TEQSA and the AGS

Marian Thakur, TEQSA

1:30 – 2:30

TEQSA: A New Regulatory Agency for Australian Higher Education

Marian ThakurRegulatory Risk and Information

A new worldOn 29 January 2012, TEQSA assumed its full regulatory powers.

What has changed?

nine government regulators’ powers now assumed by a single, independent, national regulator

all higher education providers to be regulated by TEQSA, including universities

AUQA operations ceased at the end of 2011

A Snapshot of TEQSA

• One national scheme▫ broad coverage (n=170+)▫ common rules (Threshold

Standards)• Commission model• Regulation AND quality

improvement• Up to 7 year cycle• Continuous disclosure of

material changes• Annual cycle of risk

assessments and data collections

• Unscheduled reviews• High stakes consequences

– cancel, suspend, restrict• Scaled process and

response – proportionate, risk-based and necessary regulation

• Reviewable decisions

Basic Principles of Regulation

• Standards-based approach

• Regulation is based on the principles of:

Regulatory Necessity

Reflecting Risk

Proportionate Regulation

Standards Framework

Threshold Standards

• Provider Standards• Provider Registration• Provider Category• Course Accreditation

• Qualifications Standards

Other Standards

• Teaching and Learning Standards

• Research Standards • Information Standards

Regulatory Risk Framework• TEQSA’s Regulatory Risk Framework will underpin TEQSA’s

regulatory and quality assurance activities.

• It is a regulatory tool to assess risk to quality higher education and guide regulatory action in response.

• TEQSA is taking a holistic approach to risk assessment, balancing quantitative and qualitative information to develop ‘Risk Profiles’, and is committed to two-way dialogue with providers.

Scheduled Reviews

Non-scheduled Reviews

Quality Assessments (Sector and Provider)

Regulatory Risk Management

Provider Case Management

Information and Data Collection

- Scheduled and non-scheduled reviews

- DIISRTE data collections

- Other national and

international sources

- Material change notifications

- Providers

- Other

Regulatory Decisions - Register- Accredit- Impose conditions

Regulatory Actions- Monitor- Inquire- Investigate- Enforce

Non-regulatory Activities- Disseminate Information- Advise Ministers- International Cooperation

INPUTS ANALYSIS MODES OF FORMAL INQUIRY

COMMISSION ACTIONS

Information flow

TEQSA Act Threshold Standards

Regulatory principles - reflecting risk, proportionate regulation and regulatory necessity

Sector and Provider Profiles

Public Disclosure- National Register- CRICOS

External Expert Advice

TEQSA’s REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Risk assessment methodology

• The overall risk assessment focuses on 3 priority risk areas:▫Risk to students▫Risk of provider collapse▫Risk to national reputation

• 46 risk indicators in 7 risk categories based on the Threshold Standards

• Risk thresholds applied across sector, traffic light approach

• Weighting applied

Risk assessment methodology

Priority risk area

• Risk to students

Risk catego

ry (Threshold

Standard)

• Responsibilities to students (Provider Registration Standard 6)

Risk indicat

ors

• F6 – Unit satisfaction• F7 – Graduate course satisfaction• F8 – Graduate employment /Further study

Provider Information Request 2012

• To carry out its regulatory functions, TEQSA requires access to complete and up-to-date provider information

• TEQSA proposes to ▫ rely on data in the public domain or reported to other

agencies or departments, e.g. DIISRTE and GCA▫ ask for information directly from those registered

providers: that currently do not report to DIISRTE and GCA; and where the reported data does not fully meet TEQSA’s

requirements.

Provider Information Request 2012 Table A , B and C

Providers

Providers Registered

for FEE-HELP

Providers Registered

for CRICOS

Other Providers

TEQ SA Questionnaire TEQ SA Data Collection

Ex

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ng

Nat

iona

l Dat

a C

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on w

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QS

A in

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H E R esea rch D a ta Collection TEQ SA A nnual Data C ollection aligned to national data

collections where possible, and only requiring subset of

elements reported H E F inance Collection

H E S ta ff Collection

Australian Graduate Survey

HE S tudent Collection

CRICO S PRISM S Database

Provider Information Request 2012

Student Surveys

• will only be collected from providers that do not currently participate in the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) via Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) with the exception of:

• All providers are asked to provide existing internal reports of the outcomes and process of unit evaluations.

Provider Information Request 2012

Student Surveys

• Providers are asked to provide existing internal reports of the outcomes and process of student surveys conducted with respect to unit evaluation, course evaluation, student experience and graduate outcomes.

• TEQSA will not specify standard statistical parameters for surveys in the 2012 request.

Working with the sector▫ TEQSA will continue to work closely with DIISRTE and other key

stakeholder groups to establish a comprehensive data sharing capability in order to minimise the reporting burden on providers.

▫ TEQSA will establish in the near term an Expert Reference Group on data. Membership will be on the basis of expert knowledge and comprised of nominees from the four peak bodies and other expert members.

▫ TEQSA will continue to work with DIISRTE and the Advancing Quality in Higher Education Reference Group for the development of performance measurement instruments in higher education.

Further information and updates

www.teqsa.gov.au

QUESTIONS