DRAFT v2.0
Draft Version Two

Common Student Centric Data Standard

A unified, denormalised data standard for Aotearoa's tertiary sector - designed for analysts, data scientists and faculty to use for analysis, reporting and building models.

Student Enrolment Completion Interaction GPA Snapshot Publication ML
The Problem

Why a New Standard?

Data built for students, not funding

Tertiary data systems across Aotearoa were historically built around funding requirements (EFTS, government returns). They serve compliance and revenue well, but not the people working directly with students.

A lecturer sees 122 students in a lecture theatre. The data system sees 15.25 EFTS across multiple funding lines. These are fundamentally different views of the same reality.

Basic questions like “How many first-year students are in my course?” or “How many are first in whānau?” remain surprisingly difficult to answer at most institutions.

No common language

What exactly is a “student”? Do they take courses or EFTS? Is a full-time load 120 credits or 1.0 EFTS? The answer depends on who you ask and which institution they work at.

Analysts at different institutions, or even within the same institution, may use slightly different definitions. Academics find that reports do not match the reality of their classrooms or what they see in the LMS.

A shared language across the sector would enable real collaboration between organisations, allowing innovative models and dashboards to be shared, validated and built on.

A student-centred approach

The CSCDS puts the student at the centre rather than funding. It brings together demographics, enrolments, academic progress, completions, and support interactions into one coherent structure with clear, sector-wide definitions.

The standard is technology-agnostic and does not require institutions to share student data. It defines how we structure and describe information, not how we implement it.

Developed as a sector-wide collaboration for the public good, the standard is open source and freely available to all tertiary institutions in Aotearoa.

Foundations

Design Principles

01

Student Centric

All entities relate back to the student as the primary subject.

02

Denormalised

Optimised for analytical queries rather than transactional operations.

03

Interoperable

Field and entity aliases let each institution use its own terminology while sharing a common standard.

04

Extensible

Institutions can extend the schema with institution-specific fields.

Data Architecture

Medallion Architecture

The CSCDS specifies a Gold Layer schema. Raw data flows from source systems through cleaning and validation before reaching this analytics-ready standard.

🥉 Bronze

Raw data from source systems (SMS, LMS, Scheduling). Data may be messy, non-relational and come in a variety of formats including JSON, CSV or XML.

→

🥈 Silver

Cleaned, validated, and conformed data. A canonical data model such as MortarCAPS (MCDS) could serve as the silver layer, mapping source systems into a common structure.

→

🥇 Gold - CSCDS

Denormalised, analytics-ready view. This is the CSCDS. It is designed primarily for ease of use by end-users for reporting and answering questions. End users include academics, administrators, data analysts and data scientists.

Data Model

Entity Relationships

Nine entities centred on the Student. Click any entity to jump to its schema definition.

1:N 1:N 1:N 1:N 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:N Student GPA Course Enrolment Paper Enrolment Completion Interaction Publication Student Snapshot Course ML Paper ML Completion Subject relationship self-referencing 1:N = one-to-many 1:1 = one-to-one
Schema

Entity Definitions

Each entity's full field specification, types, and allowed values.

