Statistics Report on TEQSA Registered Higher Education Providers 2017

ISSN: 2207-5917 (Online)
ISSN: 2207-5909 (Print)

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The document must be attributed: Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, Statistics Report on TEQSA Registered Higher Education Providers – May 2017.

Contacts
More information about the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, including electronic versions of this report.

Comments and enquiries about this report may be directed to:

Communications Manager
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
Level 14/530 Collins Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3001
T: 1300 739 585
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E: collections [at] teqsa.gov.au

Introduction

Background

The Statistics Report on TEQSA Registered Higher Education Providers (‘the Statistics Report’) is the fourth release of selected higher education sector data held by TEQSA for its quality assurance activities. It provides a snapshot of national statistics from across the sector, bringing together data collected directly by TEQSA and data sourced from the main higher education statistics collections managed by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. This includes data from TEQSA’s National Register of Higher Education Providers and annual Provider information Request (PIR). The PIR gathers a limited set of key data from some providers not required to report, or only partially report, data in the Department of Education and Training’s Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS).

Information outlined in the Statistics Report highlights the diversity of the Australian higher education sector. For descriptive observations about the range and type of registered providers in the sector, readers may also be interested in the TEQSA paper, A risk and standards based approach to quality assurance in Australia’s diverse higher education sector.

About the report

The Statistics Report provides high-level information across four key areas: providers, students, academic staff and finance. This update of the Statistics Report focuses on data relating to 2015. Where available, data relating to 2013 and 2014 has been included to enable trend reporting. While the Statistics Report is focused on higher education data, financial data includes all sources of revenue within a provider’s operations, including revenue from VET and other activities, reflecting the breadth and diversity of operations within some higher education providers. The Explanatory Notes and Glossary at the back of the Statistics Report provide further contextual information on the data and presentation.

Provider categories

There are a number of ways that higher education data can be presented to reflect different groupings of providers in the sector. This includes categorising providers according to different funding and legislative arrangements, or according to different data reporting requirements and collection mechanisms, or to reflect clusters of providers with similar characteristics or selected attributes.

For the purposes of this report, TEQSA has used the broad categories ‘Universities’, ‘Non-University For-Profit’ (For-Profit), ‘Non-University Not for-Profit’ (Not-for-Profit) and ‘Technical and Further Education’ (TAFE). Previous editions of the report used the categories ‘Universities’, ‘Non-University Higher Education Providers (FEE-HELP)’ [NUHEPs (FEE-HELP)] and ‘Non-University Higher Education Providers (Other)’ [NUHEPs (Other)]. The change of provider categories allows for the alignment with categories reported in TEQSA’s Key Financial Metrics on Australian’s Higher Education Sector report. The consultation on the Key Financial Metrics on Australian’s Higher Education Sector report supported the proposed provider categories.

Data

The data within this edition of the Statistics Report relates to 2015, the most recent year for which comprehensive, comparable data is available. For the first time, TEQSA has been able to provide a three-year comparison of provider, student, staff and financial data. Data across years may differ marginally to that in Statistics Reports released previously due to a small number of institutions revising data since the release of previous Statistics Reports. Financial data in this report relates to providers’ most recently available financial reporting year as at the time of the 2016 collection. The relevant financial reporting years in the collection are those ended 31 December 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Enquiries

For enquiries relating to this report and PIR data please contact TEQSA’s Information Management team at collections [at] teqsa.gov.au. For enquiries relating to HEIMS data please contact the Department of Education and Training’s University Statistics Team at University-Statistics [at] education.gov.au.

The National Register

The National Register is an important source of information, providing updated information about the status of registered providers and TEQSA-accredited courses.

