This is how it happens. Inch by inch standards are lowered. You pay more for inferior quality. You shop around but realize they’re all selling the same stuff. And you wonder, how did it come to this?
The highly regarded RMIT TAFE Diploma of Professional Writing & Editing (RMIT PWE) program is no more. The program will be offered as an associate degree this year charging $5648 a year in fees.
An associate degree is exactly the same as an advanced diploma but is considered a higher degree qualification so you pay more.
I ran RMIT PWE from 1997–2000 and was its program director until 2004. When I left, it cost $500 to study full time at RMIT PWE. The new fees are an increase of 1000 percent. Over the previous 20 years its fees had risen by $100.00.
In the last 22 years, RMIT PWE has produced more than 50 novelists, countless playwrights and screenwriters, editors and writers of all forms. Most of the students lived in the inner suburbs of North Melbourne, Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood and St Kilda.
Real estate marketers did to these suburbs in the 1980s what RMIT and the state government has done to RMIT PWE over the last six years.
They have driven down creativity to its lowest common denominator and driven out those who gave those suburbs panache in the first place – writers, painters and musicians.
When I taught in RMIT PWE I had students who were heroin addicts, schizophrenics, homeless kids, sex addicts, depressives, alcoholics, princesses, know-it-alls, psychiatrists, doctors, kids who had done jail-time, house wives, bullshit artists – you name it, they rolled up to study at RMIT PWE in Carlton. Many earned that brief title ‘writer’.
The students not only got published, they got jobs as magazine writers, editors, copywriters, journalists, travel writers, web builders and much more. For those of you who don’t know the joy of getting paid for writing, it makes it worth getting up in the morning.
I would not have sacrificed one of them on the altar of expediency.
So what has happened? Greed and cowardice. The incompetent Brumby Government revamped the training system in 2009 that effectively destroyed TAFE art programs by raising fees to astronomical heights. Baillieu is carrying on Brumby’s anti-TAFE mission but in slow motion.
RMIT turned the thumbscrews by appointing statisticians and accountants to run PWE in the mid 2000s and many of the senior staff simply let it happen. Even though the program made a profit of $200,000 per year, they wanted more. Much more.
So they created an associate degree in the hope that the same people will ante up $5648 per year in fees. It’s the same kind of low-level bastardry you get when you open up your power or phone bill.
I can guarantee you that when Tim Winton studied creative writing at Curtin University in Perth, he was not paying $5648 a year in fees.
The bean counters have destroyed not only PWE but also its unique student market, created by word-of-mouth over 22 years. Inch by inch they lowered the standards, withheld resources, and sacked staff yet asked for more and more money.
Most of you won’t know Judy Duffy. She was RMIT PWE’s leader in the early 90s. She made the program famous. She was feisty to the point of aggressive but she was a soft touch. Irish heritage bristled beneath her skin. She was passionate about writing and writers.
Duffy realised that if text-based creativity was to boom in Victoria, it needed a combination of mature aged and young students who would ‘kill’ to get published – who would ransom their own grandmother for a job as an editor or multimedia writer.
Judy died in 2001. She would be rolling over in her grave is she saw what has befallen her beloved program.
It extraordinary that RMIT is raising the price of education when the Federal Government and a whole raft of educational agencies is exhorting young people to go to TAFE.
But if you’re an accountant or statistician, your eye is on the bottom line and not on the future.
Vocational education has a proud history in Victoria. It’s first ‘TAFE’ was the Sandhurst Mechanics Institute, built in 1856 on the goldfields of Bendigo. This was just two years after the Eureka Stockade.
We need the spirit of Judy Duffy and Peter Lalor to stop the accountants from killing off a Victorian icon.
Malcolm King is the former program director, RMIT Creative Writing.
Really outrageous. I wonder how many working-class or worse off writers will miss out and be cut off from more writing programs now. Limited access to writing courses don’t stop you from being successful, but surely it will contribute again to those voices being marginalised further.
I got into the Creative Writing course at RMIT. The university one, though some recommended the TAFE course to me. I did put a uni course in PWE as a second preference though. Was that previously the TAFE course?
I tried to get my head around the fee structure as outlined on RMIT’s website, my head exploded.
http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse/Study%20at%20RMIT/Fees/
I did the PWE last year. Because i had a (20 year old science) Bachelors degree, i had to pay full fee.
It was common for people to take a funded spot and pay around the $500 per year fee. I see mention of these funded spots in the documents linked to, but i can’t figure out if they still apply.
