Lessons from VET providers delivering degrees

This report is focused on the strategic, capability and operational reasons why traditional vocational education and training (VET) providers move to the delivery of higher education qualifications in their own right, in addition to their vocational qualifications. It is particularly interested in associate and bachelor degrees. This became an increasingly important issue following the proposed opening-up of Commonwealth Supported Places to non-university providers under the higher education reforms outlined in the 2014 federal Budget. However, these anticipated changes have not occurred, potentially limiting VET providers’ commitment to make such changes to delivery.

By undertaking six case studies with both public and private VET providers, this research highlights the experiences and lessons learned by these institutions in delivering higher education qualifications. These case studies provide useful information for any VET provider considering adding higher education delivery to its current suite of qualifications.

Key messages

• In terms of strategic considerations, the case study organisations chose to deliver associate and bachelor degrees as a means for providing pathways into higher education for their VET graduates. They generally deliver these degrees in niche markets, those in which they have existing strengths and which will set them apart from other providers. They see their competitive points of advantage as the highly applied and field-based nature of their degrees and their smaller classes, with more personalised support for students than in traditional higher education providers.
• Locating suitably qualified staff to deliver their degrees was not a major challenge. However, organisations highlighted the challenges associated with moving VET staff to teaching in higher education and with providing opportunities for scholarship for staff teaching in higher education. Views on what is appropriate scholarship are still emerging and are more aligned to the applied nature of the higher education programs offered by their organisations.
• The cases suggest that it is important to involve industry in the planning and implementation of higher education degrees. VET providers also reveal that strategy and positioning relating to the delivery of degrees is constantly under review. They have clear short-term goals but longer-term goals are open to change.
• Due to recent changes in VET funding policies in some states and the additional burden of having to report to two separate regulatory bodies, these VET providers have faced some challenges and this has led some of them to reduce the delivery of higher education qualifications in their own right. One view was that a single regulatory body for both VET and higher education would greatly decrease this burden along with the opening-up of Commonwealth Supported Places.

The recent growth in the number of registered vocational education and training (VET) providers delivering associate degrees and bachelor degrees in their own right has been well publicised. However, little is known about why these VET providers have made this transition, what support is being provided to their staff and students, and how the associated operational issues are being managed.

Through the completion of 23 interviews with key staff during the last half of 2013, six in-depth case studies were developed. The aim was to establish a better understanding of the major drivers and key challenges facing these institutions as they transition to offering higher education qualifications. The case institutions were Canberra Institute of Technology, Holmesglen Institute, Polytechnic West, TAFE SA, Tabor Adelaide and Think Education. They were chosen for their diversity in size, type, the length of time they have delivered associate and bachelor degrees, the fields of study in which the degrees are being delivered, and the jurisdictions in which they operate. They are among a minority of public and private VET providers that to date have made the transition to delivering degrees in their own right.

Strategic issues

To keep Australia internationally competitive, we need to increase the number of Australians who are qualified at the diploma to bachelor degree levels to fill the growing number of paraprofessional and professional jobs. One of many strategies being implemented to achieve the required growth is the development of more mixed-sector educational institutions.

In most cases, these organisations have delivered VET programs as their major role. In their move to higher education delivery, there was no evidence that these organisations were passive or accidental players in the higher education market. They were seeking to complement rather than compete with major universities, and have done so by establishing special points of difference to attract higher education students. In some cases, governments and agencies in their jurisdictions were active agents in shaping the strategies around which qualifications might be offered.

The major strategic drivers for moving into higher education were to increase the revenue base of the organisations and to provide access to higher education for their VET students or others who may not otherwise have entered a university degree program. Their supply of higher education degrees is predominantly in the niche markets in which the institutions believe that they have existing strengths. These strengths include the capability to design and deliver the applied fieldwork qualifications that specific industries (for example, hospitality, tourism, design, health, computer gaming, police and forensic science) require to raise the professional standards of their key staff. Moreover, these organisations came into higher education delivery with considerable experience in innovative ways to promote greater flexibility in higher education programs.

Student and staff support

The institutions varied in the extent to which staff taught across the VET and higher education sectors. Some choose to confine teachers to only one sector, while others are working to allow VET staff to teach higher education qualifications. The organisations did not report any major challenges in locating suitably qualified staff to teach their higher education programs. They make use of a large pool of qualified sessional and casual staff who are also qualified to teach higher education programs. None of the case study providers has concerns about their ability to design and deliver successful higher education programs. However, each highlighted the challenges associated with defining and providing access to scholarship for higher education teaching staff, with their views on appropriate scholarship still emerging. Currently, scholarship activity is aligned more to the applied and professional nature of their higher education programs rather than to the undertaking of academic research. In some cases, existing partnerships and networks with universities and TAFE (technical and further education) institutes are being used to support activities concerned with the scholarship and the professional development of their higher education staff.

