Southern Cross University faces shock claims of a crisis in one of their early childhood courses
Staff at the university told the ABC's 7.30 program the course, which could bring in $150m in fees for the SCU with the course cost set at $25,000 per student, was 'very low quality'.
The institution was reportedly pushing the course 'hard' with an estimated 6000 students enrolled in the past two years, journalist Adele Ferguson reported.
'We've gone from having classes with 200 students in a unit, which was considered a lot, to over 2000 students,' a whistleblower said.
The program alleged that the graduate diploma had received massive enrolments from international students, with the course heavily marketed through immigration agents as a pathway to residency.
Immigration agent Mark Glazbrook told 7.30 the situation should 'concern every Australian'.
'We have people coming into Australia on student visas that are studying courses just to use that pathway to get permanent residency in Australia and they're looking after our children, and in some cases, they're not attending their classes.'
In one claim, the program aired emails showing the university had asked staff to join 'phone sprints' to help find placements for students after the level of enrolment left it struggling to meet demand.
'One email described the situation as a significant crisis, threatening the viability of the faculty, with 400 placements needed by May, and another 2381 by July,' Ferguson reported.
The staff who found the most placements for students reportedly received a gift card.
The program went on to allege that SCU was placing students in childcare centres that were not meeting minimum national safety standards.
The program said regulatory documents had exposed widespread gaps in basic care, including educators not understanding child protection policies, mandatory reporting duties, or even safe sleep and hygiene practices.
Abigail Boyd, NSW Greens MLC said the situation struck her as absurd.
'How on earth is it giving those students any kind of good education,' Ms Boyd said.
Southern Cross University has been contacted for comment.
SCU declined 7.30's interview request and did not respond to detailed questions about enrolment numbers, staff turnover, student distress, or course quality and placement issues.
In a statement it said the graduate diploma was a 'rigorous, high-quality program' attracting strong interest, and was fully accredited by the national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), and the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
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