About Us

Pathways College is a private training establishment (PTE) which has been granted registration by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority under Part 18 of the Education Act 1989.

NZQA awarded the Pathways College a category 2 rating after the External Evaluation and Review (EER) in 2021.

NZQA is Confident in the educational performance of Pathways College of Bible and Mission.

NZQA is Confident in the capability in self-assessment of Pathways College of Bible and Mission.

For more information about Pathways' NZQA accreditation, click here: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers/details.do?providerId=828516001

Self-Review Attestation Summary (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice 2021)

October 2023

Pathways College of Bible & Mission is committed to providing a learning environment that is safe, secure and enjoyable for all students and staff. We are proactive in ensuring policies and practices reflect the outworking of our pastoral care mission statement:

Our desire is to provide care for all our students that embraces the concept of Te Whare Tapa Whā by engaging with students physically (taha tinana), socially (taha whānau), emotionally (taha hinengaro) and spiritually (taha wairua). Our mission is to demonstrate respect and care for each student within an environment that is safe for them to learn and where they feel valued, encouraged, included, strengthened, empowered and above all – have a sense of belonging.

Tertiary providers are required annually to conduct a self-review against the requirements of the Code of Practice. This summary of the self-review outlines Pathways College’s assessment of the implementation of the Pastoral Care Code of Practice as per the attestation submitted to NZQA on 26th October 2023.

The Code of Practice can be accessed through these links:

https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/Tertiary/The-Code/pastoral-care-code-of-practice-2021-english.pdf

https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/Tertiary/The-Code/pastoral-care-code-of-practice-2021-maori.pdf

Outcomes 1-4 speak to learner wellbeing and safety systems, the inclusion of learner voice, ensuring safe and inclusive physical and digital learning environments and processes to ensure learner safety.

Outcomes 5-7 relate specifically to student accommodation. Students studying at Pathways College live and study for 26 weeks of the year within their own community in New Zealand. However, for six one-week blocks, spread throughout the year, students attend block courses which are residential in nature. Consequently, we ensure that all the necessary requirements for the wellbeing and care of students apply when students are at block courses.

Outcomes 8-12 relate to the wellbeing of international students specifically, the information made available to those learners, the enrolment and orientation process as well as processes to ensure international students are kept safe and that there is adequate supervision of these learners. We have very few international students (none in 2023), however, Pathways College recognises that the distinct wellbeing and safety needs of international tertiary learners are well met through sound policies, processes and behaviours that provide an exceptional, enjoyable and productive experience for these learners. For students from countries outside New Zealand, pastoral and spiritual support help can be arranged with spiritual leaders in the appropriate language.

Student Wellbeing

All staff members have an open-door policy in regard to student access to them for assistance in all aspects of learning and spiritual development. Online learners may text, phone or email staff members and can expect a prompt response. Pathways College staff guide students with advice regarding fees-free eligibility, student allowances, loans and student services. Assistance is available through specialist agencies for such matters as hearing disability, physical disability or counselling. Contact with these is the prerogative of the student but advice may be gained through perusing available listings or seeking help through Pathways College staff. Students meet their mentors regularly for support and encouragement. Adjunct faculty and staff accept the privilege and responsibility of praying for all students. Support is also available for students through their placement organisation and the local church they attend. Pastoral care is embedded in the student experience and students are well supported by mentors in their ministry placements, adjunct faculty and the pastoral care team made up of Pathways staff members.

In conducting the self-review of the Code of Practice, we have reviewed policies, practices, procedures and taken into account the student evaluations gathered from courses and student voice through regular discussions and surveys of students and stakeholders. The 2023 self-review process has been focused on ensuring compliance with the Code of Practice and has included:

• Completion of a gap analysis;

• Review of policies and procedures;

• Review of student evaluations and surveys;

• Ensuring our evidence of pastoral care practice and mentoring aligns with the outcomes of the Code;

• Drafting an action plan to highlight areas for further development to ensure continued good practice and compliance.