Higher education at a glance

Higher education at a glance infographic notes

1. TEQSA National Register; 2016 PIR; Finance Publication; Higher Education Statistics Collection, Department of Education and Training. 
2. A small number of providers were not required to submit student, academic staff and/or finance data to the TEQSA PIR due to context such as being a recently registered higher education provider, in the process of merging with another entity, in the final stages of teaching out courses (and withdrawing registration), or ceased to be registered with TEQSA at the time of collecting 2015 data (i.e. in 2016). 
3. Includes students with a citizenship classified as ‘unknown’ or ‘unspecified’. 
4. Excludes staff with duties unspecified or duties classified as ‘unknown’. Apart from the University of Divinity, data also excludes academic staff that teach higher education courses through a third party arrangement.
5. Financial year relates to a provider’s most recently available reporting year as at the time of the 2016 collection. The relevant reporting years in the collection include those ended 31 December 2015 to 30 June 2016. This refers to the 2016 collection year. 
6. Data derived from the broad field of education of the course, rather than the broad field of education of the unit studied.
7. Includes Bachelor Honours students.

Providers[1]

Provider data in this section relates to providers registered with TEQSA for all or part of 2015.

Table 1: Providers by State, 2015[2]

State	Universities	For-Profit	Not-for-Profit	TAFEs	Total	%
NSW	11	30	26	1	68	39%
ViC	9	16	17	5	47	27%
WA	5	6	5	3	19	11%
SA	6	5	6	1	18	10%
QLD	8	6	1	1	16	9%
ACT	2	0	0	1	3	2%
TAS	1	0	2	0	3	2%
NT	1	0	1	0	2	1%
Total	43	63	58	12	176	100%

 

 

In 2015, 91% of students (headcount) were enrolled with universities, despite the other providers making up 76% of all higher education providers in Australia.

 

Table 2: Providers by Self-Accrediting Authority (SAA) and TEQSA Registration Category, 2015[3]

	SAA	Non-SAA	Total	%
Higher Education Provider	10	123	133	76%
Australian University	40	0	40	23%
Australian University of Specialisation	1	0	1	1%
Overseas University	2	0	2	1%
Total	53	123	176	100%

 

In addition to universities, ten non-university providers had partial or full self-accrediting authority in 2015 (including four non-university providers who were granted full or partial self-accrediting authority during 2015).

 

Figure 1: Providers by Size of Student Load (EFTSL), 2015[4] [5]

Australian higher education providers are diverse in size. 52% of providers had fewer than 500 EFTSL in 2015, and nearly a quarter had greater than or equal to 5,000 EFTSL.

 

Figure 2: Providers by Dual Sector Status, 2015[6]

 

Figure 3: CRICOS-registered providers, 2015[7]

 

Table 3: New courses (TEQSA-accredited) by AQF Level, 2013 – 2015[8]

AQF	Course Level	2013	2014	2015	2013 – 2015 Total	% change between 2013 and 2015
5	Diploma	26	14	33	73	27%
6	Advanced Diploma Associate Degree	33	8	15	56	-55%
7	Bachelor Degree	54	41	26	121	-52%
8	Bachelor Honours Graduate Certificate Graduate Diploma	26	40	24	90	-8%
9	Masters by Coursework Masters by Research	19	24	16	59	-16%
10	Doctorate by Coursework Doctorate by Research	0	2	3	5	-
Total		158	129	117	404	-26%

The number of new course accreditations has declined over time. New courses make up 60% of the registered courses in 2015.

 

Table 4: New courses (TEQSA-accredited) by Broad Field of Education, 2013 – 2015[9]

Broad Field of Education	2013	2014	2015	2013 – 2015 Total	% change between 2013 and 2015
Natural and Physical Sciences	1	1	3	5	200%
information Technology	5	7	2	14	-60%
Engineering and Related Technologies	7	2	3	12	-57%
Architecture and Building	2	1	1	4	-50%
Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies	0	1	0	1	-
Health	16	11	8	35	-50%
Education	6	16	4	26	-33%
Management and Commerce	59	39	60	158	2%
Society and Culture	23	30	22	75	-4%
Creative Arts	39	21	14	74	-64%
Food, Hospitality and Personal Services	0	0	0	0	-
Mixed Field Programs	0	0	0	0	-
Total	158	129	117	404	-26%

Students[10] [11] [12]

Table 5: Total Students by Provider Category, 2013 – 2015

		2013	2014	2015	% change between 2013 and 2015
	EFTSL	887,471	918,533	937,277	6%
Universities	Headcount	1,234,210	1,283,508	1,310,226	6%
	Number of Providers	42	43	43	-
	EFTSL	37,090	44,721	49,961	35%
For-Profit	Headcount	57,589	67,840	76,740	33%
	Number of Providers	56	56	59	-
	EFTSL	18,077	18,759	21,199	17%
Not-for-Profit	Headcount	35,177	36,503	42,011	19%
	Number of Providers	53	55	53	-
	EFTSL	3,791	4,114	4,566	20%
TAFEs	Headcount	5,713	5,570	6,059	6%
	Number of Providers	11	10	12	-

The number of students enrolled in Australian higher education providers has been growing over the past three years. Over 1.4 million students were studying Australian higher education courses in 2015.

 

Figure 4: Student Proportion by Provider Category, 2013-2015

While universities continue to have the largest proportion of students enrolled, the proportion of students enrolled at the other provider types has been progressively increasing.

 

Table 6: Students (EFTSL) by Citizenship, Onshore and Offshore, 2013 – 2015[13] [14]

		2013	2014	2015	% change from 2013 and
					2015
	Domestic	662,667	685,354	694,631	5%
	Overseas Onshore	166,922	176,563	187,584	12%
Universities
	Overseas Offshore	57,882	56,616	55,062	-5%
	Total	887,471	918,533	937,277	6%
	Domestic	17,883	20,491	22,557	26%
For-Profit	Overseas Onshore	16,967	20,850	24,121	42%
	Overseas Offshore	1,968	3,052	3,075	56%
	Total	36,819	44,393	49,753	35%
	Domestic	14,682	14,850	15,787	8%
	Overseas Onshore	2,807	3,293	4,105	46%
Not-for-Profit
	Overseas Offshore	259	278	895	245%
	Total	17,748	18,421	20,786	17%
	Domestic	2,531	2,583	2,742	8%
TAFEs	Overseas Onshore	1,260	1,530	1,824	45%
	Total	3,791	4,113	4,566	21%
	Domestic	697,763	723,278	735,717	5%
	Overseas Onshore	187,956	202,236	217,634	16%
Sector
	Overseas Offshore	60,109	59,946	59,032	-2%

In 2015, 26% of all providers delivered higher education offshore (43), the majority being universities (31). The largest growth in offshore delivery was made by Not-for-Profit providers.

 

Table 7: Domestic and Overseas Students (EFTSL), 2013 – 2015[15] [16]

		2013	2014	2015	% change between 2013 and 2015
	Domestic	662,667	685,354	694,631	5%
Universities	Overseas	224,804	233,179	242,646	8%
	Total	887,471	918,533	937,277	6%
	Domestic	17,883	20,491	22,557	26%
For-Profit	Overseas	18,936	23,902	27,197	44%
	Total	36,819	44,393	49,753	35%
	Domestic	14,682	14,850	15,787	8%
Not-for-Profit	Overseas	3,066	3,571	5,000	63%
	Total	17,748	18,421	20,786	17%
	Domestic	2,531	2,583	2,742	8%
TAFEs	Overseas	1,260	1,530	1,824	45%
	Total	3,791	4,114	4,566	20%
	Sector Total	945,828	985,461	1,012,383	7%

The overseas student EFTSL has continued to grow over time. There was a 40% increase in the number of overseas students studying at Not-for-Profit providers in 2015 from the previous year.

 

Figure 5: Domestic and Overseas Students (EFTSL) by BFoE, 2015[17] [18]

 

Table 8: Students (EFTSL) by Aggregated Course Level, 2013 – 2015[19] [20]

	2013	2014	2015	% change between 2013 and 2015
Undergraduate	680,412	692,379	703,956	3%
Postgraduate	187,886	203,878	211,955	13%
Universities
Other	19,173	22,276	21,366	11%
Total	887,471	918,533	937,277	6%
Undergraduate	30,770	34,501	36,602	19%
Postgraduate	6,105	10,069	13,248	117%
For-Profit
Other	214	151	111	-48%
Total	37,090	44,721	49,961	35%
Undergraduate	9,689	10,278	12,006	24%
Postgraduate	8,314	8,417	9,129	10%
Not-for-Profit
Other	74	64	65	-12%
Total	18,077	18,759	21,199	17%
Undergraduate	3,788	4,090	4,536	20%
Postgraduate	<5	24	30	-
TAFEs
Other	<5	<5	<5	-
Total	3,791	4,114	4,566	20%
Sector Total	946,429	986,126	1,013,004	7%

The biggest increase in students (EFTSL) in 2015 was at the undergraduate level.

 

Figure 6: Students (EFTSL) by BFoE and Aggregated Course Level, 2015[21] [22]

 

Table 9: Commencing Students (EFTSL), 2013 – 2015

	2013		2014		2015
	EFTSL	% change from 2012	EFTSL	% change from 2013	EFTSL	% change from 2014
Universities	350,196	4%	366,648	5%	363,561	-1%
For-Profit	21,731	29%	26,236	21%	28,237	8%
Not-for-Profit	8,877	-2%	10,068	13%	11,775	17%
TAFEs	1,866	-12%	1,831	-2%	2,168	18%
Total	382,671	5%	404,783	6%	405,742	0%

In 2015, the number of commencing student EFTSL for Universities declined. This was caused by a drop in domestic postgraduate commencements.

 

Figure 7: Completing Students (headcount), 2013 – 2015

 

Figure 8: Undergraduate Commencing Students (EFTSL) by Basis for Admission, 2015[23]

The number of students entering a higher education provider through ‘mature age entry’ decreased by 9% from 2014. The ‘other basis’ admission type increased by 7% from 2014.

 

Figure 9: Students (EFTSL) by Mode of Attendance, 2015[24] [25]

Eighty-seven percent of students studying at a higher education provider were studying internally (i.e. face-to-face) in 2015.

From 2014 there was a 37% increase in the number of students studying via a flexible delivery mode. The internal and external modes of attendance saw modest increases of 2% and 6% respectively.

 

Table 10: Students (headcount) by Type of Attendance, 2013 – 2015[26]

		2013	2014	2015	% change between 2013 and 2015
	Full-time	873,714	912,423	933,225	7%
Universities	Part-time	360,496	371,085	377,001	5%
	Total	1,234,210	1,283,508	1,310,226	6%
	Full-time	38,107	47,941	55,033	44%
For-Profit	Part-time	19,496	19,908	21,716	11%
	Total	57,603	67,849	76,749	33%
	Full-time	13,580	14,401	16,280	20%
Not-for-Profit	Part-time	21,599	22,102	25,746	19%
	Total	35,179	36,503	42,026	19%
	Full-time	4,136	4,215	4,660	13%
TAFEs	Part-time	1,577	1,355	1,399	-11%
	Total	5,713	5,570	6,059	6%
	Sector Total	1,332,705	1,393,430	1,435,060	8%

Academic staff[27] [28] [29] [30]

Table 11: Academic Staff (FTE) by Work Contract, 2013 – 2015

		2013	2014	2015	% of total in 2015	% change between 2013 and 2015
	Full-Time	37,426	37,983	37,823	67%	1%
Universities	Fractional Full-Time	5,676	5,934	6,018	10%	6%
	Casual	11,366	12,078	12,919	23%	14%
	Total	54,468	55,996	56,761	-	4%
	Full-Time	491	542	602	31%	23%
For-Profit	Fractional Full-Time	163	212	263	13%	61%
	Casual	942	781	1,097	56%	16%
	Total	1,597	1,535	1,962	-	23%
	Full-Time	451	472	488	48%	8%
Not-for-Profit	Fractional Full-Time	138	124	130	13%	-6%
	Casual	265	285	388	39%	46%
	Total	854	881	1,006	-	18%
	Full-Time	133	128	130	54%	-2%
TAFEs	Fractional Full-Time	23	27	34	14%	48%
	Casual	84	105	76	32%	-10%
	Total	239	260	240	-	0%
	Sector Total	57,158	58,671	59,969	-	5%

 

