Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
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Submission 17
THE AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF THE HUMANITIES INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER
Dear Mr McMahon
INQUIRY INTO THE APPROPRIATE ROLES OF INSTITUTES OF TECHNICAL AND FURTHER
EDUCATION
In response to the Committee's invitation of 17 September 1997, this
Academy provides the enclosed written submission on the above topic.
As the Committee may be aware, the Australian Academy of the Humanities
has recently submitted to the Australian Research Council a Strategic
Disciplinary Review on Research and Research Training in the Humanities.
Our Strategic Review contains further information on the role of a
university with reference to the Humanities. In particular the essay on
The Idea of a University addresses what a university is and gives
indications of where the lines of demarcation might fall.
If you require any further information please contact me.
Yours sincerely
Dr David H Bennett
Executive Director
22 October, 1997
INQUIRY INTO THE APPROPRIATE ROLES OF INSTITUTES OF TECHNICAL AND FURTHER
EDUCATION
Submission by the Australian Academy of the Humanities
to the
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Training
Introduction
The Australian Academy of the Humanities' Royal Charter states, "The
objects and the purposes for which the Academy is hereby constituted are
the advancement of scholarship and of interest in and understanding of
the Humanities... and for that purpose (a) To advance knowledge of the
Humanities." Our concern for the Humanities extends to all levels
of education and extends to Humanities courses in institutes of technical
and further education as well as universities.
Distinctions and Similarities
The distinctions and similarities that can be made regarding the roles
of institutes of technical and further education (TAFEs) and the roles
of universities are of kind and degree, but do not provide a sharp line
of demarcation. Primarily this is because TAFEs and universities both
provide tertiary education and because both provide a range of overlapping
courses and topics.
If there was ever a sharp line of demarcation, the amalgamations of the
late 1980s and early 1990s blurred it. The abolition of the binary system
and the establishment of the unified national system overlapped the roles
of TAFEs and universities to a greater extent than ever before. For example,
this policy resulted in a number of colleges of advanced education, institutes
of technology, or other institutes of technical and further education
amalgamating with universities (eg, Roseworthy Agricultural College becoming
a campus of the University of Adelaide) or converting these institutions
into new universities (eg, Canberra College of Advanced Education [CCAE]
became the University of Canberra).
Despite the overlap blurring the distinctions in the roles of universities
and TAFEs, distinctions can be made, particularly distinctions of degree.
Starting with an overall characterisation of the role of universities,
the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) makes the following
generic statements about Australian universities.
1. The role of Australia's universities is the creation, preservation
and transmission of knowledge.
2. Besides undergraduate teaching, the universities' roles include research,
postgraduate education, consultancy and the provision of expert advice
and comment on issues of national and international importance.
3. Australia has a unified national system of universities, of which
diversity and autonomy are central features. Each institution has the
freedom to specify its own mission and purpose, modes of teaching and
research, constitution of the student body and the range of educational
programs. (AVCC WWW Home Page, numbers added)
Point 1, universities and TAFEs share the roles of preservation and transmission
of knowledge, but universities either distinctly or to a greater degree
create knowledge. If the creation of knowledge is a product of research,
universities have a greater role in research than TAFEs, if for no other
reason, than that universities have a broader range of research areas,
the strongest defining feature of university research is its diversity
of form and outcome.
Point 2, universities and TAFEs share the role of undergraduate teaching
(nevertheless, even within the realm of undergraduate teaching distinctions
can be made as indicated in point 3), but postgraduate education is predominantly
a role of universities. Postgraduate education involves providing supervision
to appropriate standards, a conducive research environment, and research
infrastructure. Few, if any, TAFEs are equipped to provide this combination
of qualities.
Point 3, the diversity and autonomy of universities is greater than TAFEs,
although the mergers greatly eroded the autonomy of the pre-1987 universities.
