Extending learning opportunities: A study of co-operation between TAFE institutes, and schools and universities in Queensland

The report shows the very impressive progress that has been made in Queensland to provide Queensland school students with a wide range of vocational education and training (VET) options within schools. In this regard, Queensland is a leading player within Australia. Moreover, the rapid take-up of school-based apprenticeships and traineeships is a real Queensland success story, with the majority of school-based apprenticeships and traineeships available in Australia today being in Queensland.

TAFE institutes in Queensland have also played their part. In addition to participation in VET in Schools provision there are almost 25 000 students at school who are enrolled in TAFE. This is over 10% of all TAFE enrolments in Queensland—a higher rate than anywhere else in Australia. In particular, there is much larger than average provision to school students by Moreton Institute of TAFE, Wide Bay Institute of TAFE, Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE and Yeronga Institute of TAFE.

Ironically, policies currently in place to prevent double-dipping by schools have actually contributed to an unintended duplication of VET provision and an inefficient and wasteful use of resources. Double dipping is perceived to occur because schools have already been publicly funded to provide a full secondary education to senior secondary students. Such policies have also had the effect of restricting the role TAFE institutes are able to play in making VET available to school students.

The review found that if TAFE institutes are to provide a richer and diverse range of VET opportunities for young Queenslanders who stay on at school, it is important that Education Queensland, non-government independent and Catholic school authorities, and the Queensland Board of Senior Secondary School Studies (QBSSSS) identify ways that may facilitate the use of existing TAFE resources for these programs.

It is also clear from the case study findings that successful inter-sectoral arrangements, between universities and TAFE, schools and TAFE and schools and universities, were especially contingent upon the support and enthusiasm of those in senior management positions in all sectors. This support ensured that resources and staff were allocated to identifying and implementing mechanisms for providing access to TAFE courses for school students, or advanced standing in university programs for TAFE graduates.

The centralised arrangements for credit transfer, formerly negotiated by TAFE Queensland, on a statewide basis, were generally felt to have provided an effective mechanism for ensuring that certain qualifications from TAFE institutes would receive a certain amount of advanced standing in universities. This is because curriculum-based programs made it relatively easy for universities to compare content and to establish what students had already covered in their TAFE programs. Discussions with university administrators and faculty staff highlighted the difficulty of these tasks with the advent of training packages. Even those universities who in the past have had strong credit transfer arrangements in place spoke of the difficulties being experienced in making these credit transfer or articulation decisions.

Findings from the case studies suggested that arrangements for articulation and credit transfer were more likely to be straightforward and successful where faculties from both sectors had negotiated a joint program leading to a TAFE qualification as well as a university degree. However, these programs also tended to take time to develop and were dependent on the driving force of an individual or individuals who had the necessary ability, experience and commitment to negotiate a successful result.

Staff from universities also indicated that the identification of articulation pathways and credit transfer arrangements within training packages would alleviate the difficulties faced by universities in making decisions about these issues.

There are numerous examples of innovative joint TAFE–university initiatives in Queensland, some of which are documented in the report. The overall situation in Queensland is that articulation and credit transfer arrangements are falling behind those in other States and Territories. The Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast have very good arrangements in place. For instance, some 10% or more of their admissions to bachelor degree and undergraduate diplomas are on the basis of TAFE qualifications, partial completion of TAFE qualifications or other TAFE study. James Cook University is in the middle range and other Queensland universities fall well behind the State and national average rates of articulation and credit transfer.

The findings of the review suggest the adoption of a new state-wide approach to promulgating better articulation and credit transfer arrangements between TAFE and universities, and to provide an advisory service to TAFE institutes and universities.

The other main finding of the review is that portfolio arrangements that integrate education (especially school education) and training make no difference to the quality of cross-sectoral collaboration between TAFE institutes and schools and universities. Good policy frameworks are important irrespective of portfolio configurations, and there is no substitute for good arrangements between TAFE institutes and schools and universities on the ground.

Definition of specific terms

In this report we have used the term school campus to denote a situation where the school delivers a VET course under the registered training organisation (RTO) status of a TAFE institute.