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Tertiary Education
Tertiary Education is the highest form of institutional study in New England. After completing Grammar School, students can elect to go to either university or a polytechnic.
There is only one university, which teaches subjects like medicine, law, economics, agronomy, botany, zoology, mathematics, politics, history, psychology and theology. The aim of this teaching to educates graduates that should be employable as specialists in those fields.
Those seeking more vocational courses go to one of the three polytechnic colleges. Here students are taught trades like building, plumbing, cooking, office management as well as specialist areas like teaching and nursing.
Institutions
The Tertiary Education Act 2014 created three separate institutions, with a university and two institutes of technology established. Only the New England National University could confer degrees and conduct government funded research and development, with the The institutions created were the New England National University (NENU), the Armidale Institute of Technology (AIT) and the Southern Cross Institute of Technology (SCIT).
Reforms to the education sector in 2036 confirmed the right of the university to confer degrees and conduct government funded research and development. The Act also completly reformed the remaining bodies, with the existing two institutes of technology abolished and replaced by four new polytechnics, each based in the largest urban centres around the country. The sector, as reformed in 2036, today consists of:
New England National University - As the sole university, NENU is only institution that can confer degrees and conduct state funded academic research. Established in 1954 as the University of New England, NENU is New England's oldest teritary institution and has a proud history of academic excellence and innovation. The Royal Military College is also run under the auspices of the university.
Metropolitan Polytechnic - The second largest of New England's polytechnics, Metropolitan was established in 2036 from the abolished AIT. Based in Armidale, the polytechnic has continued the AIT tradition as the leading training school for New England's teachers and nurses, with over 250,000 trained in the last forty years.
Midlands and Western Polytechnic - The smallest of the polytechnics, Midlands and Western is based in Inverell and has a focus on agricultural education and training.
North Coast Polytechnic - Established as part of the teritary education changes in 2036, North Coast is the largest polytechnic in New England. As the successor of the Southern Cross Institute of Technology, the polytechnic has a long and proud history of turning out well trained farmers, tradesmen, teachers, nurses and computer technicians.
South Coast Polytechnic - Originally part of the Southern Cross Institute of Technology, South Coast is based in Port Macquarie, and covers the Hastings and Macleay valleys. The polytechnic is the second smallest of New England's teritary institutions but already has established itself as a leader in producing well trained tradesmen in a wide range of industries.
Study
Students at this level usually attempt eight subjects a year, known as Units. These are valued at eight credit points per unit. Depending on the course being studied, the number of credit points needed can vary. A Bachelor of Arts degree is valued at 192 credit points, whereas a Bachelor of Medicine degree is valued at 384 credit points.
The high cost of providing a tertiary education has meant that tax income alone cannot pay for the provision of high quality degrees. In 2012, the government elected to maintain a user-pays contribution scheme. The Australian system was abolished and replaced with a new system known as TELS (Tertiary Education Loans Scheme). TELS offers students interest free loands for the cost of tutition fees and other associated costs of study, such as textbooks, academic gowns and laboratory equipment.
