TEQSA has accredited the first ever Aus university college

The Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency has anointed Avondale College an Australian university college, the first institution to make the cut in the category.  This could lead to it becoming accredited as a university in five years.

Avondale describes itself as a, “Christian higher education learning community that is dedicated to serving world needs.”

TEQSA’s announcement follows discussion last week that the Coaldrake review of higher education provider category standards might propose abolishing the up until now unused  classification.

However, this was opposed Friday by private-provider lobby, Independent Higher Education Australia, which suggested the timing of reporting requirements made it ‘almost impossible” for providers to qualify as colleges, which is bad, as “university college,” has “broad recognition as attaching to degree conferring institutions in Australia’s international markets.” (CMM Friday).

According to TEQSA, Avondale, qualifies as a university college because it has “realistic and achievable plans to meet all the criteria for an ‘Australian university’ “ within five years. It offers coursework masters in at least three of the broad fields it teaches and higher research degrees in one. Avondale also researches in three of the masters fields it teaches.