Australian Tertiary Education Commission to back prac payments and student passport

The new Australian Tertiary Education Commission will push for Prac payments for all university students and a jobs broker to find them part-time work in their field of study.

Paid on-the-job training and better links between university and vocational training will be priorities for the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission.

Prac payments for all university students and a jobs broker to find them part-time work in their field of study will be prioritised by the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC).

A sweeping review of university funding has been flagged by the interim chair of ATEC – Universities Accord chief Mary O’Kane – in her first interview since the Albanese government’s re-election.

Professor O’Kane said “prac payments’’ should cover all students required to undertake work experience or practicum placements as part of a university ­degree, and suggested that employers might foot the bill.

The Commonwealth Prac Payment of $320 a week, to start from July 1, only covers students of nursing, teaching and social work.

Professor O’Kane said her ­Accord review had found many students struggling to pay bills, after being forced to give up part-time jobs to work for free in hospitals and schools.

“We found so many kids living in big, shared houses, who seemed to be living on noodles,’’ she said.

“To have to give up their job to do their prac was really disheartening. “Our idea is that (the prac payment) be extended into the other professional disciplines that need it.

“Payments might come from employer groups … it doesn’t all have to come from government.’’

Professor Mary O'Kane, who led the Universities Accord review, has been appointed interim chair of the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission.

Professor O’Kane said the ­creation of a jobs broker to match university students to part-time work in their field of study was “one of my favourites’’ from the University Accord recommendations.

“The degree apprenticeship model is absolutely wonderful for some students and employers,’’ she said.

“Doing part-time work (while studying) also works very well, and (the Accord) had recommendations like a jobs broker where students might work in an area related to what they’re studying.’’

The Universities Admissions Centre in NSW revealed on Tuesday that nearly half of school leavers expected work experience and internship opportunities while they study.

In the nation’s largest survey of 18,000 school-leavers, UAC found that on-the-job experience and industry partnerships ranked among the top three priorities for students when selecting a course.

UAC’s chief strategy and engagement officer, Kim Paino, said half the 2500 undergraduate courses offered by 31 education institutions linked to UAC already included prac work as part of the curriculum.

This ranged from rural placements for agricultural students, ­industrial experience for engineering students and internships at animation studios.

UAC’s Student Lifestyle and Learning report shows that one in 11 school leavers took a “gap year’’ this year.

More students are baulking at the cost of degrees, with the proportion who take student debt into account rising 7 per cent since 2022.

Only 2 per cent of school leavers want to learn online, with 42 per cent preferring a blend of online and on-campus learning, and 56 per cent preferring to study only on campus.

Undergraduate nurses will be paid $320 per week during mandatory practicum placements in hospitals from July 1.

Professor O’Kane will review university funding arrangements, course pricing and costs to students when she starts work on July 1, chairing ATEC on an interim basis pending the passage of legislation at the end of the year.

She said ATEC would calculate the cost of delivering quality ­degrees in different fields, as part of a review of the former Coalition government’s unpopular Job-Ready Graduates scheme.

“We need to go back and open up that whole structure,’’ she said.

“We need to work out what a course costs, in a way that’s high-quality but not gold-plated’’.

Professor O’Kane suggested that universities may need to diversify their course offerings to end the “mad grab’’ of competing for the same students.

“Hopefully we will see greater specialisation, and we’ll see flourishing regional universities as well as flourishing metro universities,’’ she said. “There’s a real challenge with the numbers going to university … you’re not getting the doors beaten down at the moment.

“I do think we need more emphasis on really good learning online … for some people that’s the best way to study.’’

Calling for better collaboration between universities and vocational training, Professor O’Kane said a certificate or diploma could be awarded to some students who passed their subjects but failed to finish a university degree.

“There should be exit points so students can come out (of a degree) with a subsidiary qualification,’’ she said. “Some uni­versities have associate diplomas where people can use that to articulate into another degree.’’

Professor O’Kane said universities “need to be better’’ in giving students credit for previous study or work experience. “For some reason, there’s a resistance in the system about giving people credit,’’ she said.

“There does seem to be massive inertia with regard to it, when it’s actually really important.’’

Professor O’Kane said ATEC would “have a good look at’’ a student passport, recommended by the Accord, to help students “mix and match’’ qualifications and study options.

“The benefit is that students can, just like a passport, travel around (institutions),’’ she said.

“It certifies that ‘I’ve done this amount of work … so I might go to another institution and start a new degree, but with credit for what I’ve done already’. “You can do that now, but with a student passport it’s all conveniently in one spot so you’re not looking for loads of documentation.’’