ALLOCATION & FUNDING OF COMMONWEALTH SUPPORTED POSTGRADUATE PLACES Comments on DEEWR Consultation Paper 16 December 2011 Contact: Andre Kaspura Policy Analyst, International & National Policy, Engineers Australia 11 National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 Tel: 02 6270 6581 Email: akaspura@engineersaustralia.org.au
1. Introduction Engineers Australia is the peak body for engineering practitioners in Australia, representing all disciplines and branches of engineering. Membership is now approximately 96,000 Australia wide and Engineers Australia is the largest and most diverse professional engineering association in Australia. All Engineers Australia members are bound by a common commitment to promote engineering and to facilitate its practice for the common good. Engineers Australia maintains a competency based assessment system that determines the fitness for practice for Professional Engineers, Engineering Technologists and Engineering Associates at various stages of their engineering careers and the Stage 1 competency standards are the foundation references used to accredit entry level courses. Historically, most such courses were at the undergraduate level but several universities now offer coursework postgraduate programs to equip graduates to become Professional Engineers. Engineers Australia s objective is to ensure appropriate minimum standards are applied in Australian engineering education and believes that the design and format of specific courses is a matter for individual universities. Engineers Australia notes that higher education funding has increased significantly in recent years and further increases will be forthcoming in the demand driven model for undergraduate courses. In this context, Engineers Australia notes that increases in Commonwealth supported postgraduate places may be limited. Of the four options proposed to guide future changes for postgraduate support, Engineers Australia favours option 3; this option provides universities with negotiating flexibility consistent with different directions in course design. Much of the consultation paper is concerned with the nexus between Commonwealth support and entry to the professions. The engineering profession in Australia is only lightly regulated but this is changing. There is a high degree of consistency between the arrangements used by Engineers Australia within its membership base, by the National Engineering Registration Board in respect to engineers not members of Engineers Australia and the authorities in Queensland, the only Australian jurisdiction to require formal registration of engineers engaged in the provision of unsupervised engineering services. These arrangements are outlined in this submission and Engineers Australia commends them to DEEWR to inform its deliberations on support for courses geared for entry to the engineering profession. 2. The Engineering Profession There is no agreed definition for the engineering profession in Australia. As the leading professional association for engineers in Australia, Engineers Australia recognises the engineering team comprising the following engineering practitioners: Professional Engineers apply lifelong learning, critical perception and engineering judgment to the performance of engineering services. Professional Engineers challenge current thinking and conceptualise alternative approaches, often engaging in research and development of new engineering principles, technologies and materials. Professional Engineers apply their analytical skills and well developed grasp of scientific principles and engineering theory to design original and novel solutions to complex problems. Professional Engineers exercise a disciplined and systematic approach to innovation and creativity, comprehension of risks and benefits and use informed professional judgment to ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 16 December 2011 Page 1
select optimal solutions, justify and defend these selections to clients, colleagues and the community. Professional Engineers require at least the equivalent of the competencies in a four year full time Bachelors degrees in engineering. Engineering Technologists exercise ingenuity, originality and understanding in adapting and applying technologies, developing related new technologies or applying scientific knowledge within their specialised environment. The education, expertise and analytical skills of Engineering Technologists equip them with a robust understanding of the theoretical and practical application of engineering and technical principles. Within their specialisation, Engineering Technologists contribute to the improvement of standards and codes of practise, and the adaptation of established technologies to new situations. Engineering Technologists require at least the equivalent of the competencies in a three year full time Bachelors degree in engineering. Engineering Associates apply detailed knowledge of standards and codes of practice to selecting, specifying, installing, commissioning, monitoring, maintaining, repairing and modifying complex assets such as structures, plant, equipment, components and systems. The education, training and experience of Engineering Associates equip them with the necessary theoretical knowledge and analytical skills for testing, fault diagnosis and understanding the limitations of complex assets in familiar operating situations. Engineering Associates require at least the equivalent of the competencies in a two year full time Associate degree in engineering or a two year full time diploma or advanced diploma in engineering from a university, TAFE College or registered training provider. 3. Engineering Education and Accreditation Engineers Australia evaluates undergraduate engineering education programs conducted by Australian universities and accredits those that meet Engineers Australia s academic requirements for membership at the levels of Professional Engineer and Engineering Technologists. Universities participate in the accreditation process on a voluntary basis, but nearly all do. At July 2011, Engineers Australia had accredited over 400 Bachelors degree programs and 49 Masters programs offered at the Professional Engineer level at over 40 campuses in Australia. In addition, Engineers Australia had also accredited over 80 Bachelors degree programs at Engineering Technologist level at 23 campuses in Australia. These numbers do not include double/dual degree programs or programs offered by Australia institutions at overseas campuses. Engineers Australia s accreditation processes are now extending to programs at the Engineering Associate level by evaluating programs conducted by universities, TAFEs and registered training providers. Engineers Australia s accreditation processes are in line with minimum competencies that are agreed in international accords. These competencies are audited every five years and similar arrangements apply to the course accreditation program. The important points relevant to this Submission are: The competencies applied are minimum standards rather than required standards, Although participation in the accreditation process is voluntary, almost all universities choose to participate, and While an intention of the international accords was to facilitate international mobility of engineers, the value of international benchmarking Australian courses is widely recognised and accepted. ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 16 December 2011 Page 2
