Don’t worry, you’re not doing this alone - there’s lots of support available to you. eCampus NZ provides a supportive learning environment for all learners. We’re here to help.
If need academic support, advice about planning and time management, help managing your mental and emotional wellbeing, or support with anything else that is stopping you from enjoying your study and reaching your potential, don’t be afraid to reach out. If you’re not sure who to ask, start with your student advisor. Our student advisors love hearing from learners, and can connect with your whānau if you fill in a consent form (ask your advisor if you'd like to do so). If we can’t help, we’ll connect you with someone who can.
You’ll find detailed information about the support services available to you on our Getting Support page.
Reach out. Sometimes, life presents unexpected challenges and obstacles. The most important thing for you to know is that we’re here to help.
If you’re struggling with course content or submitting assignments, please contact your facilitator.
If you’re finding it difficult to juggle your busy life with the demands of the course, or something else is getting in the way of your study, get in touch with your student advisor.
We’ll do all we can to help. Options available to you include:
You’ll find more information about the support services available to you on the Getting Support page.
Smarthinking is a live, on-demand tutoring service that will help you get the academic help you may need, when you need it. You can submit assignments for feedback, request live online tutorials and ask questions for academic guidance.
For login instructions, visit our Smarthinking page.
When you need help with or want to chat about your studies.
Your course facilitators will help you with your academic progress within your course, including giving you guidance and feedback on assessments, helping you access and understand course materials and answering your course-related questions.
For further information about how your facilitator can help you, visit our Getting Support page.
When something is getting in the way of your studies (or you just want to chat and celebrate your achievements!)
The student advisor team can provide advice about study skills, refer you to on-campus support services and help you with anything else that is getting in the way of your studies.
For further information on when to contact the student advisor team, visit our Getting Support page.
Yes, you can access your enrolling institute’s online and on-campus library services. You can visit your local campus and request both a library card and a student ID card.
Visit our Library Services page for information on how to access your institute’s library website and databases.
Incidents of online bullying or harassment are rare on eCampus NZ as the learning environment is monitored carefully. If they do occur, they are taken seriously.
If you ever feel unsafe or experience/witness racism, discrimination, or bullying on eCampus NZ, please report it to your student advisor immediately. Click here to send a direct message.
Visit our Positive Communication Online page for relevant policies and resources.
For information about the policies and regulations that apply within the eCampus NZ portal and community, visit our policies and procedures page.
You’ll also find links to the policies and procedures from your institute.
Plagiarism means taking someone else’s ideas and presenting them as if they’re your own. This can happen on purpose, but it can also happen by accident.
The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is to use referencing to make it very clear when you have included quotes and ideas from your research in your work. This is called ‘referencing’. At eCampus NZ, we use a referencing style called ‘APA’. You’ll find more information on our APA Referencing page.
We also use a plagiarism detection tool called Turnitin. Visit our Turnitin page to learn how to check your assessments for plagiarism before you submit them.
Referencing is used to show readers where ideas and quotes from other sources have been used in a piece of academic writing.
Referencing helps your facilitator to tell the difference between original ideas and the research you used to form them. One of your responsibilities as a learner is to avoid plagiarism, so it’s important to follow referencing guidelines when you submit coursework and assignments.
There are several different referencing styles, each with its own rules. At eCampus NZ, we use APA.
You’ll find more information on our APA Referencing page.
It’s highly likely that you will use texts, readings, images, and videos from your course materials when you’re completing assessments.
You’ll find a list of all resources used in your course under ‘Reference list’ on your Course overview. These are in APA format and can be copied directly into your reference list.
You’ll find more information on our APA Referencing page.
eCampus NZ uses an online tool called Turnitin to check your assignments against the content of other websites and databases.
Turnitin helps your facilitator to tell the difference between original ideas and information you found through research. Turnitin can also help you to find any examples of plagiarism within your document before you submit it for assessment.
For detailed information on how to submit assignments using Turnitin, visit our Turnitin page
eCampus NZ will do the best we can to help you complete your course requirements. We offer flexible learning – you choose when and where you learn.
However, you are expected to manage your time carefully and complete all course and assessment requirements by the due dates posted on the Assessment Requirements section of your course. Occasionally, you may not be able to finish an assessment on time due to a situation outside of your control.
If this happens, there are a few options available to you, including requesting an extension. If you fail to submit an assessment on time without submitting an extension requests, you will be subject to late assessment penalties.
