Last week the feds announced the states had agreed and undergraduate certificate short courses would stay Australian Qualification Framework accredited to 2025 (CMM December 2)

Which must have cheered up acting minister for all things educational Stuart Robert no end, because yesterday he explained undergrad certs are a thoroughly good thing.

“The higher education sector has stepped up to the challenge to develop and deliver high-quality short courses to ensure we can get the economy back on track following the effects of the pandemic, and Australians should take advantage of these fantastic offerings in all areas of study,” he said in a Sydney speech.

But where will the money to run them come from? Mr Robert had an answer yesterday, “universities and eligible non-university higher education providers will be able to continue to deliver these important courses using 2021 unspent funding allocations.”

Good-o, except for institutions whose offerings to date are indeed so fantastic that funding for their share of the 47 500 CSPs so far is spent.

But fear not – all is well-ish. The Department of Education Skills and Employment advises, “providers can continue to deliver already approved short courses. Any new courses will be subject to an assessment process in early 2022. New courses must target areas of industry need and contribute to greater university-industry collaboration.”

There will be more information in December, which presumably means sometime in the 15 working days between now and the holidays. Got content for a new UG cert you want to run next semester? Cancel Christmas.