Historically, coursework masters programs have focussed on professional development for qualified, practicing engineering professionals. These programs build on a professional development platform and have been outside the Engineers Australia accreditation process. The past decade has seen the emergence of a different type of coursework masters program. These programs are aimed at achieving Professional Engineer competencies by providing an articulation pathway for students with a primary bachelor degree either in engineering or in another field. These programs include courses comprising a three year bachelor degree plus two year masters degree (three plus two) designed to train Professional Engineers. Three plus two packages are a relatively new development and present indications suggest that universities are taking different approaches; in some cases the initial bachelors degree satisfy the minimum competencies required for Engineering Technologists, but in other cases the initial degree is more general and does not meet the minimum competencies for Engineering Technologists. In both situations, completion of the masters degree stage often exceeds the minimum competencies required for Professional Engineer status. To distinguish these newer coursework masters programs they are referred to as conversion masters. As noted in the consultation paper, many conversion masters programs have benefited from the increase in Commonwealth Supported (post-graduate) Places since 2005. Engineers Australia does not favour one approach to course design over another, providing course outcomes meet the minimum competencies required for entry into the engineering team. Engineers Australia believes that matters relating to course design are for the universities to resolve, just as course preference is a matter for intending students. In the past, Engineers Australia has argued that part of the solution to an endemic shortage of engineers should be additional Commonwealth Supported Places for domestic students in engineering. This advocacy was based on the premise that the principal mode of entry to engineering for domestic students was undergraduate courses and occurred prior to the introduction of the demand driven model for undergraduate courses. Although there have been dramatic changes to funding arrangements for universities and these have been accompanied by new approaches to engineering education, the underlying policy concern for Engineers Australia remains; Australia does not produce sufficient domestic engineering graduates and changes in higher education funding arrangements should aim to overcome this problem and not hamper it. 3. Entry to the Engineering profession While noting substantial agreement with the definition of a profession attributed to the Australian Council of Professions, Engineers Australia believes that consideration of university funding for courses geared to entry to the professions is confused and contradictory because different arrangements apply in different areas and because some professions are regulated and others are not. This section aims to set out Engineers Australia s view on key issues as they relate to engineering. As stated above, university engineering course accreditation in Australia is voluntary but there is almost complete participation in Engineers Australia s accreditation process. Accreditation is in accordance with minimum competencies necessary for Professional Engineers, Engineering Technologists and Engineering Associates. The competencies applied are established in international agreements that are regularly audited and resulting changes are communicated to ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 16 December 2011 Page 3
universities and incorporated in the on-going process. Engineers Australia refers to these standards as Stage 1 competencies. Engineers Australia does not mandate specific minimum educational qualifications for entry to the engineering profession, nor does any Government authority whether State, Territory or Commonwealth. In the past, the development of undergraduate engineering courses has paralleled the three sets of minimum competencies and may have contributed to the perception that four year bachelor, three year bachelor and associate degrees (and advanced diplomas) in engineering were the minimum requirements for entry to the engineering team. The emergence of the three plus two model for Professional Engineers shows that this view is not sustainable and the focus remains on minimum competencies rather than specific degrees. There are numerous areas of specialisation in engineering and in most cases specialisation begins at entry level by imparting specialist knowledge relating to different engineering disciplines within a common educational framework. This is illustrated by the large number of accredited programs in many universities because each specialisation is separately accredited. Programs at coursework masters, graduate diploma and certificate levels have become popular vehicles for Professional Engineers and Engineering Technologists to build advanced technical and/or professional capability but these are professional development pathways, rather than the base qualifications needed to commence engineering practice. It may be argued that the three plus two course design is a better educational model because it aims to instil in students engineering competencies above the minimum necessary for entry to the engineering profession. As is the case in many situations, more is often better than less but Engineers