Major provider accused of rorting funding

27/01/2015 by
Evocca

ABC News     |    27 January 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… One of the country's largest training colleges had just 19 students graduate from any of its courses in a single year, reigniting concerns about the training sector. Data on the Government's MySkills website showed Evocca College enrolled almost 14,000 students in 2012 but just 19 graduated. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The company disputes the figures but others suggest they supported ongoing concerns about some players in the training industry. In particular, criticism focused on the recruitment practices of companies which sometimes targeted disadvantaged students. Such students often … [Read more...]

Filed Under: VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , ,

Academic gongs Australia Day 2015

27/01/2015 by

26 January 2015 635 Australians  have been recognised with Orders of Australia on Australia Day 2015, while a further 59 military and 130 meritorious awards were announced. Members of the tertiary education sector featured strongly in the honours list, with 81 awards, particularly in the upper categories.  People associated with the tertiary sector received 4 out of the 5 Companion awards (80%), 16 out of 38 Officer awards were to people associated with the tertiary sector (42%), 46 of 156 Member awards (29.5%), for a 33% of the higher awards.  In the most common category of Medal, only 15 of 434 awards were tertiary sector related people (3.4%). Women continue to be under represented with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life & stuff, The Scan Tagged With:

NSW university offers 2015

21/01/2015 by
UAC

20 January 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… As in Victoria, the traditional January main round of university offers in NSW, through the University Admissions Centre (UAC), is decreasing in prominence in the calendar. Offers through the year and direct offers are becoming increasingly the norm. This year, universities have made 46,507 offers through UAC ‘s main round, down 4,307 (- 9%) on last year. But the total number of offers to date is actually up a little, at 76,339, up 1,542 ( + 2%) from last year’s 74,792. So, main round offers through UAC are now about 62% compared to 68% last year and almost 100% four or five years … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tertiary Admission Centres, The Scan, universities Tagged With: , ,

Book Review: The Etiquette of Social Media

20/01/2015 by

Book Review: The Etiquette of Social Media. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life & stuff Tagged With:

Victorian tertiary offers 2015

20/01/2015 by

 20 January 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Over 69,000 applicants have received an offer, through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC), for a place at a Victorian university, some private higher education colleges and for some courses at TAFE institutes. .University offers totalled about 57,000 out of about 68,000 applications, meaning a “success rate” of 84%, compared to 85% in 2014 but way ahead of the 75% rate in 2009, the year that places began to be uncapped. The average Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for entry declined slightly, from 69.3 in 2014 to 68.1 in 2015. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The data need to be interpreted with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth policies, Higher education policy, TAFE, Tertiary Admission Centres, The Scan, universities Tagged With: , , , ,

ACPET National Monday Update 19 January 2015

19/01/2015 by

In Focus Higher education reforms critical The critical challenge for our sector continues to be the Higher Education and Reform Bill, which failed to pass the Senate. You would all be aware that Minister for Education subsequently reintroduced an amended Bill to the House of Representatives for consideration. While the amended Bill preserves essential elements of the reforms, the new Bill includes the following changes: retain indexation of outstanding student debt by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the 10-year bond rate previously proposed; a pause on HECS indexation for primary carers of children under 5 years; a structural adjustment fund to assist … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ACPET, Higher education policy, NCVER, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , ,

TDA Newsletter 19 January 2015

19/01/2015 by

VET portfolio handover underway The Department of Education and Training (DET) says that it will be “business as usual” as responsibility for vocational education and training (VET) transitions out of the Department of Industry, and into its new home. In a note to stakeholders, the Deputy Secretary of DET, Dr Subho Banerjee indicated that the changeover was proceeding expeditiously. “As the Department undergoes these changes, I want to reassure you that the Skills Policy Division (led by Craig Robertson), the VET Reform Taskforce (led by Ms Peta Furnell) and the Skills Programmes Division (led by Brendan Morling) are working closely with our new colleagues Department of Education and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ASQA, Commonwealth policies, TAFE, TAFE Directors Australia, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , ,