It came from left of field. While the university sector was busy pitching for new sources of revenue and ways of attracting more feepaying students, the boundaries of the playing field were redrawn by the State Government.
TAFE, previously the provider of vocational education and training, got the green light to offer degree courses - with provisos.
Unlike universities, which have autonomy to design and offer their own degree courses, TAFE must have each course approved by an independent Higher Education Accreditation Committee (HEAC).
It's a further step in the evolution of higher education. Students completing certain TAFE courses are now routinely eligible for credit when enrolling in a related subject at university. More recently, TAFEs have been offering degrees in partnership with individual universities.
The initial study is at TAFE, with the final subjects taught by the university partner.
But the announcement by state Education Minister Lynne Kosky last month sets up an element of competition between the two types of providers, blurring the distinction between vocational and higher education.
Some of the bigger TAFE institutes are expected to offer degrees in subjects such as aquaculture, equine studies, hospitality, tourism, information technology and biotechnology.
Some of these, however, are already on offer at Victorian universities.
La Trobe for example, offers a bachelor of viticultural science and wine production. Judy Tisdall, coordinator of the La Trobe program, expects that the proposed degree in viticulture at Northern Melbourne Institute of Tafe (NMIT) ``will be different from ours. Theirs will be vocational, while ours is sciencebased,'' she says.
"Whether they call it a degree or not, people will know. Theirs will be a bachelor of viticulture, whereas ours will be a bachelor of viticultural science and wine production. Like wine, its all about quality,'' she says.
But NMIT chief executive Brian MacDonald points out that NMIT is already running the practical aspect of La Trobe University's viticulture degree and has identified a niche market for a more applied degree in the subject.
"I'm not putting ourselves head to head with La Trobe,'' he says. ``They use our vineyards and our staff as part of their program. But our degree course would be far more applied - from preparation of the vineyard, development, trellising, planting, irrigation, care, (to) picking, processing in our own winery, marketing and labelling for export and so on. It will be more than just a science degree with some viticulture subjects.''
One of the significant differences between TAFE undergraduate degrees and those delivered through a university is that the TAFE courses will be fullfeepaying and will not be eligible for either the HECS subsidy or HECS loan. Depending on the course, the degree programs are expected to come with a price tag of about $8000 per student per year.
For TAFE - struggling financially to fulfil its charter and provide public education and training - this opens up a potentially lucrative new source of revenue. William Angliss CEO David Riley sees the open market in higher education as an opportunity which can be turned to public benefit. ``We are all (universities and TAFEs) running education and training businesses,'' he says.
"This (degree) initiative is about creating viable education and training opportunities that will bring in revenue and that way we will be able to expand the types of courses on offer. Any net surplus we make won't be paid out to shareholders. It will be reinvested to create more training opportunities.''
Victoria is not the first state to allow TAFE institutes to offer degree programs. In South Australia, for example, undergraduate degrees in business, dance performance and visual arts are obtainable through TAFE.
Theological institutions and bible colleges across Australia have for many years offered undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in theology and the arts. Other nonuniversity providers include the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia, the Australian Institute of Public Safety, the Securities Institute of Australia and natural therapies schools.
TAFE is simply joining the list as the educational market expands.
David Riley says the net result will be that the higher education system, which now turns down thousands of applicants a year, will be able to provide more degree places. But not everybody is so gungho. The national vicepresident of the National Tertiary Education Union, Matthew McGowan, opposes the TAFE degree initiative. Universities, through their focus on teaching, scholarship and research, are at the cutting edge of higher education. TAFE, he says, is not.
"TAFEs are not set up to engage in any of that,'' Mr McGowan says. ``They offer a competencybased process. In allowing TAFEs to offer degrees we are devaluing the currency of a degree.''
In response, Ms Kosky insists that scrutiny by the Higher Education Accreditation Committee will ensure the quality of any TAFE degree course.
"If TAFEs are considering offering degrees, they will have to go through a rigorous process,'' she says. ``The Higher Education Accreditation Committee will assess applications on three grounds: Does the credential meet the academic standards of a degree in that particular area? Are the teaching staff going to be of the required standard and have the required qualifications? And can the institution prove that the degree has the appropriate support structure in place for students, including things like proper library facilities?''
The minister expects that only a small number of TAFEs will embrace the degree option "and then only in niche markets, in areas specifically focused on industry needs, which is what TAFE is good at responding to''.
One of the areas she cites is equine studies, where NMIT has already established itself with the horseracing industry in Hong Kong.
The Australian Vice-Chancellor's Committee's chief executive, John Mullarvey, says that the AVCC is not opposed to the initiative ``as long as the degrees are properly accredited as higher education awards''.
But he questions the potential impact on TAFE's existing responsibilities. "The real issue in this proposal is the potential impact the provision of degrees could have on TAFE's prime responsibility to provide highquality vocational education and training. It is essential that this role remains at the forefront of TAFE activity,'' he says.
At this stage, none of the TAFE institutes can say when the first degree courses will commence. It depends on how long the approval process takes. But NMIT hopes to offer its own degree programs - in aquaculture, equine studies, information technology and viticulture - from 2003.