in focus 19 april 2010
National Monday Update Issue:
New research on the role of Private Higher Education provider
The Australian Government has set ambitious targets for higher education attainment levels and the critical role of the private sector in meeting these targets has been confirmed by the Bradley Review and more recently reinforced in the Report on the development of a Tertiary Education Plan for Victoria.
To examine the implications of private sector involvement in the growth of a quality driven higher education sector, ACPET commissioned two independent research studies.
In summary, these reports confirm that standards within private providers in Australia are rigorously monitored and regulated by various levels of government and external qualifications authorities. There is recognition among these providers that to ensure survival, high quality and high standards are essential. Therefore, standards and quality assurance processes amongst private providers are generally very well established and continually updated.
This commitment and delivery of quality higher education was independently confirmed by the AUQA Review of NSAI Audit Reports and results from the 2008 Graduate Destinations Survey which show that the perceptions of graduates in relation to skill acquisition, teaching and overall satisfaction in the 2008 survey was on average more positive than was the case recorded among graduates of universities.
Access Economics estimates that to reach the Government’s attainment targets there will need to be a creation of an extra 250,000 bachelor level places and that public expenditure for a domestic student at a public university is higher than if the same student was to attend a private institution. Private sector participation in a demand driven funding model and a robust FEE-HELP regime is critical to ensuring that attainment and equity targets are met.
To support our engagement with Government and the development of quality education outcomes, ACPET and Deloitte Touche Tomatsu have developed a Higher Education benchmarking system. The benchmarking system allows ACPET Higher Education members to benchmark against their peers in a manner that does not compromise commercial sensitivities and with the knowledge that all data that is provided will be managed by an independent body in a safe and secure manner.
ACPET’s benchmarking tool ensures that ACPET members are able to meet registration requirements and importantly the benchmarking system is a mechanism for members to drive self improvement in the delivery of quality education. The first benchmarking cycle will open in July. Members seeking more information should contact ACPET’s Manager of Policy and Research, ben [dot] vivekanandan [at] acpet [dot] edu [dot] au (Ben Vivekanandan).
For the latest ACPET activities, including our response to the proposed changes to the ESOS Regulations, please visit our website.
Please do not hesitate to contact me (click to email Andrew [dot] Smith [at] acpet [dot] edu [dot] au (Andrew Smith)) to discuss any of the above or to provide your ideas and input into the ongoing development of the Council.
Andrew Smith
Chief Executive Officer
19 April 2010