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The last decade has witnessed a significant growth of private higher education around the world. The growth included the number of private education providers, and also the growing number of students. While some countries are experiencing trend growth, others are witnessing decline. Some of the reasons for the decline include increased regulation and stringent accreditation and reaccreditation of higher education institutions and courses, government policies to encourage the growth of public universities, and acquisition of small providers by large private education institutions. The growth of private higher education has increased competition, and it has also established collaboration with public institutions. The growth of private higher education has also raised concerns about ethical governance, maintenance of academic standards, and mechanisms to plan, review, and improve educational outcomes. This paper focuses on Australia where despite growth, there is limited research about private higher education. This paper reviews literature on the global growth and decline of private higher education. It then analyses the trends in Australia and possible scenarios for the future of private higher education in the country.

Governments in many countries have funded independent agencies to undertake quality audits of higher education institutions. Such agencies ensure that universities and other higher education providers have effective systems and processes to assure quality assurance in core and support areas. While external quality audits have been in place for a decade in Australia, there is limited research on academic staff views on external quality audit in universities and private higher education providers. This article outlines the views of 40 academic staff in a private higher education college who were directly involved in the external quality audit. A survey was undertaken immediately after the external quality audit to collect the views of academic staff on various aspects of the audit including; self-assessment, audit preparations strategy, communication and staff engagement, and the external quality audit process itself. The authors argue that external quality audit, if effectively managed, could be the driver for change and improvement in quality assurance in a small college.

The last decade has witnessed a significant growth of private higher education around the world. The growth included the number of private education providers, and also the growing number of students. While some countries are experiencing trend growth, others are witnessing decline. Some of the reasons for the decline include increased regulation and stringent accreditation and reaccreditation of higher education institutions and courses, government policies to encourage the growth of public universities, and acquisition of small providers by large private education institutions. The growth of private higher education has increased competition, and it has also established collaboration with public institutions. The growth of private higher education has also raised concerns about ethical governance, maintenance of academic standards, and mechanisms to plan, review, and improve educational outcomes. This paper focuses on Australia where despite growth, there is limited research about private higher education. This paper reviews literature on the global growth and decline of private higher education. It then analyses the trends in Australia and possible scenarios for the future of private higher education in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The private tertiary education sector has experienced ongoing growth in Australia. Based on current trends, this sector is predicted to grow, contributing to the social and economic development of Australia and many other countries. While the private tertiary education sector is experiencing growth and tough competition from other providers, it is important and timely to revisit the quality assurance framework used in all tertiary education providers to assure internal quality and meeting external requirements. This paper is aimed to encourage debate on the need for private tertiary education institutions to develop internal capacity for quality assurance with the view to using a single framework to meet both internal and external requirements in a highly regulated tertiary education environment. The paper outlines the current dilemmas in some institutions that use a range of different quality frameworks, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Vocational Education and Training (VET) quality framework monitored by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), the Higher Education quality framework monitored by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and the National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS). We argue that there is a need for institutions to develop a single framework to meet internal and external needs that are economical, sustainable, and morally responsible in order to improve academic quality and to monitor standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in many countries have funded independent agencies to undertake quality audits of higher education institutions. Such agencies ensure that universities and other higher education providers have effective systems and processes to assure quality assurance in core and support areas. While external quality audits have been in place for a decade in Australia, there is limited research on academic staff views on external quality audit in universities and private higher education providers. This article outlines the views of 40 academic staff in a private higher education college who were directly involved in the external quality audit. A survey was undertaken immediately after the external quality audit to collect the views of academic staff on various aspects of the audit including; selfassessment, audit preparations strategy, communication and staff engagement, and the external quality audit process itself. The authors argue that external quality audit, if effectively managed, could be the driver for change and improvement in quality assurance in a small college. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]