What are the facts here?
If a new candidate enrols in this new course and they have no previous higher level qualification, is their only option to pay full fee?
It’s not changing the course to an Associate Degree that’s made it more expensive for students. It’s the Victorian government raising TAFE fees for anyone with a higher qualification so that the RMIT PWE course now costs around $8,000 per year for the majority of students. This is all TAFE courses, not just this one.
I believe that one of the reasons it’s being changed to an associate degree is that it’s actually LESS expensive for anyone who already has a higher qualification. And a degree course means that it doesn’t have to be paid up front.
The TAFE course was less accessible than the associate degree for most people. Don’t blame RMIT; blame the government.
I just checked the RMIT website for full fee costs for the Diploma in 2012: $9,000 per year. That’s considerably more expensive than the associate degree’s $5.648 per year.
When Tim Winton studied creative writing at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (it became Curtin University in 1987) he would have done so for free, in the heady days of the Whitlam era.
Progress?
I was able to study Prof Writing at RMIT for something like $200 a year. I was lucky enough to study under Judy Duffy and I doubt I would be published today without her. I remember my years there as scrappy and stimulating and wonderful. I met people from all over – I got outside myself – I’m very sad to hear of the program’s demise.
For anyone interested NMIT (Northern Melbourne Insitute of TAFE) runs the Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing and a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing from the Collingwood Campus in Otter Street. There are some fabulous supportive teachers in a great learning environment. Fees range from around $450 to $6300 (depending on individual eligibility). For further information visit the website http://www.nmit.edu.au/courses/diploma_of_professional_writing_and_editing_VA1
or telephone: 9269 1431.
Bloody outrageous! I am currently studying, however really starting to question the value of every new (uni) subject I enrol in – with fees sitting at a minimum of 1K per subject and my HECS debt getting close to 15k.
In a country that cries ‘Fair Go For All’, tertiary education is again becoming an option only for wealthy families.
An excellent piece Mr King, containing sentiments that I would heartily, and will should we meet will certainly, buy you a beer for, but 18 months far too late to be any use in any way to anybody.
Having just finished the course, I observe that the lecturing staff are making faustian pacts every day to try to maintain as much as Judy’s legacy as they can. I am not sure that your article has helped their position.
This is a sad story. I feel like TAFE in Victoria is almost dead, since whatever it is now is nothing like the TAFE my dad went to at nights when I was growing up.
However, I don’t think this article is fair to statisticians. A lot of them are very nice people and deep thinkers as well – not the bottom-line-minded bureaucrats you lump them in with.
An appreciation for numbers doesn’t preclude an appreciation for the arts.
Oh, this post makes me feel so sad. And angry.
Outrageous and sad state of affairs. And well summed up that is/was cowardice and greed that caused this situation.
Malcolm, I’m afraid your comments don’t reflect my experience. I’ve taught in the PWE program at RMIT for the last 10 years and I assure you it’s flourishing, not floundering.
Three times a year I compile a newsletter of students’ achievements – a humbling, awe-inspiring experience. Students continue to get books published, contribute to newspapers and magazines, start their own publishing ventures and freelance businesses, gain sought-after internships and jobs in publishing/communications, and win competitions, awards and some serious prizes (think Kate McLennan winning the 2011 Kit Denton Disfellowship at the AWGIEs with $30,000 attached).
I don’t know the ‘bean counters’ you allude to, but in my time the PWE program managers have been teachers in the program who work with passion, diligence and integrity to ensure the ongoing health and vitality of the program for its students. The program also has benefitted from having a long-standing core of contract staff supported by brilliant sessionals such as Toni Jordan, Cath Crowley, Sian Prior and Carrie Tiffany, many of whom are former PWE students themselves.
Yes, the tertiary environment is challenging to work in. The halcyon days of low cost higher education are well and truly over – and so now it is for TAFE. As Kelly indicated, the blunt reality is that for the vast majority of our student cohort, it is now cheaper to study in higher ed and to use HECS to manage costs than it is to study in TAFE.
The associate degree also came about in response to a reaccreditation that emphasised the diploma as a one-year qualification. We believe the 2 years of training are essential and this for us was the big push factor towards the associate degree – a 2-year, practised-based degree taught by industry practitioners. But it’s also given us a chance to consult with industry about what they’re looking for in graduates and to refresh our program to cater for a rapidly changing publishing scene.
