Labor commits to wide-ranging national VET review

16/03/2016 by
Election 2016

First proper review since 1974 16 March 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Labor will launch a comprehensive review of the vocational education and training sector - equivalent to the landmark Gonski Review into school funding and the Bradley Review of higher education -  if it wins office at the next election. The review would be the first such inquiry into the VET sector since the Kangan Report in 1974, which actually coined the term TAFE.  The 2011 Gonski review triggered major changes to school funding (albeit, a major tranche of which is now uncertain) while the 2008 Bradley review into higher education led to the uncapping of undergraduate student places, allowing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ALP policies, Policy, TAFE, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , ,

The state of VET in Australia

16/03/2016 by
VET funding1

A fractured system 16 March 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… In a policy paper, VET funding in Australia: Background trends and future directions, Peter Noonan from Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute says the low priority traditionally accorded the vocational sector has been exacerbated in recent years by wild inconsistencies between states on what they funded and for how much, ad hoc federal funding programs, rorting and distortions caused by VET FEE-HELP and the relentless push to reduce costs for both levels of government. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… While there are 200,000 more VET enrolments than there were 10 years ago, enrolments have been trending … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth-State relations, Mitchell Institute, Public funding, Schools, TAFE, The Scan, universities, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

VET funding in Australia

16/03/2016 by
VET funding

Background trends and future directions Mitchell Institute Policy Paper Executive summary The vocational education and training (VET) system in Australia plays a central role in the development of skills for the Australian workforce and makes a critical contribution to workforce participation, productivity levels, individual’s  life chances and economic and social development. The level of public and private investment in VET is therefore an important public policy issues. Historical overview Since 1974 the Commonwealth and state governments in Australia have jointly funded the development and expansion of Australia’s VET system. They have done so in the following phases. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commonwealth-State relations, Mitchell Institute, Public funding, Schools, TAFE, The Scan, universities, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Plan B: Cornerstone’s Collective Exit Strategy

15/03/2016 by
Liz Jolley

Collapsed training college owners paid themselves $20 million  7.30 Report      |    14 March 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The ABC’s 7.30 Report has reported that the owners of a major training college that collapsed after the Government cracked down on 'study now, pay later' loans appear to have had a long-term plan to cut and run from the sector. …………………………………………………………………………………….......……   Global Intellectual Holding, which owned a number of providers, including Keystone College and Aspire, was a vocational education giant and its demise has particularly hit students in one of Victoria's most disadvantaged regions. Former Keystone student Liz Jolley has … [Read more...]

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

Fed takeover of VET unlikely, says new Minister

15/03/2016 by
ScottRyan

Focus on fixing VET FEE-HELP Fairfax Media       |    11 March 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The newly-minted Commonwealth minister for skills, Scott Ryan,  has poured cold water on a proposed Commonwealth takeover of vocational education and training set out in a draft of a paper to go to the next meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).  Under the proposal, TAFE fees would be deregulated and TAFEs would receive the same funding. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… While education Simon Birmingham has strongly advocated a Commonwealth takeover,  Ryan says there are strong arguments to maintain the current system. "It's a matter for COAG …but my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: COAG, Coalition policies, TAFE, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , ,

Deakin doesn’t see a future at Warrnambool

14/03/2016 by
Warrnambool

But Federation Uni does ABC News  |    11 March 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Deakin University is considering withdrawing from its Warrnambool campus, about 250km south-west of Melbourne, amid a steep decline in student numbers, from 1,342 students in 2011 to a forecast 872 students this year. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Deakin vice-chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander says the university hopes to maintain the campus, but that "all options" are on the table. Den Hollander has made it pretty clear that the preferred option is another provider - such as Federation University -  taking over the campus but if that can’t be negotiated then closing the campus … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Deakin, universities Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The year to date

11/03/2016 by
Carpet baggers

11 March 2016 There’s a lot to catch up with but, as they say, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (which is, according to the estimable Wiktionary, an epigram by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in the January 1849 issue of his journal Les Guêpes (“The Wasps”), meaning “the more it changes, the more it’s the same thing.”)  VET FEE-HELP   As previously reported, changes to the VET FEE-HELP (VFH)  scheme legislated late last year provides some better protection of students from the carpetbaggers who have looted the scheme and dudded the students.  The government proposes to spend this year look at ways to rort-proof it from the likes of Phoenix.  But as so many people have asked: how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ACCC, ALP, ASQA, Budget, Canberra Institute of Technology, Coalition policies, Commonwealth policies, Conferences, Education policy, Grattan Institute, Higher education policy, Productivity Commission, Public funding, Qualifications, Rankings, Research, TAFE, The Scan, universities, Universities Australia, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Monash to pull out of Berwick

08/03/2016 by
Monash Berwick

Cites "lack of demand" ABC News  |    8 March 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Monash University says it will close its Berwick campus in Melbourne's outer south-east unless it can partner with another university on the site. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The university said it will stop teaching at Berwick by the end of 2018 after a deal with Victoria University (VU) to use the campus fell through. Monash University's pro vice-chancellor Professor Leon Piterman said negotiations with VU to use the site had gone on for some time. "With students with lower ATARs achieving entry into VU, they would potentially meet the needs of the region better than what … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monash Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Feds propose VET takeover

04/02/2016 by
Herbert Quote

Private providers to be put on funding par with TAFE The Age    |    4 February 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… The Commonwealth government would take over TAFE funding from the states under a radical plan to be presented to the states and territories at the next meeting of the Council of Australian Governments in March. Under the Turnbull government proposal, TAFE fees would be deregulated and TAFEs would receive the same levels of funding as private colleges in a bid to increase competition in the sector. …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… States could provide some top-up funding for TAFE, but only enough to ensure "competitive neutrality" with private … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ABC, COAG, Coalition policies, Commonwealth-State relations, TAFE, VET, Vocational education & training Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

WA main round university offers 2016

21/01/2016 by
TISC 2016

88% of applicants receive offer 20 January 2016 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Applications from 2015 WA Certificate of Education (WACE) students showed a significant increase over 2014 (following the ‘half cohort’ last year) and a 6% increase over 2013. Offers made to 2015 WACE applicants are up 59% on last year, and 7% on 2013/2014, with 93% of those who applied receiving an offer (91% last year). …………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The decrease in non-WA Year 12 applications (including interstate and mature-age applicants) observed for several years has slowed, with a 3.5% decrease compared to a 13.4% drop the year before. Compared with last year, the total … [Read more...]

Filed Under: universities Tagged With: , , , ,
Next Page»