Evocca College student figures questioned, linked to training industry recruitment concerns

Updated

Figures suggest one of the country's largest training colleges had just 19 students graduate from any of its courses in a single year, reigniting concerns about the training sector.

Data on the Government's MySkills website showed Evocca College enrolled almost 14,000 students in 2012 but just 19 graduated.

The company has disputed the figures but others have suggested the numbers support ongoing concerns about some players in the training industry.

In particular, criticism focused on the recruitment practices of companies which sometimes targeted disadvantaged students.

Such students often struggled to cope with high-level course content and dropped out, leaving them with hefty government training loans and no qualification.

Evocca College was one of the training market leaders with almost 40 campuses around Australia.

In a statement, Evocca said the MySkills figures were wrong and many hundreds of students graduated out of 2,770 enrolments in 2012, with its graduate rates at or above industry average.

It said not all students dropped out and many went on to work or other training.

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Course content copied from Wikipedia

Shaquille Ray was supposed to be the first to graduate from the digital media degree at Evocca's Parramatta campus.

But things went sour when he discovered course content had been copied directly from the internet community encyclopaedia Wikipedia.

He knew this because he authored the Wikipedia entry. He has lodged complaints with both Wikipedia and its host server.

"The Wikipedia content they used, specifically mine, they never acknowledged that it was from Wikipedia or who actually wrote it in the first place," Mr Ray said.

"They basically said 'people copy things off the internet all the time, it's no big deal'.

"Because the content was originally hosted in the US, it's protected by the Digital Millennium Content Act as well as Australian copyright laws, which they've broken because they haven't given an attribution to the original content holder."

He has been trying to have his debt reversed but the college has refused.

"I didn't expect that course to go around $20,000. There were other fees I was never really told about. There was a government fee on top of what Evocca charges you and there were charges as well in the long end," Mr Ray said.

"They seem to be only about short-term profit instead of building a reputation."

A company spokesman said Evocca reviewed their teaching resources regularly to ensure compliance.

"There may be an odd tutor who gives some information without referencing the resource but this is discouraged," the spokesman said.

Concerns raised over targeting disadvantaged students

MySkills data showed two-thirds of Evocca students were from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mr Ray said he was concerned about the ability of his peers in diploma courses and knew one student enrolled who was illiterate.

Why FEE-HELP has been a success is because it has allowed thousands of students from low socio-economic areas [access] to education they previously could not get access to. Evocca College spokesman

"Evocca doesn't have any prerequisites. They get you to fill out a questionnaire. That's it," he said.

The questionnaire was the language, literacy and numeracy test, a short test given to prospective diploma students.

Mr Ray said the test was too simple.

An Evocca spokesman said it made up part of the college's pre-enrolment testing that ensured students understood the price of the course, debt and study requirements.

"There are thousands of students who apply that do not end up being able to enrol. This is evidence of how robust the test is," he said.

The spokesman said the college made no apologies for offering education in areas of high need.

"Why FEE-HELP has been a success is because it has allowed thousands of students from low socio-economic areas [access] to education they previously could not get access to," he said.

Former students also aired grievances about the college on internet forums and Facebook sites.

Former staff and students spoke to the ABC about overworked tutors with large classes, high staff turnover, lack of support and outsourcing to overseas call centres.

An Evocca spokesman said in a statement that many students were happy with their support services and the college did not use their call centres for teaching purposes.

He conceded the college had dismissed nine sales brokers for compliance issues in the past 18 months as part of its commitment to quality.

"Over 18 months ago we noticed in the industry a general decline in the ethical practices of sales brokers and the rogue training providers," he said.

"We were one of the first colleges in Australia to actively self-regulate."

Massive expansion in government loans

Most students pay for their diplomas with new HECS-style government loans, called VET-FEE-HELP.

Students can borrow up to $96,000 and make repayments when their income reaches a threshold.

Spending on VET-FEE-HELP debts rose from $25 million to $700 million in the past six years.

The regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Agency, said it had new powers to crack down on poor practices.

Chief commissioner Chris Robinson said the Federal Government also gave it $68 million to bolster its ranks.

The Greens have won support to hold a Senate inquiry into the loan scheme, with submissions closing next month.

Evocca said it would make a submission to the inquiry.

Topics: education-industry, business-economics-and-finance, industry, education, adult-education, community-and-society, vocational, australia

First posted