Student26 fields

PK: StudentID
▼

The central entity. Each record represents a single student identified by a unique StudentID. Captures demographics, equity indicators, residency status, and institutional context.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Primary identifier. Unique 8-digit ID assigned upon first contact with enrolment services.
MortarCAPS student.studentID
NSN ▾ String Yes 987654321 National Student Number. Unique identifier assigned for life across NZ education systems. Use only when joining datasets without StudentID.
MortarCAPS person.personUniqueIDs[] (systemID=NSN)
DomesticResident ▾ String Yes NZ Citizen Indicates whether the student is a NZ Citizen, Overseas, or Permanent Resident.
Values
Overseas NZ Citizen Permanent Resident
MortarCAPS person.residencyStatus
FeeType ▾ String Yes Domestic Specifies whether a fee is of Domestic or Full-Fee type.
Values
Domestic Full Fee
Gender ▾ String Yes Female Student gender as specified on their enrolment form.
Values
Female Male Another Gender Unknown
MortarCAPS person.gender
EthnicityPriority ▾ String Yes Other Specifies the prioritized ethnicity out of three ethnicities declared by a student.
Values
Not Stated Asian Maori Other Pasifika Middle East Latin America & African NZ European/Pakeha & Other European
IsMāori ▾ IsMaori String No Y Indicates whether the student identified as Māori. Values: 'Y','N'.
Values
Y N
Alias IsMaori
MortarCAPS person.indigenous (classification)
IsPasifika ▾ String No Y Indicates whether the student identified as Pasifika. Values: 'Y','N'.
Values
Y N
MortarCAPS derived from person.ethnicity
CountryOfBirth ▾ String Yes New Zealand Student's country of origin.
MortarCAPS person.countryOfBirth
ResidentType ▾ String Yes ACZD Historic citizenship categories usually based on what kind of tuition fee the student pays and what type of fee is paid. Includes values: OSFF, ACZD, ODAS, OPHD, OSEC, NZPR, OSDP, NZCZ, OSSA. The ones starting with "O" fall into the Overseas category.
Values
NZPR ACZD NZCZ Overseas
MortarCAPS person.residencyStatus
AgeSpread ▾ String Yes 25-34 Grouped age measure. Ages as of 1 July in Academic year of enrolment. Includes values: Below 18, 18-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, Over 64.
Values
25-34 45-54 Over 64 35-44 Below 18 55-64 20-24 18-19
MortarCAPS derived from person.dateOfBirth
DOB ▾ Date No 1997-07-09 Student's date of birth
MortarCAPS person.dateOfBirth
Age ▾ Number No 27 Calculated from date of birth (Age as of 1 July in Academic year).
MortarCAPS derived from person.dateOfBirth
FirstInFamily ▾ String Yes Y Indicates if student is first in immediate family to attend university. Values: 'Y','N'.
Values
Y N
MortarCAPS person.isFirstInFamily
AdmissionReason ▾ String Yes NZ UE Through NCEA Reason for admission including circumstances such as NCEA results, transfer, provisional admission.
Values
NZ UE Through NCEA Academic Equivalent Standing with Graduate Status NZ UE (prior to 1986) ...
MortarCAPS admission.offerBasis / studyApplication.entryType
YearFirstTertiary ▾ Number Yes 2017 First year of formal tertiary education at any institution.
MortarCAPS derived from applicant.educationHistory[].startDate
YearSecondarySchool ▾ Number Yes 2016 Last year the student attended secondary school (NZ or overseas).
MortarCAPS derived from education.endDate (secondaryEducationSchoolType set)
YearAtInstitution ▾ Number Yes 2017 Year the student first enrolled at this institution.
MortarCAPS derived from min(programmeOfLearningEnrolment.startDate)
SchoolRegion ▾ String Yes Tasman Region Region where student's secondary school was located.
Values
Auckland Region Wellington Region Canterbury Region Waikato Region ...
MortarCAPS education.organisations[].locations[].address.administrativeArea
SchoolMOECode ▾ String Yes 319 Unique number assigned to each education provider - also referred to as the Ministry of Education number or provider code.
MortarCAPS education.organisations[].organisationCode
SchoolDeprivationIndex ▾ Number Yes 8 New Zealand index of socioeconomic deprivation.
Values
1-10 0 Overseas Invalid
NCEABest80Score Number Yes 320 Student's best NCEA score calculated across 80 credits.
TotalYearsEnrolled Number No 3 Count of distinct calendar years in which the student has been enrolled at the institution.
FullPartTime ▾ String Yes Full Student workload classification. For the course to be approved as full-time, the length of that course must meet a certain EFTS value. 'Full' = at least 0.8 EFTS.
Values
Full Part Zero EFTS Only
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearningEnrolment.studyMode (commitmentType)
StudentEntryType ▾ String Yes Returning Top-level classification of how the student entered the University for their current period of study.
Values
Returning School Leaver New
StudentEntrySubType ▾ String Yes Non-STAR Fine-grained sub-classification within StudentEntryType. "Returning" includes: Returning, Returning Recent, Returning Historic. "School Leaver" includes: STAR, Non-STAR. "New" includes: International, New, Unknown, STAR.
Values
Returning Returning Recent Returning Historic STAR Non-STAR International New Unknown