Sometimes the situation of a single program in a large institution feels like a child in a big family waving her hands around to get noticed. Still PWE does get noticed by RMIT and is recognised for the flagship writing and editing program it is. While complex systems and endless accountability can be trying (something educators across the board grapple with) the adversarial situation you suggest isn’t one I recognise.
Every year we’re impressed by the calibre of students our program attracts. 2012 is no exception. As an educator, I’m looking forward to teaching in both the associate degree and TAFE programs. I have no doubt that PWE at RMIT will continue to offer a valuable, indeed life-changing, experience for our students, as it has for so many in the past.
@ziz: Prior to July 2009, anyone who enrolled in a TAFE course could get a government-funded place and pay minimal fees. Anyone who enrolled in a TAFE course post-July 2009 has to pay the exorbitant fees if they already have a higher qualification.
There are still students completing the diploma under the previous rules and they have a government-funded place until the end of 2012 when they get hit with the full fees. Anyone without a higher qualification has a government-funded place no matter what.
This article really should have been written back when the TAFE changes came into effect in mid-2009. It’s less about RMIT (and not at all about the people currently running the program who are very unhappy about the changes and doing their best), and more about the government’s changes to TAFE.
This is a program changing in the changing political environment. And RMIT has done all it can to change PWE to benefit both students and teachers.
As a current student, I can say that throughout all of the changes to the TAFE machine, RMIT staff have done all they can to keep us informed of what has happened and what is happening, and how to get the best out of the course under the circumstances, both past and present. It’s wrong to blame the wrong people for the quagmire state government has dropped them, and the participants, in.
There may be a change in student intake, types and styles, but what’s to say that’s not a pertinent factor in a changing culture / society / political environment.
I am curious to know if Malcolm King has any responses to any posts, hopefully better edited, or whether it was simply a burst of nostalgic hurt.
Despite the impression given in this article, Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT (where I’ve taught for almost 10 years) is alive and well. In introducing an Associate Degree alongside a planned TAFE certificate, it is adapting to a changing funding environment with considerable integrity.
As pointed out by several commenters, the Associate Degree will be a more affordable option for most students – it’s cheaper than TAFE study for anyone already holding a higher qualification (as the vast majority of our students do), and doesn’t require up-front payment. A TAFE certificate will become an option for others.
RMIT’s PWE students remain passionate about their development as writers and editors, even if the cliched image of an innercity avantgarde subculture conjured up in Malcolm’s article is no truer now than it was ten or more years ago. (Actually, I can’t see why a cohort living in a handful of ostensibly cool and arty inner suburbs would be a sign of a diverse and accessible program.)
Nonetheless, the diversity of our student group remains one of the strengths of the program – it is exciting to be a part of, challenging and rewarding to teach. Malcolm could probably still find examples of all his ‘types’ there, as well as many he hasn’t thought to mention, though what’s really important is their shared commitment to a culture of supporting, challenging, and nurturing writers and editors.
Hi Malcolm, thank you for writing this piece. I have written numerous articles relating to this theme for Overland and for the TAFE4All website. It appals me that this is what it has come to. I am currently in my final year of the RMIT PWE diploma. I have been studying part-time and I was one of the last fortunate few who came through on the old government subsidised scheme. With an already existing HECS debt from previous degrees, there was no way I would have been able to afford the pwe fee structure. I believe this change will dramatically shift the kind of literature produced by Australian writers. The industry is elitist enough! But now only the ones with the big bucks will be able to study, thereby dramatically changing the literary voices in Australia. What a big, big, shame. They are trying to push creatives into the university sector when creativity isn’t suited to university style teaching. It is better suited to TAFE. In fact, I have heard that many students who studied creative writing at university then went on to study the diploma for its practical aspects. Anyway, I could go on about this forever…GOOD ON YA BUMBY! KEEP KILLING ART!
“I would not have sacrificed one of them (students) on the altar of expediency.” -Main article-
Cruel to say, but I guess that’s the problem with icons: comes a time when they’re no longer worshipped.
The NMIT PWE allows a pathway into NMIT’s Associate Degree in Writing and Publishing (1 year following on from the Dip in PWE) and Bachelor of Writing and Publishing (+ 1 on the Assoc Degree). We offer very personalised learning journeys at the beautiful Fairfield Campus in Yarra Bend Rd.
Many people working in education would share Malcolm King’s concerns regarding changes to government funding and the effect this has on access to education and training. The full effects of the Victorian Government’s Skills Reform are only just beginning to be felt and we need to see more in the way of informed, public debate around these issues.
RMIT Professional Writing and Editing is thriving and continuing to do what it does best – training writers and editors for a challenging and rapidly changing industry. Any assertion that PWE is “destroyed” is belied by continuing demand for the program, by the quality of its students and teachers, and by the support it enjoys from all sectors of a diverse industry. The high standard of training students are provided is endorsed by the numbers of current students and graduates working as freelance writers and editors or who are employed not only in the publishing industry, but across a range of organisations in both the government and private sectors.
At present, RMIT University runs three programs under the banner of Professional Writing and Editing: a Certificate IV, a Diploma and a new Associate Degree. The Victorian Government regulates accreditation and funding for Certificate IV and Diploma programs, and this regulation is very prescriptive about the way in which such programs are designed and delivered. Associate Degrees are accredited by RMIT, as a self-accrediting university, with funding set by the Commonwealth.
The PWE Associate Degree builds on the foundations of the Certificate IV and Diploma and gives students the option of a two-year program to deepen and develop their professional writing skills. As experienced practitioners, we felt strongly that for writers and editors to work effectively at a professional level, there was a need for this more flexible training delivered over two consecutive years. Enrolling in an Associate Degree also allows all students access to HECS whereas students coming to study a Cert IV have to pay fees up front with no government loan scheme to help them.
There is no doubt that the Associate Degree is an evolution in PWE at RMIT, but PWE has gone through many incarnations in its 22-year history. What began as a collection of courses in a community education program, morphed over time into an Associate Diploma of Arts, a Diploma of Arts and then into a Certificate IV and a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing. While program management would be simpler if we could simply stand still while the world changes around us, this continuing evolution is how we ensure PWE graduates remain world-class.
RMIT University has supported the development of the Associate Degree, which was written with input from writers, editors, publishers, media practitioners, past and present students and teachers. The Associate Degree is practice based and delivered through a studio model of teaching, consistent with the model used since PWE’s inception.
RMIT’s program managers are practitioners and teachers, not statisticians or accountants. I have managed PWE since 2005 and am a writer and teacher.
When Judy Duffy ran PWE she was indeed passionate about writers and about the program. Malcolm shared this passion when he ran PWE, and this same passion continues today in all staff involved with these programs. Judy would have no patience with current government funding models or the increased compliance demands placed on teachers but would take comfort, as we all do, in our wonderful and diverse students, who remain as committed to the program as they ever have. The Duffy family continue to support PWE through the annual Judy Duffy Award, presented to the student who demonstrates the qualities of commitment to writing and editing that Judy valued.
While Malcolm has rightly expressed concern over the effects of funding changes to education these changes have been managed constructively to ensure that our reputation in this field continues to grow and those who have taught or graduated from PWE programs can continue to be proud of their association with their association with the University. So, to borrow from and misquote Mark Twain … the report of the death of PWE is greatly exaggerated.
Clare, Penny, Stephanie — I loved my years in the (rather dubious, lets face it) halls of building 94 where I not only had a bit of a rebirth as a writer and became an editor, but found friends and colleagues of the highest order. So grateful to have only paid $800-or-so for the full-time years. I couldn’t do the fees now – no chance. I know the writing and editing comes first with you and the other great lecturers there — Olga Lorenzo, Arthur, poetry legend Ania Walwicz … (have to mention Sally Rippin, too). Good luck with the real bean counters and their ubiquitous forms and boxes.
erm…*let’s* (blushes, in case Penny reads)
I think it is fair to say that amongst the students that have been studying in the course for a few years, many of us feel that it is going downhill. For me, it has not just been the massive hike in fees (thanks Brumby) but great teachers leaving, limited after-hours unit choices, and slight discrepancies between course content and the realities of the digital economy. That said, I’ve had some excellent teachers and got a lot out of the course, both as a writer and in my career.
Generally, I am very upset about what economic rationalism is doing to tertiary education in this country. You can’t just measure the value of a course by how many students get jobs out of it. Whatever happened to knowledge for knowledge’s sake? While the effects of cuts to vocational education won’t be immediately apparent,they will hurt us for years. The worse thing about these changes is that they are so easily done, and yet so hard to reverse.
Malcolm, did you go further than you needed to go here? What does gentrification have to do with the decline of the degree? Also, is the associate degree really more expensive than the diploma? I believe the administrators introduced the degree to reduce costs for students, rather than as an egregious money grab, as you suggest. It seems to me that this piece could be more rigorous and temperate in its arguments.
This is a very sad state of affairs.
I used to teach with Malcolm King in the 90s in Prof Writing and I completely agree with his assessment.
