EXCHANGING PATHWAYS

At the ACPET seminar held in Leederville on 6 October, titled EXCHANGING PATHWAYS, we discussed credit arrangements and articulation agreements between RTOs and Universities. Andrew Crevald, Director of Curtin College, said “the rule is that there is no rule". He pointed out that Universities and HEPs generally assess each aspiring VET pathway provider individually. He emphasized the importance to understand that ‘credits’ granted by a University or HEP do not necessarily result in an exception for one or more units. He observed that VET graduates transitioning to HE are often not aware or not informed about the difference between credits and exceptions. Crevald recommends pathway providers to make the difference explicit in their marketing material.

Lisa Goldacre from the University of Notre Dame added another dimension to our understanding of pathway agreements with Universities. At University of Notre Dame, RTOs seeking credit agreements are recommended to carefully study Notre Dame's strategic plan, vision, course offers and student cohorts and to integrate those facts and values into their proposal. Notre Dame would consider partnerships with RTOs that benefit students. It is good to see that their selection criteria for credit agreements are not limited to curriculum mapping only.

Notre Dame’s high student satisfaction rating is most likely a reflection of their focus on students’ suitability to the course of study. Goldacre also stated that at Notre Dame, all applicants for a course are interviewed by an academic, not only a student support or marketing officer.

The seminar provided us with a better understanding of how to ensure that our pre-enrolment process would help students make informed decisions not only for their VET course, but potentially also for their further studies at University.

It was a most inspiring seminar organised by ACPET and we are looking forward to the next one.