Course EnrolmentPaper Enrolment33 fields

PK: StudentID + CourseInstance
▼

One record per student per course instance (some institutions call this a Paper Enrolment). Captures what each student is studying, their grades, credit points, and enrolment status. Linked to Student by StudentID.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Student entity.
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningEnrolment.studentID
CourseInstance ▾ PaperInstance String No CINE301-25S2 (C) Part of composite primary key. Course instance code indicating subject, year, semester, and site.
Alias PaperInstance
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.unitOfLearningAvailabilityID
CourseCode ▾ PaperCode String No CINE301 Shortened course code without semester/year indicator.
Alias PaperCode
MortarCAPS unitOfLearning.unitOfLearningCode
CourseSubject ▾ PaperSubject String Yes ANTH 4-letter subject indicator (e.g., INFO, TEDU, HSRV).
Alias PaperSubject
CourseMOETitle ▾ PaperMOETitle String Yes Statistics 1 Ministry of Education course title.
Alias PaperMOETitle
MortarCAPS unitOfLearning.unitOfLearningName
CourseEnrolmentYear ▾ PaperEnrolmentYear Number No 2025 A year when a student enrols in a course.
Alias PaperEnrolmentYear
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.learningPeriod.year
AcademicYear Number No 2025 Academic year.
CalendarYear ▾ Number No 2025 Calendar year.
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.learningPeriod.year
CourseStartDate ▾ PaperStartDate Date Yes 2025-07-14 Official course occurrence start date, or individual start date for postgraduates.
Alias PaperStartDate
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.learningPeriod.startDate
CourseEndDate ▾ PaperEndDate Date Yes 2025-11-09 Official course occurrence end date, or individual end date for postgraduates.
Alias PaperEndDate
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.learningPeriod.endDate
LearningPeriod ▾ PaperSemester String Yes Semester Two Semester Indicator Description
Values
Term Two Full Year Semester One Semester Two MBA Two Summer School ...
Alias PaperSemester
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.learningPeriod.learningPeriodName
CourseEnrolmentStatus ▾ PaperEnrolmentStatus String No ENR Enrolment status. Values: ENR (Enrolled), WD (Withdrawn), WDFR (Withdrawn For Refund), PRE (Pre-Enrollment) and ATE (Application to Enrol).
Values
ENR WD PRE ATE WDFR
Alias PaperEnrolmentStatus
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningEnrolment.status
ResultGrade ▾ String Yes B Letter grade awarded for course performance.
Values
A+ A B+ B C D E Pass Fail ...
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningEnrolment.result.grade
ResultSummary ▾ String Yes Pass High level summary of the course result.
Values
Pass Incomplete Fail Not Applicable.
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningEnrolment.result.outcome
ResultValue ▾ Number Yes 5 The value assigned to the ResultGrade. For example "A+" is 9.
Values
0-9 -1 -3
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningEnrolment.result.gradePoint
CoursePoints ▾ PaperPoints Number Yes 15 Points a student can earn from the course (not necessarily earned if failed). This is sometimes casually referred to as "credits".
Alias PaperPoints
MortarCAPS unitOfLearning.creditPoints (studyCredit)
CourseNZQFStage ▾ PaperNZQFStage String Yes Stage 3 (NZQF 7) NZQF stage. Use to exclude micro-credentials.
Values
Stage 1 (NZQF 5) Stage 2 (NZQF 6) Stage 3 (NZQF 7) PG Taught PG Masters Thesis ...
Alias PaperNZQFStage
MortarCAPS unitOfLearning.courseLevel (courseLevelType)
DeliverySite ▾ PaperSite String Yes C Course location indicator.
Values
Institution-specific site codes
Alias PaperSite
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.location
CourseDistance ▾ PaperDistance String Yes N Indicates if course is delivered by distance or online.
Values
Y N
Alias PaperDistance
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.attendanceMode (attendanceModeType)
CourseOwningFaculty ▾ String Yes Faculty of Arts Faculty responsible for course funding/administration.
Values
Faculty of Arts Faculty of Science Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Education Faculty of Health Faculty of Law Business Service Units ...
MortarCAPS unitOfLearning.responsibleOrganisations[] (organisationRole)
CourseOwningDepartment ▾ String Yes Humanities Department responsible for course funding/administration.
Values
Institution-specific department names
MortarCAPS unitOfLearning.responsibleOrganisations[] (organisationRole)
TeachingFacultyConcat ▾ String Yes Arts; Science Semicolon-concatenated list of faculties teaching the course.
MortarCAPS LISTAGG of unitOfLearningAvailability.responsibleOrganisations[]
TeachingDepartmentConcat ▾ String Yes Biological Sciences; School of Health Science Semicolon-concatenated list of departments teaching the course.
MortarCAPS LISTAGG of unitOfLearningAvailability.responsibleOrganisations[]
CoursePeriodSpan ▾ PaperPeriodSpan Number Yes 1 Calculated field (End Year - Start Year + 1).
Alias PaperPeriodSpan
QualificationCode ▾ ProgrammeCode String Yes BA Short code for degree programme (e.g., BA, BSc).
Alias ProgrammeCode
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningCode
QualificationTitle ▾ ProgrammeTitle String Yes Bachelor of Arts Full title of the student's programme of study.
Alias ProgrammeTitle
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningName
NZQCFLevel ▾ String Yes 7 New Zealand Qualification Level as per New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).
Values
0 6 7 8 5 4 9 10
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.levelOfEducation (classification) (localised classification - see levels-of-education-classifications.json)
QualificationFaculty ▾ ProgrammeFaculty String Yes Faculty of Arts Faculty responsible for programme.
Values
Faculty of Arts Faculty of Science Faculty of Engineering Business School ...
Alias ProgrammeFaculty
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.responsibleOrganisations[]
ProgrammeIsUnderGraduate ▾ String Yes UnderGraduateMarket Market classification.
Values
GraduateMarket UnderGraduateMarket
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.qualificationType (classification)
ProgrammeQualConcat ▾ String Yes BA; BA/LLB; LLB (HONS) Semicolon-concatenated list of all qualifications actively pursued.
MortarCAPS LISTAGG across programmeOfLearningEnrolment[].programmeOfLearning
MOEQualCode ▾ String Yes CN0101 Ministry of Education National Qualification Code.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningUniqueIDs[] (systemID=MOE)
YearAtQualification ▾ Number Yes 2 Number of years enrolled in a specific qualification/programme. Excludes gaps or unrelated programmes.
MortarCAPS derived from programmeOfLearningEnrolment.startDate
IsMicroCredential ▾ String Yes N Indicates if course is a micro-credential.
Values
Y N
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.qualificationType (classification value)