‘Prof Writing’ provided an excellent grounding in plot development and structure but not at a cost of charging students almost $6000 a year. It was fun too.
I’ve examined PWE’s current curriculum online and I cannot recognise any of the subjects. There are no second year subjects posted. How did to come to this?
I should probably put the record straight while I’m here. While it is right and true to praise Judy Duffy, when she left the program in 1996, applications had fallen to an all-time low.
About 30 percent of its student contact hours were consumed by drop outs. There was no full fee income. Student complaints were at an all time high as was staff turnover. There was serious talk of splitting the program up into short courses.
King revitalized the program and employed new part time staff.He wrote and launched the Master of Creative Writing and a raft of full fee short courses.
King promoted and rewarded staff. Arthur Clover won the University medal on King’s recommendation. He marketed the programs across Victoria and NSW and used political nous to select the best students and to keep the program vibrant and healthy.
He was the most experienced academic leader I have worked with.
I thoroughly enjoyed teaching at RMIT and the students were wonderful. I wonder if all the alternatives were examined with rigor. The notion of ‘evolution’ of PWE is questionable. It is devolution of the worst kind.
It’ a shame that it has come to this.
Dr Do-lots
As a current PWE student, I have witnessed the people who run the course (who are most certainly *not* bean counters; if they were bean counters, their offices would be neater) try to keep the course vibrant and relevant to the students, many of whom have completed previous education (in my time there, I remember meeting two school leavers). The change to the Associate Degree is an effort to maintain accessibility to its key demographic rather than change to a school leaver folio building course. It’s also an acknowledgement that for many years RMIT’s PWE has been “punching above its weight”, and is held in higher regard than other Diplomas by industry.
I must ask, Malcolm, what would you have done differently if you were program director?
You say “we need the spirit of Judy Duffy and Peter Lalor to stop the accountants from killing off a Victorian icon.” – We could also do without specious scaremongering reports about the course “floundering”. Come to Industry Overview on Wednesday night, see if it’s floundering.
Cameron asks a very good question which I will answer soon.
I will admit that PWE is effectively a different program now than when I or Duffy ran it. We could offer 20 classes of 12 writing and editing subjects in first year and 14 classes of nine subjects in second year. I also had the support of the Vice Chancellor and key opinion leaders in education in Victoria.
I was contacted by graduates of PWE and two staff members who were worried that the program will lose its demographic. I apologise for taking so long to reply.
PWE has been ‘punching above its weight’ because of excellent teachers (current and past) and the ability to reverse articulate – which means taking mature age students with degrees or senior qualifications.
Turning to Cameron’s question – what would I have done differently if I was program director?
There are a number of ways to stop external fee hikes, Cameron.
1. A direct appeal to the Director of RMIT TAFE. This would almost not work as they don’t have the power to set fees and they tend to flee from anything that looks like a problem.
2. A direct appeal to the Vice Chancellor. The VC has the power to recalibrate fees in extraordinary circumstances. She would be more likely to listen if there was a student delegation and or petition. There are numerous precedents for this.
3. If that fails I would go direct to the media and clearly articulate the cost of charging $11,000 in fees and reiterate the productive cultural value and history of the course. I would also get the industry board (if it still exists) to lobby hard. You would be surprised how effective this can be.
4. At the same time, I would lobby the State Minister of Education and ask for a special amendment to the legislation. This is a reasonably simple (although protracted) process. ‘Exemptions’ to legislation are a common feature of modern parliamentary democracy and would be a win for the current Minister over the appalling previous ALP Minister.
5. If all the above fail, I’d make an appointment to see a Slater and Gordon lawyer to see if the legislation can be challenged and how much that would cost.
That’s just for a start, Cameron. Of course, the real power at Prof Writing lies with the students. It lies with you.
Every now and then we are called to examine our consciences. What you are witnessing is a massive disconnect between the content, structure, style and history of Victoria’s premier writing program and what will be offered this year. PWE is not alone. It’s happening to TAFE students across Victoria.
We take quality for granted and sometimes don’t recognise when fees rise and standards fall. But what is happening to PWE is a seismic shift. But I’m sure the staff did their best.
Let me prick your conscience Cameron and other PWE students. As you walk past Trades Hall, the John Curtin Hotel or the ‘Eight Hours Work, Eight Hours Rest’ statue outside the Emily MacPherson Building on the corner of Lygon and Victoria Street, it’s hard not to sense that men and women before us took on far greater challenges and won.
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