Over the past thirty years, the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) has supported independent providers across the entire tertiary education sector. This has included a growing community of independent higher education institutions and, following their considered advice and guidance, a new chapter of this journey has commenced, ITECA Higher Education.
“For many years, we’ve had independent higher education institutions as members. The commitment to these members is reflected in the ability of ITECA Higher Education to provide the focussed policy leadership on issues unique to leading higher education institutions,” said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
“ITECA Higher Education provides peer-to-peer collaborative networks and member-driven policy advocacy. The focus of ITECA Higher Education is on creating an environment in which independent institutions can deliver the best outcomes for students,’ said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
The evolution of ITECA Higher Education comes at a critical time as the Australian Government looks to develop the Australian Universities Accord.
“ITECA Higher Education wants to create a system where students are free to study with the institution of their choice and that there is universal access to higher education funding, loan programmes and research funding. The approaches of the Australian Government that favours public institutions are no longer appropriate and don’t support students at all well,” Mr Williams said.
“A major policy reform objective for ITECA Higher Education is to put students at the heart of the higher education system. In this context, the advocacy priority will be to ensure that the Australian, state and territory governments pursue policies that are provider agnostic. In that context, the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report disappointed our members with its overt focus on, and support for, public institutions,” Mr Williams said.
“Going forward, ITECA Higher Education looks forward to working with existing members, new members, and government on the issues that are critical to the delivery of quality education,” Mr Williams said.
The ability of ITECA Higher Education to support our members, to have constructive conversations across government, and to drive lasting reform stems from its affiliation with ITECA. This provides access to the considerable resources, staff expertise and member network of the peak body representing the entire independent tertiary education sector, including skills training and international education providers.
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Key Facts:
ITECA Higher Education provides peer-to-peer collaborative networks and member-driven advocacy for independent higher education institutions.
Independent institutions support around 10% of the 1.6 million students in a higher education awards program.