Completion12 fields

PK: StudentID + CompletionYear + QualificationCode
▼

Records qualifications completed by each student. One record per student per qualification per completion year. Includes qualification level, NZQF classification, and completion status.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Student entity.
MortarCAPS award.studentID
CompletionYear ▾ Number No 2004 Part of composite primary key. Calendar Year when the Completion is approved by the university.
MortarCAPS derived from award.completionDate
QualificationCode ▾ String No BE(HONS) Part of composite primary key. Code representing the specific qualification completed. Institution specific. Some institutions call this Programme or Degree.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningCode
QualificationLong ▾ String No Bachelor of Data Science Full Qualification name. Organizations may define this as MOE Qualification title.
MortarCAPS qualification.qualificationName
LevelOfHonours ▾ String Yes Third Class Honours Honours designation or grading received.
Values
First Class Honours Second Class Honours Pass Distinction ...
MortarCAPS award.honoursClass
QualificationFaculty ▾ String Yes Faculty of Engineering Academic faculty (or division) responsible for awarding the qualification, including PhDs.
Values
Faculty of Arts Faculty of Science Faculty of Engineering Business School ...
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.responsibleOrganisations[]
NZQCFLevel ▾ Number Yes 7 New Zealand Qualification Level as per New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).
Values
9 10 4 5 0 6 7 8
MortarCAPS award.levelsOfEducation[] (classification)
QualificationPointsValue ▾ Number Yes 360 Total points required to complete the programme.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.creditPoints.value
MOEQualCode ▾ String No CN0604 Ministry of Education National Qualification Code.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningUniqueIDs[] (systemID=MOE)
QualificationAwardCategoryName ▾ String Yes Bachelor with Honours Descriptive name of qualification awarded per TEC/QAC categorisation.
Values
Bachelors (including intermediate) Masters PhD and Other Doctorates Graduate Diploma ...
MortarCAPS qualification.qualificationType (classification)
ProgrammeEFTSValue ▾ Number Yes 4 Total EFTS required to complete the programme.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.totalStudentLoad (EFTSL)
IsMicroCredential ▾ String Yes N Indicates if completion is a micro-credential.
Values
Y N
MortarCAPS qualification.qualificationType (classification value)

