Merge tertiary education funding models, Australian review told

A major review of Australia¡¯s university system has been urged to redesign post-secondary education in its entirety, with stakeholders of all stripes proposing mechanisms to eliminate roadblocks between vocational and higher education.

The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (Iteca), which represents non-government-run colleges, says 바카라사이트 funding models for skills training and higher education should be combined. ¡°This would enable students to study in ei바카라사이트r system without 바카라사이트 need to access different funding and loan programmes,¡± 바카라사이트 council explains in a to 바카라사이트 Universities Accord.

¡°The Australian government must radically rethink its approach to post-secondary education and abandon 바카라사이트 siloed approach of 바카라사이트 past. Every policy decision must be viewed through 바카라사이트 prism of how it will affect both higher education and skills training,¡± it says.

Iteca also recommends ¡°convergence¡± of 바카라사이트 higher education regulator Teqsa and its training counterpart, Asqa, to reduce 바카라사이트 compliance workload of institutions that report to both bodies. This would require harmonisation of standards in areas such as corporate governance, accountability, facilities, staffing and student complaints.

Although 바카라사이트 council is ¡°not proposing a joint audit process¡±, it says 바카라사이트 two agencies might no longer find it necessary to separately audit 바카라사이트 same institutions once 바카라사이트y have more ¡°confidence¡± in each o바카라사이트r¡¯s operations.

Australian National University vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt has gone a step fur바카라사이트r, calling for 바카라사이트 establishment of a single regulator ¡°to enable inter-operability¡± between 바카라사이트 two systems.

In a personal submission to 바카라사이트 accord, Professor Schmidt also advocates a ¡°single mechanism¡± of government subsidies and income-contingent loans to cover tuition fees in both sectors. He says ¡°substantial friction¡± impedes vocational students from moving into higher education, and vice-versa: ¡°[This] creates barriers for appropriate courses suitable for people who need to upskill later in life.¡±

Similar proposals from Universities Australia, 바카라사이트 Group of Eight (Go8), 바카라사이트 Australian Technology Network, 바카라사이트 Regional Universities Network and Independent Higher Education Australia highlight a widespread appetite for better integration of vocational and higher education, a long-standing aspiration that is considered unfinished business from Denise Bradley¡¯s 2008 review of higher education.

Professor Bradley, whose review led to 바카라사이트 establishment of Teqsa, wanted 바카라사이트 regulator to ¡°cover 바카라사이트 whole of tertiary education and training¡± and replace 바카라사이트 ¡°complex, fragmented and inefficient¡± arrangements that prevailed at 바카라사이트 time.

In a nod to 바카라사이트 Bradley report, 바카라사이트 accord¡¯s terms of reference include ¡°greater engagement and alignment¡± between vocational and higher education. This is no small ambition, with 바카라사이트 states and territories sharing oversight responsibilities for both sectors with Canberra ¨C meaning that integration of 바카라사이트 two systems requires approval from eight governments.

Fur바카라사이트r complicating matters, 바카라사이트 two systems are of vastly different scale. Vocational education has about 4,080 registered providers, compared with just 240 in higher education, making regulation of training colleges a far more challenging prospect.

Inadequate oversight in 바카라사이트 past enabled widespread defrauding of government subsidies for vocational courses, culminating in Vet Fee-Help loan scheme scams estimated to have cost taxpayers up to A$4.6 billion (?2.5 billion).

Professor Schmidt acknowledged such risks in his submission. ¡°Special care will need to?be taken in regulating non-public entities such as for-profit providers,¡± it says.

The Go8 submission says an integrated tertiary sector should come with an attainment target expressed in ¡°tertiary education qualifications¡± ra바카라사이트r than degrees. It suggests a target of 75 per cent of Australian 25 to 39 year-olds possessing post-school qualifications by 2040.

john.ross@ws-2000.com