in consultation with relevant tutors and staff members (where necessary with the entire staff, students and other stakeholders).
An eight-member management group (including all managers) oversees the day-to-day management.
The six-member Academic Board oversees all aspects of course delivery including course monitoring and design.
The Learning Connexion is accredited by NZQA and complies with NZQA's requirements.
The Learning Connexion is EFTS funded and complies with all the requirements of the Ministry of Education and the Tertiary Education Commission.
An annual business plan is developed with input from the management group.
TLC practices continuous self review centred around the management group.
Stakeholders participate in governance and management. The student body has a representative who regularly meets with the management team. All teaching and administrative staff meet together regularly and are consulted on all major strategic and policy matters. Students have easy access to the management group and the academic board. There is a substantial amount of informal consultation with representatives of the creative industries, education and business.
TLC maintains a high level of internal and external communication through a blend of meetings, newsletters and events.
Alignment:
Excellence: TLC has evolved distinctive management practices which
are based on a complex understanding of self-managing systems. Its effectiveness
is indicated by its stability, continuing growth and expanding influence.
Relevance: "Places like the Learning Connexion are crucial in making
the Government's vision happen. The Learning Connexion itself is an innovative
concept and what the Learning Connexion offers is what the Government's vision
is all about - achieving sustainable art and creativity. I unashamedly champion
the work and dreams of the Learning Connexion. Peter Biggs, chair of Creative
New Zealand
Access: TLC maintains openness and organisational integrity. Its responsiveness
to stakeholders and its shared skills in problem-solving are fundamental to
its ability to grow and evolve.
Capability: There is nothing quite like it in the world. TLC is a unique
New Zealand organisation with a proven track record.
11. Consultation undertaken in preparation of the Charter
The draft Charter has been extensively discussed at meetings of students and
staff and is available to all stakeholders via the TLC Web site. The Charter
was made available to all members of Independent Tertiary Institutions (incorporating
CCA) for discussion and peer review. Stakeholders are identified in section
1 and a list of stakeholders was published in the Dominion Post on 10 September
2003 inviting further comment.
The school consults routinely and extensively with staff and students and this long legacy of interaction is the foundation of our Charter. A favoured means of consultation is 'Appreciative Inquiry' which is a creative technique for group dialogue. Appreciative Inquiry is inclusive, friendly and effective. Increasingly it pervades all interactions within the school.
A student-based series of Appreciative Inquiry meetings came up with a set of words which are a snapshot of the school's interaction with stakeholders:
The school works hard to interact with stakeholders from creative industries and education. Exhibitions are one of the focal points for these meetings. Exhibitions are also an interface with the public at large - they are viewed by many thousands of people every year.
Further dialogue revolves around the TLC newsletter which sends articles on creativity to graduates and interested people all around the world.
TLC reaches out to Maori stakeholders partly through employment (an increasing number of key roles are filled by Maori) and partly through proactive commitment to Te Reo and interaction with local Iwi.
TLC interacts strongly with the Wellington City Council (especially through the council's Community Arts Liaison Officer) and to a lesser extent with the mayors of Hutt City and Porirua.
Stakeholder involvement in Governance
Alignment:
TLC enables and encourages stakeholder participation in governance at all
levels and in the development of the Charter. In activities such as exhibitions
governance has devolved directly to stakeholders (in this case the students).
TLC maintains evaluation processes which enable all stakeholders to make their
contribution to governance.
This Charter has been approved by the Associate Minister for Education and expires on 31 December 2008.
12. Equal Education Opportunities
The Learning Connexion is committed to equal opportunity.
TLC is committed to equal opportunity in all its education policies and procedures. Equal education opportunity includes recruitment, course delivery and teaching environment.
All students, regardless of gender, race, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, family status, religious or ethical beliefs, political opinion or union affiliation, have equal access to equal educational opportunities.
The Learning Connexion
Phone +64 4 568 0320 or
0800 ART POWER
(0800 278 769 within NZ)
Fax +64 4 567 9864
www.tlc.ac.nz
info@tlc.ac.nz
PO Box 9811
Wellington 6141
Taita Campus
182 Eastern Hutt Road
Taita, Lower Hutt 5019
New Zealand

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