Page 1428 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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Taskforce report Learning capital: an integrated tertiary education system for the ACT included 12 recommendations, one of which recommended that UC and CIT investigate new ways to collaborate.
Following the release of the Tertiary Taskforce report, the ACT government engaged Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley, chair of the 2008 review of Australian higher education, to provide independent advice on the future collaborative relationship between CIT and UC. On 3 August 2011 the then Minister for Education and Training, Andrew Barr, released a report by Professor Bradley on options for the future of the University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology. Professor Bradley’s report advised that the status quo was not an option for CIT and UC as both will need to change and to develop to reflect reforms in tertiary education nationally and in the globally competitive market.
Professor Bradley recommended that the ACT either amalgamate the two institutions into one dual-sector institution or alternatively establish the CIT as a body with greater autonomy to allow it to better compete in the emerging tertiary market. The government considered the options recommended by Professor Bradley and formed a steering group to advise government options arising from the Bradley report and in the process consulted with key stakeholders, including unions.
The steering group sought advice from government agencies and tertiary institutions in other jurisdictions. Public submissions were also invited by the ACT government’s Education and Training Directorate website. The government formed the initial view that although CIT and UC amalgamation had been advised by Professor Bradley based on the experience of some other dual-sector institutions, there remained fundamental issues even after many years of operation.
Whilst the government recognised the opportunity of greater amalgamation between UC and CIT, it wanted to explore these issues in greater detail, including differing regulatory regimes, funding sources and reporting requirements as well as problems with cultural difference, pedagogy and communication between VET and higher education.
It is worth noting that the proposed merger between the Central Queensland University and the Central Queensland Institute of TAFE is anticipated to take up to at least two years to implement. The complexity around developing tertiary education policy has increased due to the rapid changes to the tertiary landscape between the time Professor Bradley finished her report and the government’s consideration of it.
For example, the commonwealth government has announced that courses offered by universities leading to qualifications below bachelor degree level will be subject to annual allocations agreed between the government and each university. Minister Evans, the commonwealth minister for tertiary education, stressed that this change reflected the commonwealth government’s desire for universities and vocational educational training providers to complement each other in the delivery of courses.
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