Private Higher Education – the Australian Experience

Claire Field, Chief Executive Officer

Australian qualifications framework

Certificate ICertificate II/ Year 12 Certificate IIICertificate IVDiploma

Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree

Bachelor DegreeBachelor Honours Degree/ Graduate Certificate/Graduate Diploma

Masters DegreeDoctoral Degree

VET

Higher Ed

RegulationVET Higher Education

VET Quality Framework Higher Education Standards Framework

Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)

Tertiary Education Quality & Standards Agency (TEQSA)

Australian Qualifications Framework

Australia’s tertiary education providers

Higher Education

Uni - 38TAFE - 11Private - 125

VET

TAFE - 58Enterprise - 400Private - 4,400

174 providers 4,860 providers

Types of providers - VET• Vocational education courses prepare students for jobs in: – Retail– Hospitality and Tourism– Community services & nursing (early childhood

education, care for people with a disability, aged care)– Manufacturing, mining, transport and logistics– Business studies, management, commerce– ICT– Licensed trades – electrician, plumber, building &

construction

Laboratory operations

Commercial cookery

Automotive repair

Dealing with hazardous goods

Types of providers – higher education

• Higher education courses prepare students for jobs in: – Hospitality and tourism– Business management, accounting– Engineering– Law– Medicine (including nursing)– Creative industries– Architecture

• Also Dual Sector providers offering both qualifications

Film & TV

Nursing

Business

Fine Arts

DeliveryDelivery can be:– Classroom– In the workplace– Online– Simulated work environments

• Instructors and lecturers must have industry experience and keep it current

• VET instructors must hold a teaching qualification (delivered in the vocational sector)

• Higher education lecturers are encouraged to have teaching qualifications

Online delivery - EITBy region EIT’s customers include:- North America:• Chevron, The Department of Energy, Exxon, General Motors,

Honeywell, Lockheed, Texas Instruments, NASA, Coca Cola.- Europe:• BOC Gases, BBC Engineering, Euro Tunnel, Glaxo, National Grid, Rolls

Royce, Siemens, Shell, GE Oil & Gas.- Africa, Asia & The Pacific:• De Beers, Alcoa, BHP, Carter Holt Harvey, Ericsson, Fisher & Paykel,

Hewlett Packard, Fonterra, Thales.

All taught online from Perth, Western Australia.

Students – higher education• More than 1 million higher education students (~85,000

choose a private higher education provider)

• Currently the government subsidises students studying at public universities

• New announcements this month that subsidies will be extended to private higher education students

Students – VET• More than 3 million VET students – approx 1.7 million are

publicly funded

• Privately funded provision can be funded by student or employer

• ACPET represents 20% of private provider institutions & ACPET members generate 80% of revenues earned by private providers

Outcomes• Average salaries of higher education graduates

immediately after graduating $48, 000 (42,937,193 Kiyats)

• Average salaries of VET graduates immediately after graduating $55,700 (many VET students are working while they study – re-training etc) (49,825,034 Kiyats)

• Australia’s skilled trades people with vocational qualifications earn more than the average university graduate over the course of a lifetime

Defining quality• Measures of quality– qualification completion rates– student satisfaction– student outcomes – jobs, further study, salaries– employer satisfaction rates

• Providers generate revenues through ensuring students achieve their aims and employers are satisfied with graduates

Quality as a business driverNavitas: 1994

– partnership with Edith Cowan University – new pathway to provide academic and social support and

address the cultural and linguistic challenges facing international students

– opened with 198 studentsNavitas: 2013

– 55,000+ students each year from more than 85 countries– 28 countries (100+ campus locations), 4000+ staff– Navitas partner universities: Australia (10); UK (6); USA (5);

Canada (2); Singapore (1) – market capitalisation AUD $1.6 billion (1,431,239,777,950 Kiyat)

ACPET supporting quality• Code of Ethics for ACPET members• National Professional Development Framework : business

development (new business opportunities)– business management and administration– teaching and learning– student engagement and support

• Quality ‘health checks’ against ASQA & TEQSA requirements

• Onsite support for regulatory compliance by ACPET staff

The quality stamp