Griffith University has joined the growing number of universities with clear credit pathways between TAFE and a selection of undergraduate degrees, in another step towards harmonising pathways from VET to HE.
Vice-Chancellor Carolyn Evans announced that TAFE Queensland diploma graduates would get a full year of credit towards undergraduate degrees at Griffith, ranging from Business to Cyber Security to Nursing.
Griffith and TAFE Queensland announced the agreement today and TAFE Queensland rep Shayne Ostwald said the agreement build on 25 years of collaboration between the two institutions.
So would price-savvy Queenslanders be better skipping first year and doing a diploma instead before transitioning into uni? The short answer is it depends.
It depends on whether you can navigate the rabbit warren of degree info on TAFE Queensland’s website and their multiple price points for any one program. Diploma fees vary considerably – the concession cost for visual arts is more than $10k while for Early Childhood Ed it is $75.
JRG or no JRG, students looking for a lower cost route into HE will clearly choose TAFE if A. they can get over the stigma (stigma in relation to TAFE is very real in perceptions of large numbers of school leavers, we have seen in market research again and again) B. if they can negotiate the complexities of the TAFE Queensland various fee structures (what other organisation charges $10 for a reprint of a receipt?) and C. once they have confidence that the transition from TAFE to uni is relatively simple.
Is this a structural shift – the emergence of a new breed of quasi dual-sector institutions, to add to the six where HE and VET exist under one roof? Or just a better approach to credit recognition and access procedures? Only time will tell.