Among other reasons, this is because, in the words of Department of Employment,
Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA):
The Commonwealth Government's higher education program is designed
to support a diverse and accessible higher education sector of international
standing meeting Australia's social and economic needs. Australian higher
education institutions are the principal providers of education in professional
and academic fields. (DEETYA Home Page)
While it is the case that international students attend TAFEs, the international
standing of Australian higher education is founded on its universities.
The provision of education in "professional and academic fields"
is the role of universities, whereas, the mission statements of TAFEs,
for example the Hobart Institute of Technical and Further Education (HIT),
are more oriented to vocational education and training:
The Institute's primary role is as the largest provider of vocational
education and training to Tasmanians at trainee, apprenticeship, certificate
and diploma levels. It also has an articulation arrangement with the
University of Tasmania. (HIT Home Page)
The role of universities is to provide the bulk of education in "professional
and academic fields", while the role of TAFEs is to provide the bulk
of education in "vocational education and training".
The level of certification between TAFEs and universities illustrates
another difference of degree. TAFEs normally provide certificates and
diplomas, whereas universities provide diplomas and degrees, including
postgraduate degrees. Even this distinction at the undergraduate level
is becoming blurred, at least some TAFEs are moving in the direction of
awarding diplomas. Flinders Street TAFE in Adelaide is offering degrees
to Honours level in a variety of musical fields.
Taken together these last two points make an important assertion about
the appropriate role of institutes of technical and further education.
They meet an important and significant need to provide "vocational
education and training" at the appropriate level and duration. Many
students neither want nor require the types or range of proficiencies
taught by universities nor to spend the time normally required to obtain
a degree. This difference is brought out in Arvid Petersen's (Managing
Director, Education and Training Australia Pty Limited) submission to
the Review of Higher Education Funding and Policy:
A university is not a training institution and service provider of
vocational skills and should not aim to be. Fundamental differences
exist in the objectives of each. A university is locally based but globally
connected to peer groups concerned with the advancement of knowledge.
A university thus contributes to the generation of new knowledge and
thinking, wherever it is.
A vocationally-oriented training college, ... on the other hand, concerned
with the applications of technologies and knowledge in the interests
of local commerce and industry. The test of their success is in meeting
the changing skill needs of industry through the successful placement
in employment of their trained graduates. Vocationally-oriented institutions
are thus positioned at the entry level to various career paths. In this
way, they may, along with other school-based routes, also provide training
and course content which is at an appropriate entry-level for universities
themselves.
The last point brings out a significant contrast between the roles of
universities and institutions of technical and further education. TAFEs
are often channels or training grounds for entry into universities, as
in the example of HIT, whereas the reverse is not the case, although a
student who has completed a university degree may attend a TAFE.
In turn, this highlights another contrast between TAFEs and universities.
The type of study is different. If, among other things, TAFEs are channels
into university, then credit transfers from TAFEs to universities would
make no more sense than credit transfers from secondary level institutions
to university would and for the same reasons. At best, credit transfers
in either direction would have to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Nevertheless, now, more than ever before, opportunities exist for increasing
collaboration between universities and TAFEs. Articulation between the
two sectors is a fact of life in the 1990s, and present indicators suggest
that this will grow markedly over the next few years. We must remember
that articulation is a two-way street:
- 10% of TAFE students have a university degree; and
- 30% of university students have a TAFE qualification.
This trend can only be seen as a positive development for both universities
and TAFEs. In the current changing fiscal and operational environment
for higher education in Australia and overseas, the sharing of resources
and skills can only benefit our students.
Furthermore, this trend is matched by the development of courses in universities
that are increasingly seen as 'vocational', as opposed to purely 'scholastic',
in nature. Again, this must be seen as a positive step, since it cannot
help but dissolve the false dichotomy between teaching and scholarship.
There will always be a place for the kind of education, however defined,
provided best by TAFEs, but the demarcation between TAFEs and universities
is no longer a clear border, but rather overlapping areas of influence.'
Concluding points
In conclusion, we make the following points:
Dr David H Bennett
Executive Director
Australian Academy of the Humanities
22 October, 1997
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