Table 12: Academic Staff (FTE) by Function, 2013 – 2015

	2013	2014	2015	% of total in 2015	% change between 2013 and 2015
Teaching and Research	27,602	27,191	27,123	48%	-2%
Teaching Only	12,547	13,919	15,115	26%	20%
Universities
Research Only	12,524	12,776	12,880	23%	3%
Other	1,796	2,110	1,643	3%	-9%
Total	54,468	55,996	56,761	-	4%
Teaching and Research	83	162	178	9%	114%
Teaching Only	1,405	1,292	1,662	85%	18%
For-Profit
Research Only	11	7	10	1%	-9%
Other	98	74	112	5%	14%
Total	1,597	1,535	1,962	-	23%
Teaching and Research	175	214	224	22%	28%
Teaching Only	591	590	693	69%	17%
Not-for-Profit
Research Only	5	7	6	1%	20%
Other	83	71	82	8%	-1%
Total	854	881	1,006	-	18%
Teaching and Research	65	69	66	28%	2%
Teaching Only	166	184	165	69%	-1%
TAFEs
Research Only	<5	<5	<5	-	-
Other	7	7	9	4%	29%
Total	239	260	240	-	0%
Sector Total	57,158	58,671	59,969	-	5%

Financial profile[31] [32]

Figure 10: Revenue Source by Provider Type

Sector highlights

Universities

Universities generated the most revenue of any group of providers in the sector. Key revenue sources for universities were government grants and programs, domestic students and international students.

TAFE

TAFE providers generated the majority of their revenue from government grants and programs and non-higher education activities.

For-Profit

Revenue generated by For-Profit providers was more diversified with international higher education, domestic higher education and non-higher education activities (such as VET) accounting for the key revenue sources.

Not-for-Profit

Not-for-Profit providers are heavily reliant on government grants and revenue from other sources such as donations and commercial activities.

 

Figure 11: Key revenue sources, Universities

 

Table 13: Key revenue sources, Universities, 2014 – 2016

	2014 ($’M)	2015 ($’M)	2016 ($’M)	% Change 2014 to 2015	% Change 2015 to 2016
Government grants and programs (including Commonwealth Grant Scheme, Commonwealth research grants, state and territory government grants)	11,332.9	11,588.8	11,824.5	2.3%	2.0%
Higher education domestic students (including FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP, full-fee paying student revenue)	6,400.4	6,844.1	7,140.9	6.9%	4.3%
Higher education international students	4,341.1	4,747.7	5,336.5	9.4%	12.4%
Non-higher education (including VET, ELiCOS, non-award)	231.1	306.3	355.0	32.6%	15.9%
Other sources (including donations, HE third-party delivery, commercial activities)	3,899.7	4,050.1	4,067.5	3.9%	0.4%
Total	26,205.1	27,537.0	28,724.3	5.1%	4.3%

Revenue generated by universities increased by 9.6% from 2014 to 2016.

Government grants and programs continue to account for the majority of university funding at 41%, while domestic student contributions accounted for 25% of revenue.

International student revenue was the largest source of revenue growth from 2014 to 2016, growing by $995 million.

 

Figure 12: Key revenue sources, TAFE

 

Table 14: Key revenue sources, TAFE, 2014 – 2016

	2014 ($’M)	2015 ($’M)	2016 ($’M)	% Change 2014 to 2015	% Change 2015 to 2016
Government grants and programs (including Commonwealth Grant Scheme, Commonwealth research grants, state and territory government grants)	2,437.5	2,199.1	1,796.9	-9.8%	-18.3%
Higher education domestic students (including FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP, full-fee paying student revenue)	32.5	36.3	45.6	11.7%	25.7%
Higher education international students	17.9	21.7	21.4	21.1%	-1.6%
Non-higher education (including VET, ELiCOS, non-award)	1,008.8	1,215.6	1,154.8	20.5%	-5.0%
Other sources (including donations, HE third-party delivery, commercial activities)	246.6	190.3	230.8	-22.8%	21.3%
Total	3,743.3	3,663.1	3,249.5	-2.1%	-11.3%

The decline in total revenue generated by TAFEs reflects the lower number of TAFEs in 2016 (9) compared with 2014 (11).

TAFEs continue to rely heavily on government grants and non-higher education activities.

Higher education revenue from all sources (Domestic and International) was the fastest growing source of revenue for TAFEs. Growing by 33% from 2014 to 2016.

