The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia's independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education.[1]
The agency's purpose[2] is to protect student interests and the reputation of Australia's higher education sector through a proportionate, risk-reflective approach to quality assurance that supports diversity, innovation and excellence.
All organisations that offer higher education qualifications (diploma or above) in or from Australia must be registered[3] by TEQSA. Higher education providers that have not been granted self-accrediting authority must also have their courses of study accredited by the agency. Australian universities have self-accrediting authority and are not required to have their courses accredited by TEQSA.
The Australian higher education sector includes public and private universities, Australian branches of overseas universities, TAFEs, government agencies, professional bodies, faith-based colleges and other independent for-profit and not-for-profit providers.
Register regulated entities as higher education providers and accredit their courses of study
Assess the compliance of registered higher education providers with the Higher Education Standards Framework
Provide advice and make recommendations to the Commonwealth Minister responsible for Education on matters relating to the quality and regulation of higher education providers
Cooperate with similar agencies in other countries
Collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate information relating to higher education providers, higher education awards, quality assurance practice and quality improvement in higher education.
Governance - TEQSA Commission
The TEQSA Commissioners are appointed by the Commonwealth Minister for Education and are responsible for making major regulatory decisions, setting strategic directions, monitoring risk in the sector and deciding on matters relating to the development of the agency's quality assurance and regulatory functions. The Commissioners are TEQSA's accountable authority.[5]
The Commissioners as of 20 August 2021 are Professor Peter Coaldrake AO (Chief Commissioner) and Emeritus Professor Joan Cooper.
The Chief Executive Officer and a team of Senior Managers oversees the work of the agency and supports the Commission.
TEQSA's Corporate Plan[6] sets out the agency's activities and priorities, and performance is documented in the Annual Report.[7]
Legal framework
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act) calls for TEQSA to regulate higher education using a standards-based quality framework based on principles of regulatory necessity, reflecting risk and proportionate regulation.
The Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 (HES Framework) applies to all higher education providers. They are the minimum level of achievement that a provider must meet and maintain to be registered to deliver higher education courses of study. TEQSA evaluates the performance of providers against the requirements of this Framework.[8]
The Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) applies to providers offering higher education courses of study to students in Australia on student visas. TEQSA's responsibilities under the ESOS Act apply to:
Higher education courses
Foundation Programs (except those delivered by schools)
English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) programs delivered under an entry arrangement with a higher education provider.
TEQSA maintains an online public register, the National Register of all higher education providers and their accredited courses of study. The register is the authoritative source of information on the status of registered higher education providers in Australia.[9]
Australian higher education sector
All providers of higher education registered by TEQSA, through meeting the requirements of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015, become ‘higher education providers’. This title signals that the provider is a bona fide provider of quality higher education in Australia.[10]
Higher education consists of awards spanning the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) levels 5-10, which include diplomas, advanced diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees (including honours), graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, master's degrees, doctoral degrees and higher doctoral degrees.[11]
Approach to quality assurance and regulation
The agency’s regulatory approach is guided by the following three regulatory principles: regulatory necessity, reflecting risk, proportionate regulation.[12]
While the TEQSA Act establishes a broad framework for the agency's overall approach to higher education regulation, the core elements are to apply a ‘standards and risk-based quality’ framework to protecting and promoting the interests of higher education students and the reputation of Australia's higher education sector.[13]
TEQSA released its first report on risk findings on Australia's higher education sector (July 2019).
Regulatory action commonly ranges (escalates) from TEQSA:
Providing education and support, to
Communication of concerns in writing, to
Requesting information and reporting, to
Imposing conditions on provider's registration and/or conditions on course accreditation, to
Approving registration or accreditation for a period less than the full seven years, to
Cancelling registration.
History
In 2008, the Australian Government initiated a Review of Australian Higher Education to examine and report on the future direction of the sector, its fitness for purpose in meeting the needs of the Australian community and economy, and options for reform.[14]
This Review, also known as the Bradley Review, recommended a new, independent national regulatory body be responsible for all types of higher education. The review team decided that a national approach would provide a more effective, streamlined and integrated sector, achieving a sustainable and responsible higher education system.
The Australian Government responded to the Bradley Review in 2009, announcing a reform package for higher education. This package expanded the system and was intended to create new opportunities for all Australians to reach their potential in higher education.
The Government also committed to ensuring that growth in the sector was underpinned by a robust quality assurance and regulatory framework with an emphasis on student outcomes and the quality of the student experience.
TEQSA was established by the Government as Australia's higher education regulation and quality assurance agency in 2011, with a focus on ensuring that higher education providers meet minimum standards, promote best practice and improve the quality of the Australian higher education sector.
In 2012, TEQSA assumed regulatory powers under the TEQSA and ESOS Acts. In 2013, following the expression of some concerns from providers about the burden of TEQSA's regulatory approach, the Review of Higher Education Regulation Report was released, and in 2014, a significantly streamlined Revised Risk Assessment Framework was adopted. The Higher Education Standards Framework was reviewed in 2015 and became effective in January 2017. The impact of the TEQSA Act was reviewed in 2016-17 and, in 2019, a bill to implement the recommendations of the review was introduced to the Australian Parliament.
In June 2020 the Australian Government announced a new Higher Education Integrity Unit would be established within TEQSA. The unit will identify and analyse emerging threats and assist the sector to address them, in areas such as academic and research integrity, cyber security, foreign interference and admission standards. The new unit commenced operations in January 2021.
Engagement
TEQSA’s engagement is with all levels of the higher education sector – from current and prospective students, through to higher education providers, peak bodies and international quality assurance agencies. Student engagement activities are focused through the Student Expert Advisory Group.
