The best of both worlds? Integrating VET and higher education

Description

Summary

About the research

There is renewed interest in better aligning vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) to enable students to move between, and draw from, both sectors. This is not a new concept, with a long history of policies, research projects and reports examining and promoting pathways between the two sectors.

Loosely integrated qualifications, whereby pathways might be endorsed but where no credit is specified or arranged, are numerous. In these examples, the possibility of following a pathway (usually from VET to HE) exists, but responsibility falls on the student to navigate it.

This project is focused on more highly integrated VET and HE qualifications, those that can be described as ‘consecutive’, ‘concurrent’ or ‘embedded’. These integrated models are designed to provide clear linkages and pathways between VET and HE qualifications, enabling better student engagement with both. Through the examination of existing examples of these more highly integrated qualifications, this project explored the characteristics of such arrangements, determining whether and how they might be implemented more broadly.

Key messages

• Highly integrated VET and HE qualifications are difficult and expensive to develop. This is primarily due to the comprehensive mapping of VET and HE content required, a time-consuming process involving skilled personnel. Other challenges include overcoming competitive pressures between the integrating institutions, convincing industry and employers to invest in and recognise integrated arrangements, and creating delivery schedules acceptable to students.
• Sustainability may be a persistent issue for higher integration models. These models might be more widespread and sustainable if certain conditions were met, including:

-  Providers are supported with the expertise and resources to undertake mapping processes.

-  Value and support by collaborating providers.

-  Industries and employers value both VET and HE qualifications in the integration.

-  Students find the integration attractive and the associated demands acceptable.

• This project suggests that greater programmatic integration of qualifications may not be the best way to promote greater integration of VET and HE, largely because of the difficulties in developing and sustaining them. Further, integrated qualifications would only be useful in some industry areas, and not necessarily in large numbers. They may only be viable as niche offerings and where the conditions listed above are met.
• Less tightly integrated models of integration that do not require the same investment and expertise to initiate are likely to be a more sustainable approach.

Executive summary

For the most part, Australians who wish to continue to develop their skills may face something of a dilemma. They can enrol in a vocational education and training (VET) course with a distinct occupational focus. Alternatively, the higher education (HE) system offers courses that may be tied to occupations or focused on academic disciplines. While the two sectors differ in purpose and content, they also offer different experiences of teaching and assessment and are funded, regulated, governed and culturally valued in different ways. In brief, the tertiary education environment is binary in structure (Parker, Dempster & Warburton 2018) and not necessarily geared to facilitating the development of individuals where the benefits of each sector are combined.

Enabling student movement between the VET and HE sectors has been a long-term workforce development policy goal; however, it is no easy task. Over the past few decades, a range of reports, research projects and policies have examined and promoted pathways that use qualifications as the vehicle for facilitating movement between the sectors. As recently as 2020, the VET Reform Roadmap had among its goals building on existing cross-sector cooperation, specifying ‘stronger alignment and integration between VET and higher education’ as one of seven destinations to be reached (Department of Education, Skills and Employment 2020 p.4).

In contributing to the VET Reform Roadmap’s goal, this project aimed to identify and examine the characteristics of existing ‘integrated qualifications’ to determine whether and how these arrangements might be implemented more broadly.

Models of integrated qualifications

Four models of integrated qualifications were differentiated through a review of the literature:

• endorsed: specific course at specific provider indicated, but with credit unspecified
• consecutive:[¹] separate enrolments but course accepted as ‘guaranteed’ or ‘linked’ pathway, evident in dual-sector providers
• concurrent: dual enrolment into both VET and higher education courses, undertaken within same period but either by block release or scheduled study
• embedded: dual enrolment with courses taught together within specific program arrangement, with both qualifications awarded at end of program.

The endorsed models represent lower levels of integration, while the consecutive, concurrent and embedded models represent higher levels. The bulk of the arrangements identified in a desktop search of VET and higher education provider offerings exemplified the lower integration model. Few concurrent and embedded examples were located. This research focused on the three higher integration models.