 

Figure 13: Key revenue sources, For-Profit

 

Table 15: Key revenue sources, For-Profit, 2014 – 2016

	2014 ($’M)	2015 ($’M)	2016 ($’M)	% Change 2014 to 2015	% Change 2015 to 2016
Government grants and programs (including Commonwealth Grant Scheme, Commonwealth research grants, state and territory government grants)	0.1	0.8	0.7	479.6%	-16.2%
Higher education domestic students (including FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP, full-fee paying student revenue)	346.5	399.0	435.5	15.1%	9.2%
Higher education international students	384.4	507.0	548.7	31.9%	8.2%
Non-higher education (including VET, ELiCOS, non-award)	280.7	525.0	476.8	87.0%	-9.2%
Other sources (including donations, HE third-party delivery, commercial activities)	73.5	79.7	104.8	8.5%	31.4%
Total	1,085.2	1,511.5	1,566.5	39.3%	3.6%

For-Profit providers experienced the fastest revenue growth of any provider group from 2014 to 2016 (44.4%).

Revenue sources have been diversified across international higher education students, domestic students and non-higher education activities such as VET.

Revenue generated from international students has been the largest source of revenue for For-Profit providers.

 

Figure 14: Key revenue sources, Not-for-Profit

 

Table 16: Key revenue sources, Not-for-Profit, 2014 – 2016

	2014 ($’M)	2015 ($’M)	2016 ($’M)	% Change 2014 to 2015	% Change 2015 to 2016
Government grants and programs (including Commonwealth Grant Scheme, Commonwealth research grants, state and territory government grants)	750.2	799.2	821.8	6.5%	2.8%
Higher education domestic students (including FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP, full-fee paying student revenue)	181.2	205.4	171.3	13.4%	-16.6%
Higher education international students	100.8	148.3	179.0	47.1%	20.7%
Non-higher education (including VET, ELiCOS, non-award)	53.8	63.5	111.0	18.1%	74.8%
Other sources (including donations, HE third-party delivery, commercial activities)	275.2	350.6	458.8	27.4%	30.9%
Total	1,361.2	1,567.0	1,741.9	15.1%	11.2%

Government grants continue to account for approximately half the revenue generated by Not-for-Profit providers.

Other revenue sources such as donations and commercial activities account for much of the growth in revenue recorded by Not-for-Profit providers.

Explanatory notes

TEQSA works closely with the Department of Education and Training to access data within the Department’s existing collections in order to minimise the reporting burden on providers. In 2016, TEQSA and the Department worked together to streamline the reporting of student, staff and financial PIR information to the Department through its HEIMS and HITS. TEQSA has reduced its annual reporting requirements under the PIR since 2012 and is continuing to work with the Department and other stakeholders to further reduce this burden while maintaining its capacity to effectively assure standards under a risk-based approach. Pending developments to the main national collections, TEQSA intends to share further information in the future and will continue to enhance content that is released, particularly as more complete time-series information across providers becomes available through the PIR. TEQSA is also working with stakeholders to share disaggregated PIR data and analysis to support the sector’s benchmarking and quality improvement activities.

Further information about TEQSA’s PIR.

Legislation

As the national quality assurance and regulatory agency, a key function of TEQSA is to disseminate information about higher education providers and their awards. This function is specified in section 134 (1)(e) of the TEQSA Act, which notes that TEQSA may collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate information relating to higher education providers, regulated higher education awards and for quality assurance practice and improvement in higher education.

Provider exclusions and inclusions

A small number of providers were not required to submit student, academic staff and/or finance data to the TEQSA PIR for reasons such as: the provider was either recently registered as a higher education provider (and did not yet have students and/or academic staff), in the process of merging with another entity (and did not have any students enrolled), in the final stages of teaching out courses (and withdrawing registration), or had its registration cancelled by TEQSA at the time of collecting 2015 data.

A small number of providers’ academic staffing data is not included in the report as these staff deliver courses through third party arrangements (except for the University of Divinity, which reports third party staff data under HEIMS). Staffing data where academic status was classified as ‘unknown’ is also not included.

