Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

offers over 700 courses, including bachelor degrees to local, national and internationalstudents. Programs of study offered include statements of attainment, certificates, diplomas,advanced diplomas, graduate diplomas, degrees and the ACT Year 12 Certificate. CIT alsoprovides an expanding range of VET in Schools programs across the ACT and works closelywith all education sectors.Canberra is uniquely placed to offer a vertically and horizontally integrated education andtraining sector incorporating schools, VET providers and universities. It is small enough andcontained enough to support a coherent approach, but large enough to offer a critical mass ofstudents and staff to foster further development of a world class centre for lifelong education.There is enormous scope for innovation in delivery of education in Canberra. Possibilitiesinclude amalgamating CIT and UC; enhanced collaboration between Canberra’s universities;and greater integration of VET and university learning into the final years of schooleducation. This is underpinned by the guaranteed and mandatory place in education ortraining for young people until they turn 17. Options exist for university high schools,specialist or selective high schools and colleges, sharing of resources and/or collocation andsharing of teaching facilities.The ACT Government has established a Tertiary Taskforce with representatives of industry,education professionals and government to consult on the future of tertiary education in theACT. The Taskforce has been considering options under which the tertiary education sectorwould be integrated to establish a coherent federation of providers that incorporates providersranging from small private training providers to large, research-intensive universities. Theproposal has been described as “education without borders” under which students at variousstages could choose from a range of educational offerings putting together programs thatmeet their personal and professional needs, drawing from as many educational institutions inthe network as they need, with no administrative hurdles.UC and CIT are both strong brands in the education market. There are already extensivearticulation and other collaborative arrangements in place between UC and CIT. Over 150credit transfer arrangements are in place, covering diplomas and advanced diplomas in avariety of discipline areas. Students can receive credit for CIT studies to reduce the numberof units they need to study at UC. This close relationship and commonality of purpose createsadvantages in the delivery of tertiary education, including through how courses are tailoredand student transition. The Review recommends that the partnership be further enhancedthrough the formal marriage of the CIT with UC.It will be important for the amalgamation to be carefully managed so the benefit of themarket presence for both institutions is not lost.Concurrent work is being undertaken by the ACT Tertiary Taskforce. A circuit breaker teammight be formed to consider options to implement its recommendations, along with theproposals outlined in this Report. It will be important to ensure that any changes do notdiminish access to tertiary education for all Canberrans, or see the agglomeration of moreAdministrative Arrangements Changes: 165