The appointment of Dr Mary Russell as the Chief Executive Officer of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has been welcomed by the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent higher education, skills training, and international education providers.
TEQSA is responsible for regulating and assuring the quality of all providers of higher education in Australia. The sector includes public and private universities, Australian branches of overseas universities, university colleges, and institutes of higher education.
"ITECA has enjoyed a collaborative working relationship with TEQSA to create a higher education regulatory environment that is student-centric; thus, we're looking forward to working with Dr Russell in this context," said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
Around 160 independent higher education providers support 10% of the 1.6 million students in higher education awards programs, with TEQSA's activities being crucial to the work of these providers.
"When it comes to issues ranging from the quality delivery of higher education programs, academic integrity, to cybersecurity, the work of TEQSA is critical to ITECA's higher education members," Mr Williams said.
ITECA provides collaborative forums for independent higher education providers to understand TEQSA's risk-based regulatory approach, which is guided by the principles of regulatory necessity, reflecting risk, and proportionate regulation.
"ITECA looks forward to working with Dr Russell and supporting her work to ensure regulatory approaches are responsive to the changing nature of Australian higher education and the issues before our members," Mr Williams concluded.