Completion Subject7 fields

PK: StudentID+CompletionYear+QualificationCode+SubjectType+Subject
▼

Breaks down each completion into its component subjects, majors, and minors. Linked to the Completion entity by StudentID, CompletionYear, and QualificationCode.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Foreign key to Student entity.
MortarCAPS areaOfLearningEnrolment.studentID
CompletionYear Number No 2021 Calendar Year when the Completion is approved by the university.
QualificationCode ▾ String No BCOM Part of composite primary key. Code representing the specific qualification completed. Institution specific. Some institutions call this Programme or Degree.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningCode
MOEQualCode ▾ String No CN0401 Ministry of Education National Qualification Code.
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearning.programmeOfLearningUniqueIDs[] (systemID=MOE)
SubjectTypeGroup ▾ String Yes Major A high-level classification of the academic subject based on its role within the completed qualification.
Values
Specialisation Minor Major Teaching Subject Null Main Subject Endorsement Combined Honours
MortarCAPS areaOfLearning.areaOfLearningType
SubjectType ▾ String Yes Second Major The type or category of subject recorded for the completion, taken from the source SubjectOptions text.
Values
Major Minor Endorsement Specialisation ...
MortarCAPS areaOfLearning.areaOfLearningType
Subject ▾ String Yes Information Systems The specific subject or discipline completed by the student, as recorded in the source data.
MortarCAPS areaOfLearning.areaOfLearningName

Interaction10 fields

PK: InteractionID
▼

Records support interactions and advisory contacts with students. Supports threaded conversations through a parent interaction reference. Includes interaction type, channel, and category.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
InteractionID ▾ Number No 87324850 Primary identifier for the interaction.
MortarCAPS interaction.interactionID
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Foreign key to Student entity.
MortarCAPS interaction.personID
DateNoteCreated ▾ Date Yes 2025-08-01 Date when the note was created.
MortarCAPS interaction.createdDate
Category ▾ String Yes Student Advisor Interaction category. May be null or hidden based on sensitivity.
MortarCAPS interaction.interactionType
Code String Yes B Code applied to category or sub-category. May be faculty name or other identifier.
PriorityLevel ▾ Number Yes 2 Importance/severity level or process stage indicator.
MortarCAPS interaction.priority
ParentID Number Yes 87324843 Parent interaction ID if this is part of a thread. Self-referencing FK.
Status ▾ String Yes Resolved State of the case e.g. Active (0), Resolved (1), Cancelled (2).
MortarCAPS interaction.status
DateNoteClosed ▾ Date Yes 2025-08-01 Date when the note was closed.
MortarCAPS derived from interaction.lastModifiedDate
OwningUnit ▾ String Yes Graduate School Service unit or department that owns the interaction.
MortarCAPS interaction.owner

