The model for Australian higher education has changed almost beyond recognition in the past decade, and it’s still changing. Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s) and private colleges who used to rely on government-funded student loans, loose audit regulations, and a mix of vocational and traditional courses may find themselves wondering what the future holds. Here are just some of the challenges which must be met with solutions if private colleges want to thrive in 2017.
Recruitment
The private education and training sector, usually known as VET, have proactively taken steps to clean up the dodgy and unchecked practices of many private colleges. When Kevin Rudd unrolled the VET FEE HELP scheme in 2009, it became possible for students to enrol in vocational courses using buy now/pay later loans, to be paid back when they were earning above $54,000 per year. The idea was to fill the skills shortage and encourage young people to gain valuable qualifications and the experience to place them in the workforce.
But colleges quickly began to take advantage and started to compete to get students through the doors and get their hands on government-funded tuition fees. Some offered incentives such as laptops, cash or mobile phones to get young adults to join the courses, despite them having no interest in the vocation in question. Others have been found harassing students from low-income areas to enrol in courses, under the promise that they will never earn enough to repay the debt they incur. Shamefully this recruitment strategy has not produced many graduates, with competition rates less than 2% for some courses.
The regulatory authority ASQA has extensively culled and deregistered nearly 10% of private colleges for practices such as these, and the process is far from finished. You can use the ASQA website to keep track of course cancellations and regulatory decisions. It is now illegal to promise any incentives whatsoever to encourage students to sign up for a course. Brokers and cold callers have also been banned as ways to recruit new students.
Proactive regulation means that the ASQA can now audit at any time and at random and that the RTO in question is fully accountable for both their own compliance and the student experience too.
Student loans
But the regulations don’t stop there. While Labor suggested in the last election putting an $8,000 cap on all course loans, Senator Birmingham has settled on what he calls a “smarter model than what Labor proposed”. The new model will allow loans of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the course. Courses will need to prove that they are filling a skills shortage, and the loan cap can be amended at any point by the government.
FinTech Entrepreneur Shaun McGowan of Lend.com.au comments that “The Governments over commitment of funding to private colleges, and subsequent rorting of the system has led to widespread distrust in the private college industry”.
While existing students don’t need to worry until the end of next year, new loans will need to meet the criteria immediately. Understandably, students and colleges alike are concerned, as while these measures are necessary to decrease the debt projection caused by unpaid loans and welfare, they create a difficult environment for both the colleges to provide higher education and for students to afford the undertaking in the first place.
International students
More positively, things are looking up for international students. While the previous system for visas and foreign students meant that many interested individuals didn’t know where to begin, the new Simplified Student Visa Framework, (SSVF) makes it far easier to apply to study down under if you live abroad.
The previous scheme had 8 subclasses, while the new framework has just two. Working alongside the Immigration and Border Protection department, the government have also simplified a single immigration risk framework. All information and process have been moved online, using ImmiAccount. Reports have shown that the influx of foreign students is now at its highest level of all time, up 11.5% from 2014 to the end of 2015.
Reputation
Whether it’s local students or those from abroad, the focus on filling the skills gap is something which is breaking conversation throughout Australia. In fact, later this year the 26th National Vocational Educational and Training Research Conference ‘No Frills’ has made its topic Skilling for Tomorrow.
Proving that your courses and your institution are a legitimate and successful method of increasing skilled professionals might feel like an uphill battle in the current climate. The reputation of private colleges and RTO’s is under serious scrutiny, and the dodgy practices the limelight has uncovered can’t be ignored. Colleges in 2017 are going to have to go out of their way to prove that they are improving the skills gap and providing value for money.
People are beginning to ask why private colleges who are awarded more than $1.4 billion in annual government-funded student loans, are not producing skilled graduates at the rates promised.
The government has just begun their overhaul of the education sector, and new regulations and safeguards are likely to be commonplace throughout 2017. With confidence at an unfortunate low point, and more international and domestic students alike looking to help fill the skills gap and enter the workforce, RTO’s and private colleges must up their game.
Both the government and the public is holding them under scrutiny. Colleges and RTO’s must show that they can provide stellar higher education, without dubious recruitment practices, and within the boundaries of the new loan scheme.
About the Author
Connect with Tim Fisher on Twitter. Having been a part of many successful start-ups in Australia and New Zealand he is motivated to share his insights and works as a freelance journalist for several publications in Australia and abroad.