Higher integration models can be difficult and expensive to develop. Not only that, but they also appear challenging to sustain. Of the 28 higher integration examples identified in this research (from 2016 onwards), 14 were judged to have been discontinued, with the status of a further seven either unclear or presumed discontinued. One embedded example recently offered but which did not commence was also identified. Historical examples of discontinued integrations were also uncovered via interviews with tertiary education experts and institutional staff connected with the design and/or management of higher integration examples (consecutive, concurrent and embedded models). These interviews revealed decades of pathways development and a substantial series of integrated qualifications that had proved unsustainable.

Case studies of consecutive, concurrent and embedded models shed light on some of the difficulties that beset efforts to integrate cross-sectoral qualifications at the highest levels. These challenges include the imperative to undertake comprehensive and complex ‘mapping’ of VET and higher education content as a preliminary to the formalisation of offerings; overcoming competitive pressures, which may pit integrating institutions against each other; convincing industry and employers to invest in and continue to recognise integrated arrangements; and creating delivery schedules that students find acceptable.

Characteristics of sustainable integrated models

Where higher integration arrangements are sustainable, the benefits for providers are clear and can include additional revenue streams, greater resilience through partnerships and distinctive brand identity. On the other hand, the benefits for students, employers and industry more broadly are more difficult to identify. Potential benefits for students include enabling combinations of technical and soft or transferable skills (such as communication and self-management) (Snell, Gekara & Gatt 2016); facilitating individual skill and knowledge development across contemporary careers; and supporting a parity of esteem between the two sectors.

What helps to ensure the sustainability of integrated VET and HE arrangements? This research identifies a range of characteristics common to sustainable integrations:

• adequate provision of resources and expertise to prepare mapping documents
• high trust between, and support from within, integrating institutions
• formal collaboration of teaching teams across institutions
• geographically close provision of both VET and HE elements
• industry and employer support and recognition of both the VET and HE components of integrated qualifications
• typical patterns of student study and employment, which make study of VET and HE components feasible over the longer-term.

Conditions for broader implementation

The research suggests that integrated qualifications — at least the higher integration models investigated — might be implemented more broadly if the following range of conditions are met:

• Resources and expertiseCollaborating providers require resources and expertise to accomplish the mapping process. The research found that this is a substantial undertaking, requiring uncommon skill sets. Mapping takes significant development time, utilises specialised staff, and is therefore costly. Governments and other stakeholders interested in pursuing high integration models should take the challenge of mapping into account and potentially fund the process. Possibly a great many more and valuable integrated qualifications would be available if the resources and expertise were at ready disposal for the initial mapping exercise.

• Value and support by institutionsIntegrated qualifications need to be valued and supported by collaborating institutions. Staff involved in the collaboration should demonstrate openness to the strengths of the other sector, while leadership needs to signal support throughout the institution to ensure the most favourable outcome.

• Recognition and utilisation by industry and employers
  Industry support for the integration does not appear to be sufficient in itself; rather, arrangements appear more sustainable when industry and employers recognises both the VET and HE components of the integration. Employers also need to value graduates from integrated qualifications. Having both industry support and involvement in the development of an integration, along with ongoing employer valuation of the qualification, appears to be ideal.

• Acceptance by and attraction to students
  An integration needs to be accepted by and attractive to students. Internally, an integration is likely to be more successful if it explicitly supports the transition between the different styles of delivery and assessment inherent in different qualifications, while the employment patterns typical of the industries in which students are involved need to be conducive to engagement with the integration.
  If an integrated qualification is inconvenient to access, or if learning is made difficult by a sudden shift from the VET to HE styles of teaching and content, or work placement restrictions impose economic burdens on students, then low take-up among students may follow.

The future of integrated VET and HE qualifications

The current binary structure of the post-school education and training landscape creates some challenges for individuals, communities and industry. This project suggests that greater integration of qualifications may not be the best way to promote greater integration of VET and HE, largely because of the difficulties associated with developing and sustaining them. Further, it was noted by research participants that integrated qualifications would only be useful in some industry areas, and not necessarily in large numbers. They may only be viable as niche offerings and where the conditions described above are met. Less tightly integrated models of integration that do not require the same investment and expertise to initiate are likely to be a more sustainable approach.

1. The label ‘articulated’ was considered for this model; however, historical usage of this term in policy and research is broad and in particular cases could apply to any of the four models.