The Australian Capital Territory¡¯s public tertiary institutions have forged what they describe as the ¡°largest-scale¡± tertiary harmonisation agreement in the country¡¯s history, granting vocational education graduates automatic advanced standing in related degrees.

Under the ¡°guaranteed pathway arrangements¡±, people who graduated with diplomas from Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) within the previous five years will receive direct entry and up to a year¡¯s credit in University of Canberra (UC) bachelor¡¯s courses.

The agreement covers seven disciplinary areas ¨C accounting, business, early childhood education, government, graphic design, nursing and project management ¨C and may be expanded to other fields.

It comes after the two institutions signed a 2024 memorandum of understanding to expand educational opportunities across the territory, and follows UC¡¯s August promise to focus on ¡°harmonisation¡± with vocational education and training (VET).

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¡°Tertiary harmonisation isn¡¯t just a theory any more,¡± UC vice-chancellor Bill Shorten told a 21 October press conference. ¡°At long last, our vocational education system and our university system will be speaking the same language.

¡°Employers tell me all the time, ¡®why can¡¯t the education sector in Australia get its act together?¡¯ Federation was 125 years ago, but we¡¯ve still got two educational systems after people leave school.¡±

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He said the agreement would save graduates of TAFE, Australia¡¯s state-funded VET providers, time and money if they progressed to higher education. ¡°When they come to university, if that¡¯s what they want to do, we won¡¯t be asking them to start at scratch or what mark¡­they [got] when they finished school.

¡°UC is happy to be a tradies¡¯ university. We¡¯re not up ourselves. Frankly, if you¡¯ve got a TAFE qual, you deserve our respect and we¡¯re going to make it easier for you to study here.¡±

Many TAFEs offer formalised pathways to universities, sometimes within the same institution. Swinburne University ¨C a dual sector institution with both TAFE and higher education arms ¨C up to a year¡¯s advanced standing in its bachelor¡¯s degrees to graduates of dozens of Swinburne diplomas.

¡°The breakthrough with this [arrangement] is the simplicity and the streamlining,¡± said CIT chief executive Margot McNeill. ¡°In the past¡­credit recognition took a whole lot of time and effort for the students, but also the teachers and the administrators. This¡­will be much simpler for everyone.¡±

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TAFE courses are generally cheaper than their university equivalents and include tuition-free options. Students can save money by avoiding a year of degree-level fees. ¡°You can¡¯t get any cheaper than free,¡± McNeill noted.

But she said the major saving would come from the ¡°reduction of duplication¡±, with students no longer required to ¡°repeat¡± content they had already acquired. ¡°They¡¯ll be able to go straight into second year [and avoid spending time] working out¡­which units they need to redo.¡±

Shorten said the savings may encourage employers to ¡°put their hand in their pockets to pay for the upskilling they need for their employees. This is a more productive use of our learning infrastructure.¡±

He said the two institutions had spent months mapping their qualifications and aligning credit. ¡°We¡¯ve had a committee of CIT senior learning experts and UC senior learning experts working through how we synchronise the matters.¡±

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Shorten said TAFEs addressed skill shortages ¡°more quickly¡± than universities and had ¡°always been open for adults to come back and relearn. The university sector sometimes has put obstacles in the path of adults coming back to relearn. I think the university sector can learn from the TAFE sector.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com