National policy debates and impact - a view from TAFE

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The Go8 “had a declining proportion of new domestic bachelor enrolments over the five-year period from 25.4 per cent to 22.9 per cent”, the report notes.

Commencing domestic bachelor student numbers rose only 14.3 per cent, while universities that are a part of the Australian Technology Network increased enrolments by an average of 28.5 per cent in that period.

The largest increase in student numbers was at Swinburne University, which increased domestic enrolments by 180 per cent, largely through Swinburne Online

Demand Driven Enrolment System near SaturationThe Australian 20 May 2015

The federal government has drafted consumer advocate Gerard Brody to help it stamp out rorts of the snowballing VET Fee-Help student loan scheme.

Mr Brody, who heads the Consumer Action Law Centre in Victoria, has blown the whistle on high-pressure marketing tactics including cold calls and guarantees of post-course employment.

Gerard Brody to tackle student loan rort by: JOHN ROSS From: The Australian April 01, 2015 12:00AM

ACPET seeks ombudsman and other checks to weed out dodgy VET operators

CONCERNS unscrupulous operators are damaging the vocational education and training sector have led the industry’s peak body to call for a national ombudsman scheme to field student complaints and for VET Fee-Help funding for private providers to be based on completion of outcomes.

The Australian February 11, 2015 12:00AM

Troubled private education provider Vocation Limited will repay $8 million to the Victorian government as part of a settlement to a long-running regulatory matter.

The company (VET) said the repayments were part of the closure of its BAWM training subsidiary and “legacy issues affecting Learning Verve”, another of its businesses.

More than 1000 qualifications will be recalled in aged care, children’s services, business administration and a number of other courses that were delivered last year.

Vocation to repay Victorian government $8m by: KYLAR LOUSSIKIAN From: The Australian May 18, 2015 9:35AM

ACPET CODES OF PRACTICE AND ETHICS LAUNCHED Friday 13 March 2015 Media Release

Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham Assistant Minister for Education and Training

“The ACPET Code of Ethics for Members and the Code of Practice for the Engagement of Education Agents/Brokers demonstrate that governments and the sector are on similar pages when it comes to guaranteeing educational quality,” Senator Birmingham said.

Currently 258 training providers are registered to receive VET FEE-HELP.

NSW has the largest number of providers with 75 registered organisations followed by Victoria (73), Queensland (60), Western Australia (25), the ACT (12), South Australia (9) and Tasmania and the Northern Territory who each have two registered providers.

Last year more than 180,000 students were assisted by the VET FEE-HELP scheme, with more than $1.6 billion in loans.

Source …The News…Apr 2, 2015

VET FEE HELP

VET FEE HELP REFORMFact Sheet

1. Banning inducements to students under the VET FEE-HELP scheme2. Tightening VET marketing and recruitment policies3. Improving understanding of how VET FEE-HELP operates4. Streamlining the debt waiver and revocation processes5. Strengthening the assessment criteria for VET FEE-HELP providers6. Ensuring continuous improvement in student participation and outcomes7. Establishing minimum pre-requisite qualifications including LLN8. Enhanced outcome information for VET FEE-HELP students

National Entitlement to Training The National Entitlement to Training was adopted by COAG in April 2012 as a National Partnership Agreement (NPA) for Skills and Workforce Development. Its purpose to “….contribute to the reform of the Vocational Education and Training system to deliver a productive and highly skilled workforce which contributes to Australia’s economic future”  The NPA Agreement identified a number of reform directions, including introduction of a national training entitlement for vocational education and training students and a competitive market place.

However there has been no common agreement across States about:

• the nature of entitlements for students, • the quality criteria that should be applied to providers in

receipt of public funds, and • The level and nature of competition in the training market.

“We can’t just say let the market work, because it doesn’t always work for everybody — and I say that as the queen of capitalism,” Ms Westacott told the TAFE Directors Australia conference.

Ms Westacott said she did not think it would ever be possible to establish a “completely free” market in VET. She said locational issues, low demand for some qualifications and special needs of some student groups would force governments to assert a degree of control.

“In most markets there are times when the public and private providers do different things. Like in all markets, there are things where government providers are best placed.”

VET market ‘doesn’t work for everybody’: BCA’s Jennifer Westacott by: JOHN ROSS From: The Australian September 03, 2014 12:00AM

CHANGES to training subsidies that give TAFE a “monopoly” will force up to 100 private providers to close their doors and put thousands of jobs on the line, industry leaders warn. The State Government has allocated 46,000 of the 51,000 new subsidised training places for 2015/16 to TAFE SA under its new Work Ready policy.

The move has outraged the private sector, which says TAFE was already receiving subsidies up to three times higher than private providers, which have now been robbed of any chance of competing.

Changes to training subsidies put up to 100 training businesses and thousands of jobs at risk, industry leaders warn by: TIM WILLIAMS From: The Advertiser May 21, 2015 10:11PM

It’s rare that TAFE becomes a big election issue, but this is what has just happened in Victoria – giving new Premier Daniel Andrews a mandate to save TAFEs. AAP

TAFE Providers 2009 2012 2014

Registered HEPs 10 9 10

Number Delivering 9 16 20

No Qualifications (TEQSA) 68 81 132

Range Diploma

Associate Degrees

Bachelor

Graduate Certificate

Graduate Diploma

Masters

2

30

35

1

1

27

53

0

8

42

64

3

9

6

High representation from equity groups◦ Often from low SES backgrounds◦ Many are first in family to do a degree◦ Many are mature age workers

32% of TAFE HE commencers under 20 (as opposed to 58% in universities) (ACER, 2013)

TAFE NSW - over 80%

More likely to be admitted on an ‘other’ basis:◦ Assessment of folio, interview, aptitude test or other scheme ◦ Require academic support to progress.

Student Cohorts Student Cohorts

Long tradition of industry partnerships Focus on employment outcomes/work-readiness Target skill needs Applied nature of learning Small class sizes and student support Pathways (school to higher education) Wide geographical footprint High numbers of students from VET Diverse cohorts of students.

What differentiates HE in TAFE?What differentiates HE in TAFE?

Why higher education in TAFE?

Two distinct international trends:

Growth in high education/skills (productivity)

Growth in diversity of institutions

Unmet industry demand for higher technical skills

Employment growth in ‘middle layers’ (associate professional & technicians)

Student demand for alternative pathways

Cost of higher education

Educational pathway to a Registered Nurse Educational pathway to a Registered Nurse

Certificate II in Aged Care

Certificate IV in Nursing

Bachelor of Nursing

Masters in Mental Health Nursing (future)