Provider categories

Student, staff and finance data is presented in the broad categories ‘Universities’, ‘Non-University For-Profit’ (For-Profits), ‘Non-University Not-for-Profit’ (Not-for-Profits) and ‘Technical and Further Education’ (TAFEs).

Rounding

In this report, data has sometimes been rounded. Rounded figures and unrounded figures should not be assumed to be accurate to the last digit shown. Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of component items and totals.

Sources

This report has been prepared from the following sources:

• TEQSA's National Register
• TEQSA's Provider Information Request
• Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS), Department of Education and Training
• HELP IT System (HITS), Department of Education and Training
• Finance Publication, Department of Education and Training.

The below provides further information on the sources for student, staff and finance data, by provider category.

Student data:

• 'Universities' data is sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Collection, Department of Education and Training. If classifying using the HESA, this includes Table A, B, C providers.
• ‘NUHEPs For-Profit’ and ‘NUHEPs Not-for-Profit’ data is sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Collection, Department of Education and Training and from the TEQSA PIR.
• ‘TAFE’ data is sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Collection, Department of Education and Training.

Staff data:

• ‘Universities’ data is sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Collection, the Department of Education and Training and TEQSA’s PIR collection. If classifying using the HESA, Table A and B providers submit staff data to the Department of Education and Training, and Table C providers submit staff data to TEQSA.
• ‘NUHEPs For-Profit’ and ‘NUHEPs Not-for-Profit’ staff data is sourced from TEQSA under its annual PIR collection, apart from data for two providers (Avondale College and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education), which are sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Collection, Department of Education and Training.
• ‘TAFEs’ staff data is sourced from TEQSA under its annual PIR collection.

Finance data:

• Data in TEQSA’s 2016 collection year was sourced from the Department of Education and Training. Prior to 2016, financial data was sourced from TEQSA PIR collection and Department of Education and Training collections.

Timelines

Information reported is the latest available nationally:

• Provider data relates to providers registered with TEQSA in 2015
• Student data relates to 2015. Where trend data is available, data relates to 2013 and 2014
• Academic Staff data relates to 2015
• Financial year relates to a provider’s most recently available reporting year as at the time of the 2016 collection. The relevant reporting years in the collection include those ended 31 December 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Variations in Student Headcount Data

On occasion, for headcount data, the PIR headline figure may vary slightly from the raw headcount due to:

• coding of additional student attributes in the data set
• students that may transfer citizenship categories throughout the year; or
• students that may be counted in multiple Broad Fields of Education.

Glossary

The data definitions and scope for student, staff and finance data used in TEQSA’s PIR have been guided by the data definitions, structures and scope established by the Department of Education and Training. For TEQSA’s purposes, some definitions have been adjusted to provide flexibility in reporting that takes into account that the PIR extends to all private higher education providers.

A glossary of data elements is available from the Department of Education and Training’s HEIMS website.

PIR definitions and elements.

Academic Staff

The classification of staff as academic is used to identify members of staff who are:

1. People for whom salaries are the subject of determinations which are made by the Industrial Relations Department or which are made by the Remuneration Tribunal in respect of “academic and related staff”, and including Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Principals and Deputy Principals.
2. People of the type referred to in Section 12A(1) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 (namely those appointed wholly or principally to undertake a teaching only function or a research only function or a teaching-and-research function in a higher education provider, or those appointed by a higher education provider to be responsible for such people), and who are funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council or other bodies.
3. People employed on a contract basis to perform the function of teaching-only, research-only or teaching-and-research, or an “other” function, where the staff member is involved in the academic delivery of the courses, even though their remuneration is not subject to the determination of the Industrial Relations Department or the Remuneration Tribunal. If a member of staff is not one of the three types referred to above, they are not classified as having an academic classification.

Australian Qualification Framework (AQF)

The AQF is the national policy for regulated qualifications in Australian education and training.

Course levels in this report are defined according to the AQF.

Further information on the AQF.

Broad Field of Education (BFoE)

Fields of Education in this report are based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2011. It is a classification of courses, specialisations and units of study with the same or similar vocational emphasis or principal subject matter of the course, specialisation and unit of study.

Further information on ASCED is available on the ABS website.

