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The Australian education industry explained
Proud moments in Australian education history
Have you considered distance education?
The Australian education industry explained
Universities
There are 39 universities in Australia. 37 are public universities and two are private — Bond University in Queensland and Notre Dame University in Western Australia. Public universities offer Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) to Australian students, which means that the government subsidises your study and students can access a HECS-HELP loan to help cover the costs. Private universities charge full tuition fees, although there are also loan schemes available through FEE-HELP.
The Federal Government’s Higher Education Report 2008 said that around 655,000 domestic students were assisted in meeting the cost of their higher education place through discounts and loans under the Higher Education Loan Program, which includes HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP.
Read more information on degree costs and loans.
TAFE and VET colleges
The Technical and Further Education (TAFE) sector is the largest education and training sector in Australia. Thousands of students take advantage of the extensive range of courses and subject areas that provide practical skills and vocational training for a huge variety of careers.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses are offered by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). These can include TAFE institutes and private colleges. These organisations are all registered by each Australian state or territory authority to provide quality training, deliver courses developed with industry and issue a nationally recognised qualification.
Read more about VET costs and loans.
A list of registered RTOs is provided on the National Training Information Service (NTIS) website.
This table shows the pathways of various qualifications you can undertake. There are many pathways between the vocational sector and the higher education sector.
AQF qualifications by education sector and approximate duration of course
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Schools sector |
VET sector |
Higher education sector |
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Senior Secondary Certificate of Education |
Certificate I (6 months) |
Diploma (1 year) |
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Certificate II (6 months) |
Associate degree, advanced diploma (1.5 years) |
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Certificate III (1 year) |
Bachelor degree (3 years) |
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Certificate IV (1 year) |
Graduate certificate (6 months) |
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Diploma (1 year) |
Graduate diploma (1 year) |
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Advanced diploma (1.5 years) |
Masters degree (1–3 years) |
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Vocational graduate certificate (6 months) |
Doctoral degree (3+ years) |
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Vocational graduate diploma (1 year) |
Proud moments in Australian education history
Australian universities have produced many notable and distinguished alumni in many fields including science, medicine and the arts. Australian universities and education providers have a history of nurturing and celebrating talent, and launching graduates onto the world stage.
Here are just a few examples of graduates from Australian education providers who have gone on to compete on the world stage:
Dr Elizabeth Blackburn
Tasmanian-born molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2009, and is Australia’s 11th Nobel laureate. Dr Blackburn started her tertiary career at Melbourne University, and after completing a masters degree in biology she moved on to complete her PhD at Cambridge. Dr Blackburn discovered the telomerase enzyme, which 85 per cent of cancers depend on for their continuing growth. This discovery may make it possible to treat many cancers by developing drugs that block the activity of telomerase.
Professor Ian Frazer
Professor Ian Frazer from the University of Queensland discovered a vaccine for cervical cancer, which has proven to be close to 100 per cent effective against certain types of human papilloma virus. Professor Frazer was named Australian of the Year in 2006.
Graduates from the arts
James Wan and Leigh Whannell met at RMIT University and went on to create the successful Saw movie franchise. Sam Worthington graduated from NIDA in 1998 and recently appeared in James Cameron’s Avatar, one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Tim Winton write his first nove while studying at Curtin University of Technology. An Open Swimmer went on to win The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1981.
First day starting tips
New students
After all the fuss of applying for your course, getting in and enrolling, you’re probably wondering ‘What comes next?’.
A great next step is to attend your education provider’s orientation week. This is the week before classes when you can make friends and get familiar with your campus. ‘O’ Week is filled with fun activities that are designed to ease you into university life. This could take the form of a scavenger hunt, campus tour, sporting activities or a pub crawl.
Orientation is also a great time to seek out the university services: go on a library tour, join some clubs and familiarise yourself with your campus. The more comfortable and at home you feel, the more likely you are to be enthusiastic about your course and do well academically.
During your first day you will probably be a little bit overwhelmed — especially if you are in a lecture with over 200 students. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd, which is why it’s a great idea to take advantage of the many activities available to you. Try talking to one new person in every lecture or class. You’ll be surprised at how many people are just as eager to engage in conversation.
Returning students
You are familiar with your campus and your fellow students already, so for a returning student it may be time to start thinking about your future career. Are there opportunities for you to get involved with an internship or a part-time job that’s related to your degree? It may seem a while away now, but after you graduate you will be in a very competitive environment trying to get a job.
Work experience or internships can often give you the incentive you need to keep ploughing through your degree. Talk to your teachers and lecturers about the kind of opportunities you should explore while you’re in your final years of study.
Working while studying
Working while studying is not a choice for most students — it’s a reality. Most students work casually or part time to fund their education, pay rent, buy textbooks, and have a social life.
How many hours you work depends on your contact hours at university and your specific needs. Many students organise their uni timetable to have one or two full days off during the week, and then work weekends as well.
Make sure you leave enough time for study, and also to chill out and socialise with friends. There are long summer and semester breaks so consider working full time during these periods to save the money you will need during semester.
Remember that the hours you work may affect your Centrelink allowances
Before starting paid work you should be aware of your rights and responsibilities as an employee. The Federal Government has introduced new workplace legislation, Fair Work Australia, which went into effect on 1 January 2010. The new legislation introduced a range of changes, some of which applies to casual or part-time workers. This guide for young workers may answer some of your questions.