Student Snapshot32 fields

PK: StudentID + CourseInstance
▼

A point-in-time capture of a student's profile at the start of each course. Includes all Student fields plus course-specific context. Enables analysis of student characteristics at the time of enrolment rather than at time of reporting.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No “12345678” Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Student entity.
MortarCAPS student.studentID
CourseInstance ▾ PaperInstance String No “CINE301-25S2 (C)” Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Course Enrolment entity.
Alias PaperInstance
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.unitOfLearningAvailabilityID
SnapshotDate Date No 2000-01-01 Date when the capture of the snapshot is being triggered.
OverallGPA ▾ String Yes 3.93 Overall GPA at Qualification/Programme level at time of snapshot. May include special values (e.g., 'N/A').
MortarCAPS aggregated unitOfLearningEnrolment.result.gradePoint
GPA100Level ▾ String Yes 3.67 GPA calculated for 100-level courses only at time of snapshot. May include special values.
MortarCAPS aggregated result.gradePoint filtered by unitOfLearning.level=1
GPA200Level ▾ String Yes 2.88 GPA calculated for 200-level courses only at time of snapshot. May include special values.
MortarCAPS aggregated result.gradePoint filtered by unitOfLearning.level=2
GPA300Level ▾ String Yes 2.88 GPA calculated for 300-level courses only at time of snapshot. May include special values.
MortarCAPS aggregated result.gradePoint filtered by unitOfLearning.level=3
NSN ▾ String Yes 987654321 National Student Number. Unique identifier assigned for life across NZ education systems. Use only when joining datasets without StudentID.
MortarCAPS person.personUniqueIDs[] (systemID=NSN)
DomesticResident ▾ String Yes NZ Citizen Indicates whether the student is a NZ Citizen, Overseas, or Permanent Resident.
Values
Overseas NZ Citizen Permanent Resident
MortarCAPS person.residencyStatus
FeeType ▾ String Yes Domestic Specifies whether a fee is of Domestic or Full-Fee type.
Values
Domestic Full Fee
Gender ▾ String Yes Female Student gender as specified on their enrolment form.
Values
Female Male Another Diverse Unknown
MortarCAPS person.gender
EthnicityPriority ▾ String Yes Other Specifies the prioritized ethnicity out of three ethnicities declared by a student.
Values
Not Stated Asian Maori Other Pasifika Middle East Latin America & African NZ European/Pakeha & Other European
IsMāori ▾ IsMaori String No Y Indicates whether the student identified as Māori. Values: 'Y','N'.
Values
Y N
Alias IsMaori
MortarCAPS person.indigenous (classification)
IsPasifika ▾ String No Y Indicates whether the student identified as Pasifika. Values: 'Y','N'.
Values
Y N
MortarCAPS derived from person.ethnicity
CountryOfBirth ▾ String Yes New Zealand Student's country of origin.
MortarCAPS person.countryOfBirth
ResidentType ▾ String Yes ACZD Historic citizenship categories usually based on what kind of tuition fee the student pays and what type of fee is paid. Includes values: OSFF, ACZD, ODAS, OPHD, OSEC, NZPR, OSDP, NZCZ, OSSA. The ones starting with "O" fall into the Overseas category.
Values
NZPR ACZD NZCZ Overseas
MortarCAPS person.residencyStatus
AgeSpread ▾ String Yes 25-34 Grouped age measure. Ages as of 1 July in Academic year of enrolment. Includes values: Below 18, 18-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, Over 64.
Values
25-34 45-54 Over 64 35-44 Below 18 55-64 20-24 18-19
MortarCAPS derived from person.dateOfBirth
DOB ▾ Date No 1997-07-09 Student's date of birth
MortarCAPS person.dateOfBirth
Age ▾ Number No 27 Calculated from date of birth (Age as of 1 July in Academic year).
MortarCAPS derived from person.dateOfBirth
FirstInFamily ▾ String Yes Y Indicates if student is first in immediate family to attend university. Values: 'Y','N'.
Values
Y N
MortarCAPS person.isFirstInFamily
AdmissionReason ▾ String Yes NZ UE Through NCEA Reason for admission including circumstances such as NCEA results, transfer, provisional admission.
Values
NZ UE Through NCEA Academic Equivalent Standing with Graduate Status NZ UE (prior to 1986) ...
MortarCAPS admission.offerBasis / studyApplication.entryType
YearFirstTertiary ▾ Number Yes 2017 First year of formal tertiary education at any institution.
MortarCAPS derived from applicant.educationHistory[].startDate
YearSecondarySchool ▾ Number Yes 2016 Last year the student attended secondary school (NZ or overseas).
MortarCAPS derived from education.endDate (secondaryEducationSchoolType set)
YearAtInstitution ▾ Number Yes 2017 Year the student first enrolled at this institution.
MortarCAPS derived from min(programmeOfLearningEnrolment.startDate)
SchoolRegion ▾ String Yes Tasman Region Region where student's secondary school was located.
Values
Auckland Region Wellington Region Canterbury Region Waikato Region ...
MortarCAPS education.organisations[].locations[].address.administrativeArea
SchoolMOECode ▾ String Yes 319 Unique number assigned to each education provider - also referred to as the Ministry of Education number or provider code.
MortarCAPS education.organisations[].organisationCode
SchoolDeprivationIndex ▾ Number Yes 8 New Zealand index of socioeconomic deprivation.
Values
1-10 0 Overseas Invalid
NCEABest80Score Number Yes 320 Student's best NCEA score calculated across 80 credits.
TotalYearsEnrolled Number No 3 Count of distinct calendar years in which the student has been enrolled at the institution.
FullPartTime ▾ String Yes Full Student workload classification. For the course to be approved as full-time, the length of that course must meet a certain EFTS value. 'Full' = at least 0.8 EFTS.
Values
Full Part Zero EFTS Only
MortarCAPS programmeOfLearningEnrolment.studyMode (commitmentType)
StudentEntryType ▾ String Yes Returning Top-level classification of how the student entered the University for their current period of study.
Values
Returning School Leaver New
StudentEntrySubType ▾ String Yes Non-STAR Fine-grained sub-classification within StudentEntryType. "Returning" includes: Returning, Returning Recent, Returning Historic. "School Leaver" includes: STAR, Non-STAR. "New" includes: International, New, Unknown, STAR.
Values
Returning Returning Recent Returning Historic STAR Non-STAR International New Unknown

