AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA: Push for degree-level colleges

The heads of technical and further education (TAFE) colleges in Australia are proposing a new type of higher education institution between universities and colleges, writes Andrew Trounson for The Australian. The TAFE Directors Australia initiative is part of a push to win funding for degrees in a post-2012 uncapped student numbers system.

A blueprint for the tertiary education sector was discussed by the TDA board in Brisbane last week. It includes protocols for a new category of non-university institution that would offer degrees at bachelor and masters level in additional to vocational courses. An early draft proposed naming masters degree-offering institutions polytechnic universities or university colleges. Providers offering degrees at bachelor level only would be dubbed polytechnics. Full report on The Australian site