Late assessment penalties: achievement based assessments:
Day | Impact on assessment marks |
Submission date 00.01 minute to 24.00 hours late | Deduct 10% from assessment mark (award 90% of mark) |
Submission date Between 24.01 hours and 48.00 hours late | Deduct 20% from assessment mark (award 80% of mark) |
Submission date Between 48.01 hours and 72.00 hours late | Deduct 30% from assessment mark (award 70% of mark) |
Submission date Between 72.01 hours and 96.00 hours late | Deduct 40% from assessment mark (award 60% of mark) |
Submission date Between 96.01 hours and 120.00 hours late | Deduct 50% from assessment mark (award 50% of mark) |
Submission date More than 5 days after due date (after 120.01 hours) | Assessment not marked. Awarded zero mark. |
Late assessment penalties: compentency based assessments:
If the assessment is then submitted on Days 1-5 (0.01 minute to 120.00 hours late) the assessment will be marked, but there will be no opportunity for a resubmission.
Visit our Applying for an Extension page for more information.
If you can’t complete an assessment by the due date because of unforeseeable circumstances, please request an extension as early as possible. You will be asked to provide appropriate evidence to support your request.
For detailed information on how to apply for an extension, visit our Applying for an Extension page.
Remember, you can always reach out to your facilitator or student advisor if you’re not sure what to do.
If you submit an assessment late without an approved extension, you will be subject to late assessment penalties.
Late assessment penalties: achievement based assessments:
Day | Impact on assessment marks |
Submission date 00.01 minute to 24.00 hours late | Deduct 10% from assessment mark (award 90% of mark) |
Submission date Between 24.01 hours and 48.00 hours late | Deduct 20% from assessment mark (award 80% of mark) |
Submission date Between 48.01 hours and 72.00 hours late | Deduct 30% from assessment mark (award 70% of mark) |
Submission date Between 72.01 hours and 96.00 hours late | Deduct 40% from assessment mark (award 60% of mark) |
Submission date Between 96.01 hours and 120.00 hours late | Deduct 50% from assessment mark (award 50% of mark) |
Submission date More than 5 days after due date (after 120.01 hours) | Assessment not marked. Awarded zero mark. |
Late assessment penalties: compentency based assessments:
If the assessment is then submitted on Days 1-5 (0.01 minute to 120.00 hours late) the assessment will be marked, but there will be no opportunity for a resubmission.
An aegrotat pass may be awarded if you can’t complete an assessment due to critical personal circumstances and can show evidence that you have achieved the learning outcomes through other coursework.
Your enrolling institute will decide whether you meet the criteria for an aegrotat pass.
For information on eligibility and how to apply, visit our Applying for an Aegrotat Pass page.
Researching involves gathering information on a topic, assessing what you find, and then presenting it in your own writing in a clear and logical manner. It is important to conduct research before you begin an assessment.
Visit our Research, Assessment Planning, Library Services, and APA Referencing pages for information and resources to help you get started.
Different assignment types have different rules. Visit our Learning Support pages for information and resources to help you get started.and conventions.
Your student advisor is always on hand if you want personalised help with study skills, time management, critical thinking and academic writing.
You’ll also find information and resources to help you develop study skills on our Time Management and Study Skills pages.
Some eCampus NZ courses use online quizzes or tests to assess learning. These may count towards your final grade.
You’ll find information about how to prepare for, navigate and review online quizzes and tests on our Completing Online Tests and Quizzes page.
This page also includes instructions on what you should do if you encounter technical issues when completing a quiz.
You will submit assessments to your facilitator through the eCampus NZ portal. For detailed instructions on how to upload your assessments, see our Submitting and Resubmitting Assessments page.
Formative assessment is assessment for learning. Formative assessments can take many forms, including activities, informal feedback from your facilitator and comments on your forum posts.
Summative assessment tasks formally assess whether you have achieved the learning outcomes for the course.
You will receive written feedback and your marks for summative assessments count towards your final grade for the course.
There are lots of IT support resources available on our Technical Support pages.
In addition, our IT Support team are available if you encounter technical issues when using the eCampus NZ platform.
They are available on Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm and can be contacted by email at [email protected] or on by phone on 0800 328 269 (choose option 2).
If you have an issue outside of these hours, please email or leave a message with our answer services and our team will get back to you.
You’ll use the eCampus NZ portal to access your learning materials, connect with your facilitator and classmates, and submit your assignments.
As the eCampus NZ learning environment may be new to you, we recommend giving yourself time to become familiar with the eCampus NZ portal before your course starts. To help you with this, it’s a good idea to work your way through our Getting Started toolkit.
You’ll also find information about using the eCampus NZ portal on our Using the eCampus NZ Portal page.
You can use the forums on the eCampus NZ portal to start and join conversations with classmates and your course facilitator.
You may be asked to contribute to a forum as part of an assignment. You’ll find detailed instructions on how to contribute to a forum on our Contributing to a Forum page.
The eCampus NZ portal automatically opens some links in new windows or tabs and you may need to enable pop-ups in your browser settings.
You’ll find instructions on how to change your pop-up settings on our Using the eCampus NZ Portal page.
Checking off each section as you complete it will help you, your facilitator, and your advisor monitor your progress.
Click the circle next to each sub-section once you have completed the learning activities. The circle will then change to a green tick.