Course MLPaper ML8 fields

PK: StudentID+CourseInstance
▼

Machine learning features linked to each course enrolment (some institutions call this Paper ML). Provides a structured place for predictive model inputs such as NCEA scores and prior academic performance. Designed for extensibility.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Student entity.
MortarCAPS student.studentID
CourseInstance ▾ PaperInstance String No CINE301-25S2 (C) Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Course Enrolment entity.
Alias PaperInstance
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningAvailability.unitOfLearningAvailabilityID
NCEA_X_N Number Yes 320 Placeholder for NCEA metrics. Institutions expand this into concrete fields such as NCEA_Best80, NCEA_Literacy_Scaled, etc.
GradeWeek_1 Number Yes 72 Grade percentage (0-100) at week 1.
GradeWeek_N Number Yes 85 Placeholder. Grade percentage (0-100) at week N. Institutions expand to GradeWeek_2, GradeWeek_3, ... GradeWeek_12 as needed.
ActivityWeek_1 Number Yes 45 Activity metric at week 1 (e.g., LMS interactions).
ActivityWeek_N Number Yes 62 Placeholder. Activity metric at week N. Institutions expand to ActivityWeek_2, ActivityWeek_3, ... ActivityWeek_12 as needed.
FinalGrade ▾ String Yes B Final course grade. It is the response / outcome variable when training ML models.
Values
A+ A A- B- D R S Incomplete ...
MortarCAPS unitOfLearningEnrolment.result.grade

GPA5 fields

PK: StudentID
▼

One record per student. Provides overall GPA and GPA broken down by course level (100 through 400+). Useful for tracking academic progression and identifying students who may need support.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Primary identifier. Unique 8-digit ID assigned upon first contact with enrolment services.
MortarCAPS student.studentID
OverallGPA ▾ String Yes 3.93 Overall GPA at Qualification/Programme level. May include special values (e.g., 'N/A').
MortarCAPS aggregated unitOfLearningEnrolment.result.gradePoint
GPA100Level ▾ String Yes 3.67 GPA calculated for 100-level courses only. May include special values.
MortarCAPS aggregated result.gradePoint filtered by unitOfLearning.level=1
GPA200Level ▾ String Yes 2.88 GPA calculated for 200-level courses only. May include special values.
MortarCAPS aggregated result.gradePoint filtered by unitOfLearning.level=2
GPA300Level ▾ String Yes 2.88 GPA calculated for 300-level courses only. May include special values.
MortarCAPS aggregated result.gradePoint filtered by unitOfLearning.level=3

Student Publication27 fields

PK: StudentPublicationID
▼

Tracks research publications associated with students. Includes bibliographic details, DOI, ORCID, journal information, and citation metrics. Primarily relevant for postgraduate and research students.