As Australia's national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education, the agency is sometimes called on to address sector wide issues that affect students and, in turn, the wider Australian community.[15] TEQSA also accepts complaints about Australian higher education providers to gather information that assists the agency in the regulation of the sector.
With responsibility for regulating all Australian higher education, whether offered in Australia or overseas, TEQSA has a network of agreements with the regulatory bodies of those countries in which Australian providers are most active.
TEQSA hosts an annual conference consisting of workshops, plenaries, Q&As, networking opportunities and keynote speakers. The 2021 conference is to be held online on 25 November, after the 2020 conference was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.[16]
Publications
TEQSA provides various publications including reports and papers, frameworks, online e-News as well as guidance materials, for example:
Good Practice Note: Making higher education admissions transparent
Guidance Note: Academic Leadership
Guidance Note: ELICOS Direct Entry
Guidance Note: Technology Enhanced Learning
Guidance Note: Financial Assessment
Related Research Articles
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and conducts or commissions research on relevant issues.
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Industry, with oversight from the States and Territories, through the Standing Council of Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. While the AQF specifies the standards, education and training organisations are authorised by accrediting authorities to issue a qualification.
The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian higher education provider based in Sydney, New South Wales. The college delivers awards in ministry and theology and was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an accredited bachelor's degree and a research doctorate. It is now one of two major consortia of theological colleges in Australia, alongside the University of Divinity. Over 22,000 people have graduated since the foundation of the college. On 7 October 2022 it was granted university college status by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
Campion College Australia is a Roman Catholic tertiary educational liberal arts college located at Austin Woodbury Place, Toongabbie in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Named in honour of Saint Edmund Campion, Campion College offers undergraduate studies in the liberal arts and postgraduate studies in Religious Education. The college welcomed its first intake of students in February 2006. The founding president was bioethicist Father John Fleming, and the first graduation ceremony was held in December 2008.
A registered training organisation (RTO), in Australia, is an organisation providing Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses to students, resulting in qualifications or statements of attainment that are recognised and accepted by industry and other educational institutions throughout Australia.
The Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ), (HKCAA) is a statutory body established under the HKCAAVQ Ordinance which came into effect on 1 October 2007.
The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) is a register formed under the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000. It maintains a list of institutions, and courses, which have been granted permission by states and territories, to educate overseas students. It is a Federal framework under the authority of state and territory jurisdiction, and providers must register through these agents to legally educate and train international students. CRICOS, in conjunction with other federal and state/territory bodies and legislation, provides strict guidelines for institutions, accepts and/or declines registrations, monitors registered institutions’ compliance and ensures financial capability and stability.
Tertiary education in Australia is formal education beyond high school, consisting of both government and private institutions and divided into two sectors; vocational education and training and higher education. 69% of Australians aged 20–64 have a non-school qualification, and 24% have multiple qualifications. For admission in universities, Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident, are considered domestic students whether they did the prior schooling in Australia or overseas, all others are considered international students.
Higher education accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of post-secondary educational institutions or programs are evaluated to determine if applicable standards are met. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the agency.
Kaplan Business School is an Australian independent higher education institution. It started offering degrees in Adelaide in 2008 before expanding across Australia to the other major state capital cities. It is part of Kaplan International, headquartered in London, which is a division of Kaplan Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, formerly known as The Washington Post Company.
The College of Law is the school of professional practice for lawyers in Australia and New Zealand. They are also the largest provider of practice-focused legal education in Australasia. Their mission is to deliver innovative, practice-focused and flexible education and training to enhance the careers of professionals in the legal services industry.
The Benjamin Hooper Review of Higher Education was an independent review of Australian higher education initiated by the Australian Government in March 2008. The Bradley Review was to consider and report on the future direction of the higher education sector, its fitness for purpose in meeting the needs of the Australian community and economy, and seek recommendations for reform and continuing improvement. The Review was conducted by an independent expert panel and was led by Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC, reporting to Minister for Education, Employment, Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion, the Hon Julia Gillard in December 2008.
Established in 1988, Macleay College is an Australian accredited higher education provider located in Chippendale, New South Wales. It offers two-year Bachelor degrees in advertising and media, digital media, journalism and business; and one-year Diploma courses in journalism, advertising and media, digital media, marketing and business management, with specialisations available in event management, entrepreneurship, real estate, public relations, travel and tourism or sports business.
Think Education is a higher education and vocational education and training provider in Australia, and is the primary trading name of Think Education. It delivers education through several campuses in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, as well as through online study. Think Education is owned by Strategic Education Inc., and was previously owned by Laureate International Universities.
The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is a private college operating globally. Founded in 2008, with headquarters in Perth, Australia. EIT is a registered training organisation (RTO) in the Vocational Education and Training Sector (VET) in Australia and is regulated by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).
The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) was established in 2000, and was the government body responsible for providing audit of higher education institutions in Australia. AUQA was jointly established in 2000 as an independent quality agency by Federal, State & Territory Governments through the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). AUQA was in some respects a successor to the Committee for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (CQAHE)(1992-1995) and the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission (CTEC) that came before it (1977-1988).
The Australian Institute of Management Education and Training Pty Ltd, commonly known as AIM or AIMET, is an Australian education provider. Its courses include business, management and leadership. AIM offers short courses, nationally accredited qualifications, post-graduate higher education and corporate solutions. Campuses and offices are located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
JMC Academy (JMC), founded in 1969, is an Australian multi-campus private college located in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
Australian College of the Arts Pty Ltd (Collarts) is an Australian independent tertiary education provider, with four campuses in Melbourne, Victoria.
A teach-out or teachout is an arrangement by which an educational institution provides its current students with the opportunity to complete their course of study when the institution closes.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