Commonwealth Grant Scheme

The Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) is where the Australian Government subsidises tuition costs for higher education students across a wide range of discipline areas and qualification levels.

Since the beginning of 2012, public universities have been able to decide how many domestic students they enrol in bachelor level courses (excluding medicine) and receive funding for these ‘Commonwealth supported places’ (CSPs).

Further information on the CGS.

Commonwealth Supported Place

A Commonwealth supported place (CSP) is a subsidised higher education enrolment. CSPs are available at all public universities (and at a handful of private higher education providers in national priority areas like nursing and education).

The Australian Government subsidises a CSP by paying part of the fees for the place directly to the university. The subsidy amount is not a loan and students do not have to pay the subsidy amount back. However, students are also required to contribute towards their study and they pay the remainder of the fee known as the ‘student contribution amount’ for each unit they are enrolled in. Universities set their own student contribution amounts (within limits set by the Australian Government).

CSPs are only available to domestic students and most undergraduate students studying at university are enrolled in a CSP. There is no cap to the amount of study a student can undertake in a CSP. A student enrolled in a CSP is referred to as a Commonwealth supported student.

Further information on CSPs.

Domestic Student

A student who is one of the following:

• an Australian citizen (including Australian citizens with dual citizenship)
• a New Zealand citizen or a diplomatic or consular representative of New Zealand, a member of the staff of such a representative or the spouse or dependent relative of such a representative, excluding those with Australian citizenship (Note: includes any such persons who have Permanent Resident status)
• a permanent humanitarian visa holder, or
• a holder of a permanent visa other than a permanent humanitarian visa.

Dual Sector Provider

Within the tertiary education sector, an institution that offers both vocational (skills-based) and higher (academic-based) education.

Equivalent Full-Time Student Load (EFTSL)

EFTSL is a measure of the study load for a year of a student undertaking a course of study on a fulltime basis. Total EFTSL for a full-time student in a course in a given year will typically be 1.0. In some cases, a student may be undertaking a number of units in a given year above a full-time load. In these cases, the EFTSL may be above 1.0.

FEE-HELP

FEE-HELP is an Australian Government loan program to help eligible fee-paying students to pay their tuition fees.

Further information on FEE-HELP. 

Full-Time Equivalence (FTE)

FTE is a measure of the resources for a staff member in respect of their current duties, expressed as a proportion of a typical full-time staff member. A member of staff who has, at the determined reference date, a full-time work contract in respect of their current duties, has a full-time equivalence of 1.00 at the reference date (FTE-RD). The FTE-RD for a member of staff who at the reference date has a fractional full-time (i.e. part-time) work contract in respect of their current duties, is less than 1.00. The fraction represents the ratio between the number of agreed normal work hours for that person and the number of normal work hours that would be required of a member of staff having the same classification type and level as that person, but with a full-time work contract.

• Further information on HEIMSHELP FTE at Reference Date
• Further information on HEIMSHELP FTE Full Year

HECS-HELP

HECS HELP is a loan scheme for eligible students enrolled in Commonwealth supported places to pay their student contribution amounts.

Further information on HECS-HELP.

Mode of Attendance

The classification of the manner in which a student is undertaking a unit of study.

• Internal: a unit of study at an onshore or offshore campus (includes classroom based)
• External: a unit of study at an onshore or offshore campus (includes electronic-based, online and by correspondence).
• Flexible: a unit of study is undertaken partially on an internal mode of attendance and partially on an external mode of attendance.

Offshore Student EFTSL

The proportion of EFTSL attributable to students undertaking a program of study partially or wholly at an offshore campus of a registered Australian higher education provider.

Onshore Student EFTSL

The proportion of EFTSL attributable to students undertaking a program of study conducted in Australia by a registered Australian higher education provider.

Overseas Student

Any student who is not classified under the citizenship categories as a domestic student (see ‘Domestic Student’ definition), primarily international students studying in Australia or offshore, undertaking an Australian award.

Self-Accrediting Authority

A higher education provider may be authorised to self-accredit a course of study, or courses of study, at one or more higher education award levels, and in one or more broad fields of study or discipline areas.

Further information on self-accrediting authority.