The result of this self-review has been the identification of some areas in Outcomes 1 and 2 which we would like to strengthen in 2024 so that Pathways College has a comprehensive, whole organisation approach to ensuring student wellbeing and safety is paramount in our policies, processes and everyday behaviours and culture.

Pathways College’s self-assessment against the code is that we sit at the IMPLEMENTED stage. We recognise that our current systems and processes ensure overall compliance with the Code but we have also identified a range of areas where we would like to strengthen and enhance our processes and practices so that our learners remain well considered and the learning environment we provide continues to be safe, inclusive, responsive and a desirable place to study.

Complaints and Grievance Procedures

There are defined procedures for student appeal, complaint, discipline, withdrawal and dismissal.  All such procedures are published in the Student Handbook. Throughout 2022 there were no critical incidents or serious complaints to report, hence there is no data available.

Continuum of Implementation for the Code

 We believe, affirm, and teach 

1. God is. He exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is almighty and has need of nothing. He is eternal.

2. God, who is spirit, has chosen to create space and time and matter, and all that exists. He has planned this in his wisdom and created all things by his power. He has life in himself, and all life has its source in him. He continues to be Lord and active sustainer of this world and all that he has made. 

3. The crown of God’s creation is humanity, whom he has made in his image, and to reflect his glory. He has made Adam and Eve, male and female. To them he has given not only a physical body, but also the “spirit of life” that they might be “living souls” and able to have a personal relationship with their Creator. God has also given them the ability to make their own choices. Our first parents chose to disobey God and have passed on their fallen nature to all humanity. 

4. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came to earth to be the Saviour of the world. He, and he alone, fully reveals God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully human. He lived among us on this earth, spoke the words of God, and did the works of God. He was crucified – an act of sinful men – but his death was also his own act of obedience to God by which he offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was raised to life again by the power of God, on the third day, left the tomb, and after showing himself alive to his disciples, ascended to heaven. 

5. God planned before the world was created that there should be a way of salvation for sinful people. We ourselves are totally unable to achieve peace with God by our own efforts. God has acted in grace and chosen to call men and women into his family and kingdom. At the same time, he invites all people to respond to him by faith in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice, and we are accountable for our choices. As we receive salvation, we are justified, forgiven, born of God, and have the gift of eternal life. By the Spirit of God, we begin to be changed to live according to God’s design, and to become like Christ. Our growing likeness to Christ is evidence of our coming into relationship with God. God’s greatest requirement of us is that we love him with all of our heart, and that we love our neighbours as ourselves. 

6. At the time that anyone receives the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them. It is by the Spirit of God that we are born again. The Holy Spirit is eternal and divine. He reveals Jesus Christ to us. He teaches the truth and communicates the life and power of God to us. 

7. The Holy Spirit has inspired the Scriptures (the Old and New Testaments). The Scriptures are God’s Word. They are sufficient for our guidance and are our final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. Scripture is true and fully reliable. We do not judge Scripture – rather, we stand under its judgement, and seek in humility to understand it by the Spirit’s aid, and then obey. 

8. All who have received salvation become members of Christ’s church. They are his disciples. To them is given the task and privilege of being his ambassadors to represent their master to the world, and to proclaim the good news of reconciliation to God through Christ’s sacrifice. 

The Church functions as a body. God by his Spirit gives gifts which equip every member to contribute to the church’s ministry, and, for the church to be healthy, every member must be playing his or her part. All believers are priests, with access to God in prayer and worship solely on the ground of Christ’s sacrifice. 

The typical pattern of church government presented by the New Testament is that of oversight by a group of elders. This provides the pattern for church leadership in our own day. 

Christ has asked his disciples to remember him regularly in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (or Communion). This is a focus of the shared spiritual life of the Church and expresses the unity of believers in Christ. 

Baptism by immersion in water is a symbolic act in which believers publicly declare their commitment to Christ. 

