Quality Assurance in Higher Education Rebecca Liebel AEI Germany 18th September 2006

1. Quality Assurance in Higher Education Rebecca Liebel AEI Germany 18th September 2006

2. Presentation Overview • The Higher education sector • The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) • Quality assurance processes

3. Higher Education Sector • The National Protocols for Higher Education Approval • Processesthat guide State and Territory legislation processes. • AQF registers • States & Territories • Responsible for regulation of non-university higher education providers. • Comply with The National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes

4. Higher Education Sector • The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) • A) university audits conducted on a 5 year rolling cycle; assessing universities against their own missions & objectives. • B) auditing the State & Territory bodies that regulate the accreditation of other higher education providers. • C) Strengthening audit function of Australian offshore higher education provision by 2005 • Universities • - External examiners - The Australian Vice Chancellor’s Committee (AVCC) Code of Practice for academic quality  Guidelines for course development

5. The Australian Qualifications Framework(AQF) • The Australian Qualifications Framework: • forms the foundation for the regulation of qualifications • brings together the qualifications issued by the different sectors of the Australian education and training system into a nationally consistent, comprehensive structure of educational awards • plays an essential role in defining the standards of qualifications • helps students and families understand the available pathways across the sectors

6. The Australian Qualifications Framework • The Framework comprises: • agreed national guidelines for each of the current thirteen national qualifications • principles for articulation and credit transfer; • protocols for issuing qualifications • registersof authorities empowered by State / Territory governments to accredit qualifications and providers and to issue qualifications.

7. Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)

8. Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)

9. Quality assurance processes operating in each sector • National policy frameworks • State and Territory legislative frameworks • Robust tradition of self-regulation and continuous improvement at institutional level

10. Regulations and Legislation • The international study sector is regulated by the following: • The Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 • The National Code of Practice • The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS)

11. ESOS Act • The primary Federal legislation regulating education provided to students studying on a student Visa in Australia • It is the responsibility of the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST)

12. ESOS Act • The Act: • establishes the National code which sets standards of conduct for providers and their agents; • Contains consumer protection provisions; • Establishes the Tuition Assurance Scheme; and • Establishes the ESOS Assurance Fund

13. ESOS Act • Provides that registered education providers are responsible for their agents regarding: • the provision of marketing and student information; and • the recruiting and placing of students in a course • Hence Agents must: • understand the Act and the National Code; and • take clear instructions from the institution they represent

14. Consumer Protection under ESOS • The provisions come into play should a school close suddenly for any reason (fire, financial distress etc) • According to the provisions a provider must: • provide the student a refund if the course doesn’t begin when agreed or ceases to be provided after commencement; or • Place the student in a new, alternative course after obtaining the student’s consent

15. Tuition Assurance Scheme • most providers belong to such a scheme • scheme members will provide an alternative course place at no extra cost if a refund cannot be provided to the student

16. ESOS Assurance Fund • an additional level of consumer protection when a student’s institution ceases to exist • all non-exempt private institutions must contribute • a student’s claim is referred to this fund after all other options have been exhausted • If the fund manager can’t place the student in an alternate course a refund may be provided

17. Exempt Providers • The following providers are exempt. Students are assured that they will receive tuition or a refund. • Government funded schools • Publicly funded institutions • TAFES

18. Agent Responsibility • If approached by students regarding an institution’s closure, agents are to refer students to the provider’s Tuition Assurance Scheme • Agents should be aware that a student’s failure to accept a suitable alternative course may result in his/her ineligibility for a refund.

19. Tourist Visas and Study • Students may partake in a short course of study up to 3 months duration on a tourist visa. • The ESOS Act does not regulate provision of services to these students.

20. The National Code • A set of standards with legal force • Regulates the conduct of educational institutions that enrol international students • The Code places clear responsibilities on all educational institutions • The Code makes an Agent’s behaviour the direct responsibility of the education provider

21. Agent Responsibility under the Code • Under the National Code an agent must act responsibly towards prospective students. • Examples of Agents’ responsibilities (non-exhaustive): • Honest marketing of education and training services • Provision of accurate information • Not engaging in misleading comparisons of institution • The provision of accurate and responsible advice on Visas

22. Key Paragraphs • The key paragraphs of the Code for agents are: • Marketing and student information (para 19-25) • Student recruitment and placement (para 26-30) • Unethical agent behaviour (para 49)

23. Other important provisions • The following are also important provisions in the Code: • Full time courses • 20 Contact hours a week (on average), unless the accrediting authority determines otherwise. • Students may study on a part-time basis in their final semester to complete a course. • Maximum Number of students • Each institution has a maximum number of students they are permitted to enrol. The figure is not made public.

24. Other important provisions • Length of Operation • An institution may not use their facility for more than 14 hours a day • Facilities and Resources (para 18) • adequate teaching resources • suitably qualified staff • secure premises • adequate space for students

25. Other important provisions • Student Records (para 34-40) • adequate student records regarding academic history, attendance and various other areas must be kept. • Repeating Study (para 40) • students are only allowed to repeat a subject/course once if doing so requires that they take less than a full-time study load • Other relevant paragraphs: • Student refunds (42-44) and Student support services (45-46)

26. Registered Provider Responsibilities • The provider is responsible for their agent’s behaviour, hence it must refuse to accept international students if it believes the recruiting agent: • has engaged in dishonest practices • engages students who don’t comply with their visa requirements • engages in false or misleading practices • uses the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS) to create electronic Confirmations of Enrolments (eCoEs)

27. Further Agent Responsibilities • para 19-24: • certain features of courses must be described accurately • para 26-30: • the provider is responsible for certain recruitment and placement acts, whether undertaken by the provider themselves or the agent.

28. Further Agent Responsibilities • An agent must not make false or misleading comparisons with other courses or institutions (i.e. comparisons must be substantiated)

29. Further Agent Responsibilities • An agent must be accurate regarding information it provides students including: • General descriptions of the institutions and courses provided by the institution • Details of the entry requirements, including English language, academic or work requirements • Details of any other institutions involved in the course delivery • Details of the fees payable • Indications of the costs of living expected during study • Information that the student must study full-time and comply with the conditions of their student visa.

30. CRICOS • is the register of all education institutions and courses that are offered to international students studying on a student visa in Australia (i.e. not short courses) • the ESOS Act specifies the information that CRICOS must record • Providers have a provider number and courses have a course code

31. CRICOS • The provider number clarifies who is responsible for provider obligations under the Act • This is important in cases where there is more than one provider responsible for delivering a service

32. Agents’ Responsibilities • To know that it is impossible to gain a student visa to study in Australia if the course or institution is not registered on CRICOS • Not to make an offer to a student to apply for a course that isn’t registered on CRICOS • To provide the CRICOS code in all marketing material • To use the correct CRICOS course code to ensure that relevant course information is being referred to

33. Thank You