An Implementation Consultation Paper on the establishment of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) was released by the government on Friday, detailing the proposed functions for the new body, including the proposal that ATEC will “manage international student profiles for public universities”.
The government committed to establishing ATEC following a recommendation in the Australian Universities Accord Final Report that the Commission be established as a public sector steward for the tertiary education system.
The consultation paper proposes that ATEC’s functions will cover stewardship, funding and pricing, policy, and performance elements for the higher education sector. It also proposes that ATEC will “influence and inform” government policy, national skills planning in the higher education sector, tertiary education settings, student choice, and provider performance and quality.
The paper is more definitive regarding the reference to international student profiles stating that the ATEC will also “manage international student profiles for public universities” and “play a role advising on and monitoring overall tertiary education targets”.
The only other reference to international students is in the context of it having an outcomes-focused operating model, requiring it to work closely with the sector, seeking regular information and advice, including “estimates of student load across funding clusters for both domestic and international students”.
The paper proposes that ATEC will be housed within the Department of Education, would be led by the statutory office holders of a full-time Chief Commissioner, two part-time Deputy Commissioners, and a part time First Nations Commissioner, with a Chief Executive Officer to lead ATEC’s day-to-day functions. This structure is similar to the current structure of TEQSA.
The ATEC consultation paper details implementation issues for comment, with the most interesting in terms of insight to the government’s current views of the sector being:
- how can the ATEC be set up so that it has sufficient expertise in the higher education sector while maintaining its focus on decision making that is in the national interest, rather than sectoral interest?
The government also released a consultation paper on a new Managed Growth Funding System for higher education. TKN will have more on this paper in the coming days.
The consultation papers on ATEC and the new Managed Growth Funding system can be found here. Feedback is sought on both consultation papers by Friday, 26 July 2024.