Your course progress bar will grow as you tick off each of the sub-sections.
Office 365 is web-based version of the classic Microsoft Office suite. With eCampus NZ, you can use Microsoft’s Office 365 at no cost to you. You will find a link to your free Microsoft Office 365 account on the main navigation menu of your learner dashboard.
This gives you access to a range of applications such as Outlook, Work, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Sway.
You’ll find further information and login instructions on our Office 365 page.
Microsoft 365 has announced that that from November 1, 2020, Chromebook users can no longer download and install Office 365 apps to your computer. However, you will still be able to access and use the online versions of Microsoft Office 365 apps as usual.
If you have already installed Office 365 on your Chromebook, the applications will continue to function but from November 1st, you will no longer receive updates or security fixes.
Visit our Office 365 page to learn how to access the web-based apps from the eCampus NZ portal.
As of May 23, 2022, Outlook for Android no longer supports Android 7.1 or below. You will need to upgrade your Android operating system to Android 8.0.
Don’t worry, you can still access Outlook on your laptop through your Office 365 account.
Some courses use Xero accounting software to complete tasks.
Learners using the eCampus NZ platform can access the software for free.
You'll find information and login instructions on our Xero Accounting Software page.
OneDrive is the file storage part of Microsoft’s Office 365. Think of it as a hard drive that is accessed via the internet. This kind of file storage is also known as ‘cloud storage’.
We recommend OneDrive as a secure place to store your files. We have created detailed instructions to help you get started with OneNote. You’ll find these on our Office 365 page.
Microsoft Access is a database management system. You can download Microsoft Access for free as part of your ECampus NZ NZ Office 365 subscription.
You cannot access Microsoft Access from the navigation menu on your learner dashboard.
Visit our Office 365 page for instructions on how to download and install Microsoft Access.
Linkedin Learning (which comes free for eCampus NZ learners!) is a website that offers video courses and resources created by industry experts.
We have created detailed instructions to help you get started with Linkedin Learning at no cost to you. You’ll find these on our Linkedin Learning page.
LinkedIn Learning regularly updates course content.
However, sometimes we use material from courses that LinkedIn Learning has removed from its portfolio. Don't worry - we're using this content because it meets the needs of your course.
If you see there is a newer version of a video available, please feel free to let your facilitator know.
You may have been asked to access a board on Padlet. For information about how to use these great learning apps, please visit our Online Lerarning Tools and Apps page.
We recommend completing the course on the portal so you can easily track your progress and don’t miss out on any valuable learning activities. However, you can print from the portal by selecting Print on the bottom of each course page.
eCampus NZ values feedback from our learners. You’ll find instructions about how to submit feedback on our Feedback page.
If you would like to cancel or withdraw from a course, contact your student advisor as soon as possible to discuss your options.
For information about cancelling your course, withdrawing from a course, or transferring into a new course, visit our Unable to Complete your Course? page.
If you would like to transfer into a course with a later start date, contact your student advisor as soon as possible to discuss your options.
For information about transferring into a later course occurrence, visit our Unable to Complete your Course? page.
If you would like to make changes to your programme of study, please contact your student advisor to discuss your options. For more information, visit our Unable to Complete your Course? page.
Courses cannot be put on hold, but there are things we can do to help you if you are unable to complete your course. For more information, visit our Unable to Complete your Course? page.
Your facilitator will mark the assessments you complete throughout the course and will give you feedback on what you’ve done well and areas you may need to work on.
At the end of your course (usually within 2-3 weeks of the course end date) your assessment results and provisional course result will be sent to your enrolling institute for final approval. You will receive your confirmed course result from them. They will let you know how to access the result, and when it is available.
Your institute will approve the award of a qualification when you have met all course requirements.
No, not all courses need to contain unit standards. Courses delivered wholly online by eCampus NZ do not contain unit standards. All courses successfully completed will be listed on your academic transcript.
All qualifications awarded will be listed on your NZQA Record of Achievement.
Digital badges are electronic versions of paper certificates. They are becoming a popular way to showcase skills and achievements online. You can share your badge directly from the Acclaim Platform to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook; over email; embedded in a website or in your email signature. Find out more here.
You will be sent an email from Credly's Acclaim platform ([email protected]) with instructions for claiming your badge and setting up your account when your results have been finalised. When you receive it, simply follow the instructions in the email to claim and share your badge.
You will receive the email that contains your digital badge once you have completed all courses in your programme of study and your results have been finalised. Look for an email from [email protected]
We have partnered with Credly to translate the learning outcomes you’ve demonstrated into a badge, issued and managed through the company’s Acclaim Platform.
While badges are simply digital image files, they are uniquely linked to data hosted on Credly’s Acclaim Platform. This link to verified data makes them more
reliable and secure than a paper-based certificate. It also eliminates the possibility of anyone claiming your credential and your associated identity.
