This event being hosted by the Society for Research into Higher Education in London may be of interest to our subscribers. It has resonance with work under taken by PASCAL in its PURE study of Melbourne.

SRHE HE-FE SEMINAR

Date: Friday 25^th November 2011

Time: Registration10.30 - 1.00

Venue:   Edexcel - Shell Building at 80 The Strand, London,WC1V 7BH

AUSTRALIAN STORIES

This seminar features an analysis of the Australia tertiary sector from three perspectives: the provider, the learner and the practitioner. It will focus on how tertiary education is at the forefront of workforce development, widening participation and accreditation both staff and learners. The seminar will provide an opportunity for members to meet practitioners from Australian university and TAFE institutions who are visiting the UK as part of a study tour funded by the University of Victoria and the National Council for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

Professor Anne Jones, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia: The providers' story: institutional resettlement and the knowledge economy.

The Australian tertiary education sector is currently experiencing the most dramatic changes it has seen in 20 years. In seeking to better meet the emerging workforce development needs of the knowledge economy, state and federal government policies are creating a competitive environment in which qualifications, institutions and sectors are vying for learners. This volatile mix is likely to result in a permanent restructuring of our institutions and the broader tertiary sector. The presentation will tell this story and raise some critical questions about the increasingly blurred boundaries between HE and FE/VET provision in Australia.

Susan Young, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia: The Learners’ story

The current Australian government widening participation agenda is opening the door to learners from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of readiness for a tertiary education experience. While there has been a history in Australian tertiary institutions of providing co-curricular and curricular strategies to support learners, the focus is shifting to whole of institution approaches to enhance the student experience. This means that course design, pedagogical methods, learner scaffolding, pathways, transition and retention strategies need to be coherent and coordinated across the institution. The task is complicated by the fact that learners are increasingly in the workplace or fitting in their learning amongst work and family commitments.

This session will outline the growing impact of the widening participation agenda and discuss the strategies being put in place to address the needs of learners from diverse backgrounds which will enable them to experience success.

Denise Stevens, TAFE Development Centre, Melbourne, Australia:  The Practitioner’ story- Developing a scholarly approach to vocational degrees
Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers are now in a position to offer externally accredited, three and four year vocational degrees. This has resulted in considerable cultural change within these organisations; implicit in this has been the need to ensure that teaching staff are appropriately qualified to deliver degree programs and that a scholarly culture is developed within the organisation. This presentation will consider these issues in the context of the workforce development requirements for the sector.

Event booking details

To reserve a place at this seminar please register at http://www.eventdotorg.co.uk/events.asp or telephone +44 (0) 207 4472525.   SRHE events are open to all and free to SRHE members as part of their membership package. The delegate fee for non-members is £25 [full time students £20]. Non-members wishing to join the Society may do so at the time of registration and the delegate fee will be waived. Please note that places must be booked in advance and that a £25 for non-attendance will  be charged if a place has been reserved but no notice of cancellation/non-attendance has been given in advance.

Interested in joining the Network-but not able to attend this event? To receive details of future events in this series and to join the mailing list, please email [email protected].