Victoria's $20 million fund to expand the regional delivery of degrees through alliances between universities and vocational providers requires proposals to be closely linked to regional economic development strategies.
"Proposals developed in partnership with and/or endorsed by local industry, employers, chambers of commerce and local councils will be regarded favourably," say fund application guidelines released Thursday.
The fund isn't limited to universities and TAFEs. Private providers who already receive government funding are also able to apply so long as consortia include as least one accredited higher education provider.
The fund also extends to the adult and community education sector.
Non-Victorian universities and higher education providers can be included in consortia but must demonstrate that they are offering outcomes that can't be delivered by a Victorian institution. The Australian Catholic University's Victorian campuses are counted as being Victorian under the guidelines.
The launch of the fund, which was an election commitment of the Ted Baillieu government elected in November last year, comes as many regional TAFEs are already seeking deals with universities to offer degrees in franchise-like arrangements.
Victorian TAFE Association executive director David Williams said the deals are partly being driven by the potential for universities to eat into traditional TAFE markets by offering associate degrees and diplomas.
"TAFEs are recognising that is an attractive option (for students) and they want to match that by going into partnerships with universities," Mr Williams said.
He said the university sector was keen to collaborate and the likes of Ballarat, Deakin and Charles Sturt universities had all been active in this area.
The University of Ballarat, which is a dual sector university, is seeking to work more closely with regional TAFEs and has applied for $24 million in funding towards its project under the Commonwealth's Structural Adjustment Fund.
"The SAF funding, the Regional Education Infrastructure Fund and now this State Government funding package are all focused on encouraging more regional students into tertiary education," Ballarat vice-chancellor David Battersby said.
"We have already had discussions with the State Government about how we might take advantage of this funding opportunity," he said.
La Trobe University deputy vice-chancellor John Rosenberg said the university was in talks aimed at delivering some degree programs jointly with TAFEs near its regional campuses.
At Bendigo it is looking at jointly delivering a bachelor of mechanical engineering with Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE, and at Shepparton a new bachelor of business administration with Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE.
"It is about working jointly together, with some delivery by the university and some by the TAFE, using the best resources of both institutions," Professor Rosenberg said.
"This fund has the potential to help us deliver these sorts of activities," he said.
Victoria's higher education and skills minister Peter Hall said "this initiative aims to increase alliances between TAFE institutes and universities to deliver a greater range of higher education programs in regional centres, giving more students the option to study in their hometown".
"In particular, this program aims to increase the number of TAFE campuses providing degree-level courses to make higher education opportunities more accessible for regional students and boost participation rates across the state," he said.
The fund will be offered in two tranches of $10 million each, with applications for the first tranche open between August and September. Applications for the second tranche will open between July and August next year.
Grants will range from $250,000 to 3 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment