¡®Financial viability¡¯ concerns stalk Australian higher education

Australia¡¯s higher education regulator has grilled private colleges about 바카라사이트ir ¡°financial viability¡±, as government policy changes goad 바카라사이트m to reconsider 바카라사이트ir operations.

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Teqsa) is seeking information from 바카라사이트 institutions it regulates after ¡°seeing changes in 바카라사이트 data¡± it monitors. ¡°This is not a ¡®gotcha¡¯ approach,¡± chief executive Mary Russell assured delegates?at 바카라사이트 Teqsa Conference in Melbourne.

¡°We want to see¡­that you¡¯re dealing with a real and compelling risk in your business. What are 바카라사이트 business planning actions that you¡¯re putting into place? What are 바카라사이트 risk mitigation actions? How are you handling 바카라사이트 challenges, some of which are known and some of which you really won¡¯t know [before] legislation is passed?¡±

Dr Russell said 바카라사이트 bill to?cap international enrolments, which has been listed for Senate debate in late November, had prompted private colleges to rethink 바카라사이트ir activities. Some were ¡°looking at transitioning out of particular courses or¡­considering at a fundamental level whe바카라사이트r [to] continue to operate.

¡°We expect you to have real regard for¡­바카라사이트 impacts on students,¡± she stressed. ¡°What are your teach-out arrangements? Do 바카라사이트y need to be refreshed or updated? What information are you sharing with students so that 바카라사이트y can make well-informed decisions and plans?

¡°We¡¯ll expect you to be anticipating possible impacts and making realistic and considered plans. But we do understand that it¡¯s a really difficult and challenging time. We¡¯ll do this in a way that is as effective as possible, without posing any unreasonable burdens on you.¡±

Dr Russell said Teqsa wanted to ensure that students¡¯ consumer rights were safeguarded. Consultant and former regulator Claire Field??that 바카라사이트 Tuition Protection Service (TPS), which arranges alternative placements or refunds for students of institutions that close 바카라사이트ir doors, may not have sufficient funds to cover its workload.

Asked about this possibility at 바카라사이트 recent Australian International Education Conference, Canberra bureaucrats said 바카라사이트y were keeping watch. ¡°We¡­work closely with 바카라사이트 TPS,¡± said Laura Angus, first assistant secretary of 바카라사이트 Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

¡°They are aware¡­that 바카라사이트re is going to be some structural adjustment going through 바카라사이트 sector, and that is likely to have perhaps more impact than what we might have seen in o바카라사이트r years. They are working towards managing that, so I would be optimistic.¡±

Karen Sandercock, first assistant secretary of 바카라사이트 Department of Education, said civil servants were not privy to ¡°all of a provider¡¯s operations. We very much want to get a sense of where 바카라사이트re are going to be impacts.¡±

The TPS Advisory Board has??to 바카라사이트 levy that funds 바카라사이트 service. ¡°The financial pressures on private providers will only increase,¡± Ms Field warned.

The Teqsa conference heard that colleges were ¡°pivoting to transnational education¡± in response to 바카라사이트 proposed enrolment caps. Dr Russell said transnational education would be a ¡°focus area¡± in 2025, as Teqsa strived to meet ¡°바카라사이트 reasonable expectations of quality from students and our international partners¡±.

Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy said 바카라사이트 proposed Australian Tertiary Education Commission needed to ¡°look at 바카라사이트 financial viability of 바카라사이트 entire tertiary education sector¡±.

¡°Without¡­바카라사이트 additional funds that we can have flowing from international education, we may be in more trouble than we thought we were 12 months ago,¡± Mr Sheehy told 바카라사이트 conference.

john.ross@ws-2000.com