9. Evil is real. Satan, the enemy of God, is active in this world. There is a hell as well as a heaven. But Satan, sin and death have been overcome by Christ in his death and resurrection. 

10. The salvation which God has planned for His people is not yet complete. Christ will soon return to this world as King of kings. Evil is yet to be finally put down in a process of judgement and in this process, God’s people are vindicated. The truth of God’s promises to Israel will also be vindicated in a time of blessing for the nation. The dead will be raised – those who have been born of God to eternal joy, and the unrepentant to eternal sorrow. Creation will be renewed, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. All creatures will sing God’s praise.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi: A Founding Document of Aotearoa New Zealand

In 1840, many Māori chiefs and the British crown entered into an agreement together by signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), which now serves as the primary founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Tiriti details the mutual commitment of tangata whenua (Māori) and tauiwi (non-Māori) to cooperation and partnership.

The Betrayal of Te Tiriti and Its Lasting Effects on Māori

Te Tiriti was, in part, the brainchild of certain Crown representatives whose hearts and minds had been profoundly shaped by the gospel. The impetus behind this covenant was to guard against the exploitation of Māori, as had happened to other indigenous peoples colonised previously. But the Crown failed to meet many of its obligations agreed upon through the signing of Te Tiriti, and the betrayal of that commitment has had devastating and lasting effects upon Māori and upon Aotearoa New Zealand.

Pathways’ Treaty Obligations as Church and Crown Representatives

Pathways’ Treaty obligations stem from our status as being both part of the church and representatives of the Crown. First, given our adherence to the gospel that so significantly informed Te Tiriti, we are committed to the spirit of loving partnership outlined by this agreement. Māori also refer to the Treaty as Te Kawenata (“the Covenant”), a word with rich scriptural associations. As believers in the “new covenant” of Jesus Christ, in which people from every ethnic group are invited into the family of God, we believe it is our duty and privilege to uphold this covenant, Te Kawanata.

Second, our role in administering qualifications on behalf of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority requires that we fulfil those duties originally agreed to by the Crown. Māori who enrol or otherwise work with Pathways are, in a sense, engaging with the New Zealand government. This means that our Treaty obligations are informed not only generally by our status as Pākehā, but also specifically as Crown representatives.

Honouring Treaty Partnerships through Listening to and Learning from Māori

One way we seek to honour our role as Treaty partners is by listening to and learning from Māori so that we can better serve Māori communities. It is critical that we adopt this “listening posture” to avoid acting in ignorance and to guard against perpetuating the colonising tendencies of many predominantly Pākehā institutions. As we genuinely listen to Māori voices, we will be better positioned to, in partnership with Māori, shape the future of our college in ways that will promote the flourishing of tangata whenua.

A Vision for Māori Flourishing through Quality Education and Strong Engagement

Our vision for Māori flourishing is given shape by the two-pronged approach identified in Ka Hikitia educational strategy, that will see “Māori enjoying and achieving education success as Māori”. First, we aim to provide quality education for Māori. We have in our strategic plan the goal of improving staff and faculty competency in Māori language and culture, so that te ao Māori and matauranga Māori will be better incorporated into our teaching. Second, we aim for strong engagement with Māori. To that end, we are actively cultivating relationships with local iwi in order to form productive partnerships that will create opportunities for Māori to meaningfully shape our college’s offerings.

We take our Treaty obligations seriously, because we believe that when Māori flourish, we as a church and a nation will all flourish.

For marketing purposes, from time to time, we collect personal information from you, including information about your:

• name

• contact information

• location

• interactions with us

We collect your personal information in order to:

• help people understand our business

Providing some information is optional. If you choose not to enter a name, email or phone number, we'll be unable to provide additional information..

We keep your information safe by storing it and only allowing certain staff to access it .

You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact us at info@pathways.ac.nz, or 7 Oak Lane, Judea, Tauranga 3110.