Some things to think about:
- make sure you are being paid at or above the minimum rate of pay, as set out by Fair Work Australia.
- think carefully about doing unpaid 'trial work'. You should be paid for all work you undertake (unless you are volunteering or undertaking work experience arranged through your education provider).
- carefully read through any contract you are asked to sign.
Consider looking for work in the field you are studying — this will not only bring in the extra money you need, but also give you invaluable experience for finding work after you graduate. For instance, many media, communication and journalism students look for part-time work as assistants in media organisations such as local newspapers, radio stations or production companies.
Scholarships
Have you considered applying for a scholarship to help with the cost of your study? There are many different scholarships available, for first-year through to postgraduate students.
Students can be awarded scholarships from three different sources: the Federal Government; your education provider; or private organisations such as philanthropic societies, special interest groups and corporations. Scholarships may be intended to provide funds to financially disadvantaged students, high achievers, students in a particular course or those from a particular region. Some cover tuition fees while others go towards living expenses or accommodation costs.
The Federal Government funds many research degrees through the Research Training Scheme (RTS). Thanks to the RTS most research degrees are effectively free from course fees so long as they are completed within a certain time. Other research degrees are generally funded by university ‘fee-waiver’ scholarships or students themselves.
Another option for postgraduate students are the Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) which provide a modest annual stipend designed to cover basic accommodation and living expenses.
Explore all your options on the scholarships search page.
My University
The Government recently announced its intention to launch a website called My University in 2012. The Minister for Education, The Hon Julia Gillard MP, announced at the Universities Australia Higher Education Conference in March that the aim of the website is to allow students “… to make their choice about their university on the basis of information about quality rather than students having to rely on hearsay, inference from entry requirements or the perceived prestige of universities”. Ms Gillard stated that the Government aims to provide a transparent and unbiased source of information about each of Australia’s 39 universities by comparing and ranking the universities in terms of:
- student to staff ratios
- results of student satisfaction surveys
- measures of graduate skills
- graduate outcomes
- information about fees
- information about access to student services, and most importantly
- quality of teaching and learning outcomes.
The idea to launch this website arose from the popularity of the Government’s recent My School website initiative. The My School website, which was released in January amidst a flurry of public and media interest, compares the literacy and numeracy skills of students for every Australian school. The simplicity and accessibility of the data presented on the site has been widely praised, as have the comparisons and rankings which can be formed between schools. The Government intends to achieve a similar result with the My University website, even though at present no standardised test exists which can be used to compare academic results or rank universities.
Views and opinions on universities are often formed through the subjective experiences of friends and family. Whilst these sources can be useful when deciding about going to university, prospective university students can still make an educated choice about what and where to study using the objective ratings provided by the Good Uni Guide suite of products. The My University website is not set to be launched until 2012, yet the information currently exists for you on Good Uni Guide to make a choice about how best to further your education. Good Uni Guide contains detailed independent ratings of all universities on the criteria you choose — be it on the basis of entry difficulty, employment outcomes, or even starting salaries. You can also peruse the Good Uni Guide institution, course and career searches, which can help in assessing which university is best suited to you. Sign up for free and unlimited access to the Good Uni Guide ratings and make an informed decision on what and where to study at university.
Have you considered distance education?
Tertiary education through distance study is also known as online or external study. A similar option is mixed mode or flexible enrolment, which combines on-campus classes, workshops and residentials with distance delivery, making it perfect for students who prefer some face-to-face contact. Part of the course may be delivered in a ‘block’ of on-campus study, especially if it has a hands-on learning component.
How do you study?
Course materials are delivered to you, usually via email. Course materials may include a subject guide, written versions of lectures and further reading material. Distance students look in the subject guide to find out what course materials or other resources they must read each week. And of course, students complete assignments during the semester and usually email them to the lecturer.
Online delivery
Distance students now have access to many of the same resources as their on-campus counterparts at the touch of a button! The internet has not only allowed lecture notes and other course information to be delivered via websites, but also made it possible for students to download the lectures themselves as sound or video recordings. The only catch is the need for good, fast internet access; students in rural areas should consider this if their course will rely heavily on online materials.
What can you study?
A wide range of courses and online degrees can be studied by distance through universities, TAFE institutes and private tertiary education providers. Browse through the many course options.
Upcoming university open days
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ACT |
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Australian National University |
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University of Canberra |
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Victoria |
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Australian Catholic University |
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Deakin University |
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RMIT University |
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La Trobe University |
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Monash University |
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Swinburne University of Technology |
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University of Ballarat |
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University of Melbourne |
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Victoria University |
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Queensland |
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Bond University |
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CQ University |
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Griffith University |
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James Cook University |
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Queensland University of Technology |
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University of Queensland |
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University of Southern Queensland |
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University of the Sunshine Coast |
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New South Wales |
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Charles Sturt University |
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Macquarie University |
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Southern Cross University |
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University of New England |
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University of New South Wales |
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University of Newcastle |
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University of Sydney |
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University of Technology, Sydney |
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University of Western Sydney |
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University of Wollongong |
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Northern Territory |
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Charles Darwin University |
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South Australia |
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Flinders University |
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University of Adelaide |
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University of South Australia |
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Tasmania |
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University of Tasmania |
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Western Australia |
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Curtin University |
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Edith Cowan University |
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Murdoch University |
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University of Notre Dame, Australia |
22 August (Fremantle), 28 August (Sydney) |
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University of Western Australia |
