Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
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Submission 85
Central Queensland University
Where Students Come First.
From the office of the Vice-Chancellor and President
Professor JLC Chipman
2 December 1997
Mr Paul McMahon
Secretary
House of Representatives
Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Re- INQUIRY INTO THE APPROPRIATE ROLES OF INSTITUTES
OF TECHNICAL AND FURTHER EDUCATION
My thanks to the Committee for the opportunity to comment on the matters
that relate to the roles of Institutes of Technical and Further Education.
My comments are primarily directed toward how the issues are addressed
in regional non-capital city communities. Central Queensland University
has established a sound working relationship with TAFE Queensland and
with the Institutes of TAFE that service the Capricorn and Wide Bay Communities.
This has been confirmed by a Memorandum of Understanding between Central
Queensland University and TAFE Queensland (copy attached). The Committee
may wish to consider the relationship between TAFE and CQU as an exemplary
model of practice.
It would be my pleasure to invite the Committee to a forum in Central
Queensland to hear first hand from University and TAFE staff and students
about how our Memorandum of Understanding is being acted upon to achieve
quality post-secondary opportunities for our communities. Industry representatives
and parents could be invited to contribute as well to provide perspectives
on the broad range of benefits to be achieved by this practice. The Gladstone
community would provide an excellent venue for such a forum since it will
enable the Committee to see how the advantages of collaboration can maximise
the delivery of post-secondary education in a regional centre. I would
be pleased to host such a forum at the CQU Gladstone Campus in collaboration
with VET providers at a time in the first quarter of 1988 convenient to
the Committee and the Gladstone community.
There has always existed a tension or ambiguity in provision at the boundary
between vocational and higher education. In Central Queensland we have
addressed this boundary by maximising collaboration between institutions,
and by ensuring credit transfer for students crossing either from TAFE
to the University or in the reverse direction.
Nonetheless, there are some providers of Vocational Education and Training
(VET), both public and private, who argue for the right to award a degree.
I urge the Committee to reject this view in favour of fostering collaborative
arrangements such as those offered by CQU. My reasoning for this is primarily
to ensure that each sector of post-secondary education remains focused
on their complementary roles. The quality of what is achieved through
a competency-based vocational education is judged primarily by industry
on the fitness of graduates to demonstrate high standards in vocational
practice.
The quality of what is achieved through a university education must be
judged by the generic capacity of graduates. They must demonstrate critical
thinking, ethical, original, and creative practice, and the transfer of
understanding to novel situations. The challenge for Universities is to
strive to achieve and to demonstrate these capacities of their graduates,
and to demonstrate the continuing relevance and utility of such capacities
in our community. At the boundary between TAFE and Universities there
is some overlap between the sectors. This is best addressed by cooperation.
Allowing VET providers to award degrees could distract from their primary
role. By restricting the awarding of degrees to Universities and fostering
collaboration with VET providers, the Committee can ensure that each sector
of post-compulsory education remains focused. This position is predicated
on the expectation that Universities will provide full credit for suitable
TAFE studies. While it is my view that the granting of degrees should
therefore be restricted to Universities, if TAFE and other VET providers
were to be allowed to grant a degree, it could still be differentiated
from University studies by assigning the title "Applied" to
any such award. There is a precedent for this in the former CAE system
where degrees in areas such as Applied Sciences were provided,
Other areas for expansion of cooperation could include joint international
marketing, joint awards, where a person can complete both TAFE and University
studies concurrently, and further expansion of the shared use of facilities,
especially in regional communities. The Committee would do the community
a great service if it were it identified ways of encouraging such collaboration.
Currently there are constraints associated primarily with accountability
for service provision.
PROFESSOR J.L.C. CHIPMAN
Vice-Chancellor and President
Joint Activity Agreement [not reproduced]
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