University Change 2025 – Staff
On 20 December 2024, the Australian College of Theology (ACT) was registered as an Australian University (with a specialised focus), as announced by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) on 8 January 2025.
What will change now?
Our name (and logo): Australian University of Theology (AUT)
Our domain name (and email addresses): www.aut.edu.au
Our constitution and titles: The Board of Directors will become the Council, the Chair will become the Chancellor, the Dean will become the Vice-Chancellor.
People about to graduate this year will have the new university name and logo on their testamurs, transcripts and AHEGS.
Any past graduates who seek a re-issue of a testamur or transcript will receive documents which incorporate the new university name and logo.
Benefits of University status
After the University is added to Table B of HESA (which requires an Act of Parliament, so this may take a year or more, and will be affected by the upcoming election):
- undergraduate students will no longer have to pay the 20% loan tax on their FEE-HELP loans.
- the University will be eligible for government grants (e.g. Australian Research Council [ARC] grants) and will receive funding to support research and research training based on the amount of research funding it receives from external sources and the number of HDR completions.
What won’t change?
Research requirements: We have been granted university status based on our current research being evaluated as World Standard. The requirements of the Research and Scholarship Policy, the Research Active Policy, and the Supervisor and Supervision Policy remain unchanged, although they will be updated from time to time, as usual. The AUT will need to maintain this high standard.
Teaching standards: The requirements of the Faculty Qualification Policy remain unchanged, as do those related to the Research and Scholarship Policy.
Pay and conditions: We are currently obtaining legal advice, but it is anticipated that all staff of Affiliated Colleges will continue to be employed under their current conditions and awards. Staff in the AUT Office will be moving to the Higher Education Awards, but this is not expected to result in a change in current salary expenses. With the exception of the current Dean and Deputy Dean, the AUT will not be adopting academic titles (such as Professor, Associate Professor, etc.) at this time. The Dean and Principals are discussing whether or not academic titles might be considered more generally in the future.
Fees: There will be no tuition fee increases due to our university status, although usual CPI increases may apply. Neither will there be fee decreases as, although we are a university, we are not eligible for Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs). However, in future, as noted above, undergraduate students using FEE-HELP will no longer be subject to the government’s 20% loan fee.
Standards: Our awards are already aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)—there will be no change in the level of difficulty of units or the amount of student work required.
What new opportunities are there?
Academic and Professional Staff of Affiliated Colleges can enrol in the new Graduate Certificate of Theological Education (GCTE) at no charge. This is voluntary, NOT mandatory.
University status will make it easier for us to enter into research partnerships with other universities as well as denominations, not-for-profits, and other industry partners. By working collaboratively with scholars in other institutions and disciplines, we can make a greater impact on the church and on society. The more we receive in grants and research funding, the more funding the government can provide to support research and research training. This funding could potentially support HDR scholarships, research grants for academic staff (e.g. conference and publication grants), resources, and other support for research. More information will be forthcoming in the new Research and Scholarship Strategy.