In general, the student support services provided to higher education students have evolved and increased over time. These higher education supports are additional to the existing supports for VET students, which higher education students also can access. The rates of student engagement and attrition require constant attention, with a range of strategies in place to promote access, participation, completion and employment. More higher education-specific support for students includes smaller classes with ready access to teaching staff; the use of multiple mechanisms up-front to test student readiness for higher education study; extra tutorial support in some more theoretical and academic core courses; literacy, numeracy and computer skills support programs; use of individual learning plans for at-risk students; the redesign of higher education qualifications to promote the more applied orientation of the qualifications as a balance to the academic focus; and support for more gifted students. In sum, developing and maintaining a strong student-centric culture is allowing these public and private VET providers to compete against much larger and better resourced universities.

Operational issues

These organisations have managed, and continue to manage, numerous operational challenges in offering their higher education qualifications. A major challenge is the financial cost as well as staff time to seek and maintain accreditation of higher education degree courses and higher education provider registration. Except for a few special-needs cases (for example, for some nursing and education degrees at Holmesglen Institute and education at Tabor Adelaide), organisations currently do not receive Commonwealth funding for their higher education students, although students often do access FEE-HELP. Maintaining viable class sizes is a day-to-day concern for these organisations, where higher education is a minority part of their activity.

Our cases reveal strong and evolving governance structures to support the development and delivery of their higher education qualifications. In the initial years of higher education delivery, the operational arrangements for higher education are often managed as exceptions to existing VET arrangements. Over time, supporting units, governance structures, policies and procedures have become more differentiated, with the formation of a higher education support leader and unit being a key milestone in this differentiation. In particular, the governance and regulatory environment has changed considerably with the establishment of the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA). All organisations report that meeting TEQSA’s early expectations have been costly in terms of direct financial costs, lost opportunity costs, and staff time, including staff time to rework submissions. The cost of seeking and meeting the agency’s requirements is one factor in the recent decisions by some institutions to reduce their delivery of higher education qualifications in their own right. In some cases a factor has been recent changes in state VET funding policies. Rather than dropping higher education, some providers will still deliver these higher education qualifications but in partnerships with universities or other providers. All six case organisations plan to maintain their higher education capacity as far as possible and to increase their higher education involvement when there is a sound business case to do so.

Best practice guidelines

A key purpose in preparing the six case studies was to identify guidelines to assist VET providers that have or are considering future transition into the delivery of higher education programs. The best practice ideas that emerge from the cases include:

• Be strategic: success is linked to the supply of higher education degrees to niche markets in which providers have existing and special strengths. In particular, successful VET higher education providers are delivering the applied field-based qualifications required by industries. Industry needs to be involved in all aspects of the strategic planning and implementation: from the development of the business plan, to offering industry experts the opportunity to assist in the design and delivery of higher education courses, to providing student placements and industry projects that enhance the employability of graduating students.
• Develop the business case: in the current environment, a strong business case must exist for any new higher education qualification. Organisations need to examine the benefits of introducing higher education programs into a traditional VET organisation: the potential to increase revenue; the ability to leverage off the experience and capability gained from delivering existing VET programs; and the roll-on effects to their VET qualifications and the institute’s brand through the inclusion of higher education. However, organisations need to investigate the costs, including: setting up appropriate governance structures, accreditation and re-accreditation processes; managing a fee-for-service regime and culture; and the costs and planning for additional supports (for example, extra tutorials, monitoring student progress) to assist students who take up the higher education qualifications. In addition, they must examine the opportunities but also the risks associated with possible changes to relevant key policies.
• Work up to delivering higher education in your own right: the case studies reveal that organisations need to gain experience first in other VET-to-higher education arrangements. These experiences, either through partnerships with universities or other arrangements, develop the higher education knowledge and capability of staff. In particular, contracted higher education delivery develops staff, who are then better prepared for higher education programs; staff begin to explore their own ideas and strategies relating to the delivery of a higher education portfolio in their institution.
• Develop appropriate academic governance arrangements: initially, different operational arrangements for higher education are often managed as exceptions to VET arrangements. Supporting units, governance structures, policies and procedures become more differentiated over time, with the formation of a higher education support leader and unit being a key development for this differentiation.
• Provide additional student support: a range of strategies are required, in addition to those already in place, to support higher education students. Strategies include the provision of: smaller classes; up-front mechanisms to test student readiness for higher education study; extra tutorial support; literacy, numeracy and computer skills support programs; monitoring for at-risk students through individual learning plans; and course redesign that promotes the more applied orientation of the higher education program.
• Promote scholarship: VET providers need to develop an appropriate model for scholarship to underpin higher education provision and add value more generally to teaching and learning in their institution. This can be done through leveraging off established partnerships with local universities and other VET organisations offering higher education in their own right to provide access to opportunities for scholarship and professional development for their higher education staff.
• Adopt continuous improvement: expect higher education operations to evolve over time with experience. Setting up in higher education is a long-term venture requiring concerted effort on several fronts within a continuous improvement framework.