Education in Australia is a serious business where the government constantly monitors the quality of education provided by institutions to local as well as international students. The Deputy PM and the Minister of Education Ms Julia Gillard as recently as 2 weeks ago introduced legislative changes forcing all 1300 registered colleges and universities to re-register under tighter guidelines. This was done as a Federal Government crackdown on vocational colleges and universities with a move to root out unscrupulous rogue operators offering sub standard courses to international students in the visa-driven sector.
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This could leave thousands of international students already in Australia looking for somewhere else to study or needing refunds as rogue operators are shut down.A rash of shutdowns by colleges that fail to meet the new standards will leave the industry having to find new places for students or footing the bill for refunds. The move is likely to be greeted with caution by the states. To re-register under the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students, providers will have to demonstrate a commitment to education and standards. They must re-register by the end of next year. "Re-registration of all providers is intended to restore confidence in the quality of the Australian international education sector and strengthen the registration process by reducing the number of high-risk providers currently in, or seeking entry into, the sector," Ms Gillard told parliament.
"The message to providers is: if you are not providing your students with a quality education in a safe environment, clean up your act or risk being shut down." A leading student advocate and industry whistleblower, said it was "long overdue that the federal government flexed its muscles". Though states had their own regulatory processes these were somewhat ineffective which allowed the sub standard education providers to come in, have similar rogue agents overseas and attract international students who were mainly focussed on migration to enter such courses offered at low fee structures. He said it was high time that state regulators, whom he blames for not cracking down earlier too are shaken up..
The country's elite universities this week called on the government's new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency to take over the lead from the states in cleaning up the system. In the meantime the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET), English Australia (EA), the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), the Independent Schools Council of Australia (ISCA), TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) and Universities Australia (UA) have met and agreed to cooperate to further strengthen and develop the Australian international education industry.
The peak bodies have resolved to act with a common purpose to work with government around a common agenda to resolve current short term problems and to:
Maximise the net educational, social, diplomatic, cultural and economic benefits of international education to the Australian economy and to the Australian community
Build community understanding and support for international education based on many decades of mutual benefits to Australia through education relations with other countries and involving over a million international students.
If you plan to have your tertiary studies overseas, you need to select a course of study that will lead you to the career path you want to enter in a recognized educational institution. The institution you study is of importance as brand name counts when you try to enter the employment market. Australia needs more and more young skilled persons to enter its workforce by offering resident visa on completion of studies.
Australia is different to many other developed countries offering higher education opportunities in that it accepts and encourages young skilled people to enter the workforce to take the country to future years and at the same time have an excellent quality of life.
Edlocate which celebrates 10 years of excellent service in Sri Lanka as a student agency exclusively promoting higher studies in Australia is the only such entity with direct representation of 13 recognised universities. It once again offers a personal interview session/s for prospective students and the parents with representatives of the following 3 top Australian Universities on September 10 from 2 - 6pm at Edlocate Colombo office.
The Swinburne University - was reaffirmed as one of the top ranked universities in Melbourne for teaching quality and graduate satisfaction by the 2009 Good Universities Guide (GUG) release. Swinburne also received a five star rating for cultural diversity and was commended by the Australian Universities Quality Agency for its strategic direction and the quality of its educational and international programmes.
The University of South Australia - which is always embedding Graduate Qualities in all of its programmes has just endorsed a new Teaching and Learning Framework for the University where the University adopted as its central theme the notion of student engagement even before the term had gained prominence in Australian higher education circles. In the past two years, the University has embarked on an ambitious programme of implementing experiential learning as a means of increasing student engagement. It has also set a target to have at least 30 percent of learning experiences to be active.
Flinders University - being an integral part of Australia's respected higher education system has a high research profile and consistently ranks among Australia's top universities on a per capita basis for research relative to its size. Flinders though offers all traditional courses in all disciplines has built a strong reputation for quality and innovation in health science related courses and in its teaching. It has been consistently ranked ninth among Australian universities by the Melbourne Institute in its well-regarded national research rankings. What started as a campus with 370 acres (150 hectares) of open but hilly land will soon have a high profile presence in Adelaide's CBD too. |
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