FieldAliasTypeNullExampleDescription
StudentPublicationID Primary Key No 87324850 Unique identifier for each student publication record. System-generated primary key
StudentID ▾ String No 12345678 Part of composite primary key. Foreign key to Student entity. Uniquely identifies the student associated with this publication.
MortarCAPS student.studentID
ORCID ▾ String Yes 0000-0002-1825-0097 The student's Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID), a globally unique persistent researcher identifier. Formatted as 4 groups of 4 digits separated by hyphens, with the final character possibly being "X" as a checksum (e.g., 0000-0002-1825-0097).
MortarCAPS person.personUniqueIDs[] (systemID=ORCID)
ScopusID ▾ String Yes 57284654321 The student's Elsevier Scopus author identifier, used to uniquely identify authors in the Scopus database. Typically an 11-digit numeric string.
MortarCAPS person.personUniqueIDs[] (systemID=Scopus)
PublicationTitle String No Do mushrooms really exist? A critical review of conspiracy theories in Aotearoa. The full title of the publication as it appears in the published work.
DOI String Yes https://doi.org/10.1000/182 The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for the publication, stored as a resolvable URL (e.g., https://doi.org/10.1000/182). Provides a persistent link to the published work.
NumberOfAuthors Integer No 3 The total number of authors listed on the publication.
NumberOfInstitutionAuthors Integer No 2 The number of authors on the publication who are affiliated with the student's institution.
AuthorPosition Integer No 1 The ordinal position of the student in the publication's author list (e.g., 1 = first author, 2 = second author).
CorrespondingAuthor ▾ String No Y Indicates whether the student is the designated corresponding author of the publication (Y/N).
Values
Y N
CorrespondingAuthorInst ▾ String Yes Indicates whether the corresponding author of the publication is affiliated with the same institution as the student (Y/N).
Values
Y N
FullAffiliation String No Dept. of Mathematics, University of X The student's complete institutional affiliation as stated on the publication (e.g., department, university, and location).
InstitutionDepartment String No Department of Mathematics The department or school name within the institution, as stated on the publication.
JournalISSN String Yes 2049-3630 The International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) of the journal in which the work was published. An 8-character identifier in the format XXXX-XXXX.
JournalName String Yes Nature The name of the journal in which the publication appeared.
PublicationYear Integer No 2026 The year the work was published.
PublicationDate Date No 21.03.2026 The full date the work was published (DD.MM.YYYY format).
PublicationType String No Peer-reviewed Article The category of the published work (e.g., "Peer-reviewed Article", "Book chapter", "Book", "ConferenceContribution").
Language String No English The language in which the publication is written.
FullCitation String Yes Full title, Journal X, Vol. Y, pp 13-25, 2025… The complete bibliographic citation string for the publication, including title, journal, volume, pages, and year.
Keywords String Yes mycology, critical theory, applied mathematics Subject or topic keywords associated with the publication, stored as a comma-separated list.
MainFundingBody String Yes Marsden Fund The name of the primary funding organisation that supported the research (e.g., "Marsden Fund").
FundingReference String Yes 0321-7984632 The grant or project reference number associated with the funding for this research.
ConferenceName String Yes 32nd australiasian mycology annual conference The name of the conference at which the work was presented, if applicable.
Publisher String No World Scientific Inc. The name of the publishing entity that published the work.
OpenAccess ▾ String No Y Indicates whether the publication is available as open access (Y/N).
Values
Y N
InternationalCollab ▾ String No Y Indicates whether the publication involves international collaboration, i.e., co-authors from institutions in different countries (Y/N).
Values
Y N