This puts Australia back on par with international competitors, such as USA, Canada and UK. It also ensures a culturally enriching exchange of students and world views, were Australian students are exposed to other cultures and Australian values are promulgated through an international alumni.
So it appears that, at least in the views of the immigration department, a bachelor degree at a university is different (more worthy of visa-easing) from a bachelor degree at TAFE.But the fine print is concerning and puts us back to the dark ages of the binary system, but with added rigour and standards. The easing of visa regulations to bachelor degrees is fair enough, but only to those that are undertaken at universities. This is in blatant disregard of the strength of the national protocols of higher education, the Bradley report and the Australian Qualifications Framework, which clearly disentangle the level of qualification from type of institutions.
One wonders, why did we bother with the protocols or the AQF. Degrees at non-self accrediting institutions, such as TAFE, have been vigorously assessed prior to accreditation; they are monitored annually and need reaccreditation every five years. In addition, many of the degrees at TAFE are in niche areas with a strong vocational-applied leaning. Exactly what is needed to develop an international reputation in turning today's vocations into tomorrow's professions.
Both TAFE and universities are publically owned, both contribute to meeting the governments target of 40 per cent bachelor attainment by 2025 and both need the international fees in addition to government support. Hang on there, universities already enjoy government support for their degree programs, TAFEs do not.
Ill-conceived policies like this partial application of visa-easing does make one wonder whether this is all about non-contested old-clout, selling generic degrees for a quick buck, or a bandage to fix the dismal funding of tertiary education.
Source: The Australian
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