Source Document:

Hansard committee on EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Hearing Date:

20 OCTOBER 2011

Summary:

The government always seems to have the same solution to save the classroom - more teacher training to be more sensitive to more student needs. The millionth time is the charm right?

• Yes, TEQSA can do its job (because Parliament said so).
• Yes, the system is robust (or at least, that’s what we’re going with).
• Yes, the people in charge are competent (fingers crossed).
• And yes, Australia’s universities are already pretty good—but we’d really like them to be even better.

Interesting bit on page 118:

Mr de Carvalho: There are a few things going on in this space. This might be an issue that was touched on earlier this morning, but we do have the ongoing programs from the former Australian Learning and Teaching Council. We have a number of grant programs and award programs which are encouraging improved teaching and learning. There is $50 million over the next three years devoted to programs to encourage improved teaching on the part of the academic workforce.

Senator RHIANNON: Thank you. I wanted to ask about the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. What steps will the agency take to ensure that students have a high- quality learning experience in all Australian universities, rather than simply in those institutions considered at risk?

Mr de Carvalho: The TEQSA, who were here this morning, have a brief to monitor quality in all universities, and there are a number of standards that are in the process of being developed or will be developed by them over the next year. I think one of those standards is a teaching standard. When the standards panel members are appointed, which will be in the relatively near future, they will be working on those standards and they will be applying those standards in their function in relation to all universities.

Mr Griew: There is probably a wider context here. You have referred to TEQSA and also to the teaching encouragement. There is also, in the new funding system, performance funding, and there is a very important piece of work being led by Professor Ian O’Connor, who is Vice-Chancellor of Griffith University, which is the development of a set of measures, including a teaching quality indicator, that will drive, over time, performance funding for universities. So there is in fact a very serious engagement with the issue of teaching quality and the validation of teaching skills.

Senator RHIANNON: So is that in place already? Because at the start of the answer the emphasis was on the agency doing monitoring. Is it just a monitoring role at the moment, but it is evolving; or have we got these teaching quality indicators already?

Mr Griew: No, sorry. What I was indicating was that there is the role of the regulator and then there is the role of the funding system and the incentives that will be provided through the funding system for a high-quality teaching and student experience. So, in addition to the role of the regulator, there are also a set of processes between the department and the universities, through the funding system, that are about excellence as well as about regulating minimum standards, which was the gist of your question.

Senator RHIANNON: Maybe I will just ask the minister: can you provide an assurance that TEQSA’s existing regulatory capacity is sufficient to achieve its legislative objectives?

Senator Chris Evans: That was certainly the view of the parliament, Senator. That is why we passed the legislation recently.

Senator RHIANNON: I just want to get it on the record that you are confident that that regulatory framework does it all.

Senator Chris Evans: We are confident that TEQSA will do the role the parliament envisages for it, and we have been lucky in that we have a very good field for the roles of chief commissioner and commissioners. I think the appointments of the five people we have appointed have been widely welcomed in the sector as being quality appointments, but they have only just started their roles, as you know, so they are just starting out on the task. Senator Chris Evans: I think that generally standards in Australian universities are of good order and that our reputation is a strong one, but we are concerned to make sure that we maintain and improve those standards. They will be taking a risk based approach to their role as a regulator. As Mr Griew outlined, in addition to their regulatory function we are building into the system a whole range of incentives to encourage high quality teaching, high quality student experiences and, quite frankly, the pursuit of excellence—because that is important to the system too