Australia believes that the minimum competencies applied in its accreditation process are already consistent with high regularly audited international standards. In common with many other professions, stage 1 competencies are insufficient for independent, unsupervised engineering practice. Engineers Australia requires its members to build on Stage 1 competencies through additional workplace training and work experience. Members who satisfy specified training and experience criteria meet Stage 2 competencies and are recognised by becoming Chartered Engineers. To maintain this status, Chartered Engineers must satisfy ongoing professional development criteria. Engineers Australia believes that additional academic study, that is study beyond the minimum necessary to achieve stage 1 competencies, is not a substitute for the workplace training and practical experience required to achieve stage 2 competencies. However, membership of Engineers Australia is voluntary. Although Engineers Australia s membership is large, in most Australian jurisdictions there is a plethora of regulations and by-laws that cover engineering practice. In some cases there are no requirements for individuals offering engineering services and consumers have little recourse beyond normal common law protection. The Commonwealth is one of these jurisdictions. Queensland is the only Australian jurisdiction where engineers must be registered to provide professional engineering services unsupervised. The Queensland system is modelled on Engineers Australia s arrangements and Engineers Australia provides Stage 2 competencies assessments to Queensland authorities for registration purposes. Engineers Australia believes, and strongly advocates a nationally consistent regulatory regime on similar lines to those in Queensland. ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 16 December 2011 Page 4
In the absence of consistent national registration of engineers, Engineers Australia, in conjunction with Consult Australia, APESMA and the Institute of Public Works Engineers, has established the National Engineering Registration Board (NERB) to provide a registration mechanism for engineers who are not members of Engineers Australia and who have demonstrated Stage 2 competencies. However, like membership of Engineers Australia, registration with NERB is voluntary. Engineers Australia continues to advocate national registration of engineers and has commissioned a benefit-cost study to strengthen the case for a resolution in the present COAG work program. Engineers Australia believes that engineering education and engineering practice in Australia should be conducted within the framework of Stage 1 and Stage 2 competencies described in this section. While there may be some scope in the future for alignment of specific course formats and professional practice, this is not the case now and the more flexible arrangements leading to entry to the engineering profession that have emerged in the education system will need to be reflected in the mix of Commonwealth Supported Places for undergraduate and postgraduate engineering study to ensure that there is no reduction in Australia s output of engineering graduates. 4. Future Support for Post-graduate Places Engineers Australia accepts that it is unlikely that the Government would extend the demand driven approach to postgraduate courses. The consultation paper proposes four options for future funding of coursework postgraduate courses. Engineers Australia favours option 3 that is, in future universities should negotiate their allocation of postgraduate places within an overarching funding envelope for the university. In engineering it is likely that the mix of courses now developing provides a reasonable guide to future directions. Universities are best placed to decide which courses are best suited to their objectives and there should be sufficient flexibility in the funding arrangements to enable individual universities to differentiate their programs. Engineers Australia notes the difficulties outlined in the consultation paper regarding the criterion that supported postgraduate courses should be an accepted entry level for a profession. Engineers Australia believes that there is a coherent framework linking engineering education and entry to the engineering. The degree of formal regulation of engineering in Australia is less than is the case for some other professions but this situation has changed in Queensland and further changes in this direction are anticipated through the COAG process on skills regulation. There is a high level of participation by universities in Engineers Australia s accreditation process for university courses. Similarly, there is a high degree of consistency between the standards and procedures used by Engineers Australia, by NERB and by Queensland registration authorities to identify engineering practitioners who have the capacity to provide engineering services unsupervised. Engineers Australia commends this framework to DEEWR to support deliberations relating to the funding of postgraduate courses that prepare graduates for entry to the engineering profession. Engineers Australia does not wish to nominate or seek to mandate specific courses for entry to the engineering profession as has been done in the instances referred to in the consultation paper. Engineers Australia plans to continue the present accreditation process and the process will continue to be applied to courses that aim to meet the minimum competencies required for entry to ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 16 December 2011 Page 5
the profession, including conversion coursework masters programs. As is the case at present, programs that aim to achieve professional development objectives are not included in the accreditation process. Some courses deliver competencies that exceed the minimum required for accreditation. Engineers Australia expresses no views on this matter and believes it should be considered and resolved in the option 3 funding negotiations between the university concerned and the Commonwealth. Finally, Engineers Australia supports the move to demand driven support for undergraduate places in Australian universities. Australia does not produce enough qualified engineers and is becoming too reliant on skilled migration (in 2010, overseas born engineers were 52.6% of the engineering labour force, far higher than was the case in other skilled areas). ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 16 December 2011 Page 6