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The higher education sector in Queensland

The higher education sector in the State of Queensland, Australia, comprises a diverse range of universities and other providers operating in communities across the State. These institutions offer degrees and postgraduate programs, engage in scholarship and research and development activities, and enhance the quality of life of their local communities. Increasingly, higher education institutions in Queensland are also working within national and international settings.

Higher education institutions in Queensland make a significant contribution to economic growth within the State (bringing over $2 billion annually into the Queensland economy), develop social capital and assist in community capacity building within the south-east corner and regional areas across Queensland.

Currently, there are nine universities in Queensland teaching approximately 188 000 students and employing 16 500 staff on 26 campuses. Additionally, there are more than 20 non-university providers and overseas institutions that operate in Queensland, teaching over 5000 students. A small number of interstate universities also offer courses.

Higher education in Queensland operates under a national quality framework that includes the Australian Universities Quality Agency, the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes and the Australian Qualifications Framework. This framework aims to ensure higher education in Australia is of a consistently high quality, comparable in standard to anywhere in the world and its graduates are competitive internationally.

Universities are established under individual State legislation and are subject to oversight by both State and Commonwealth governments. They are authorised to accredit and offer their own higher education courses and confer awards.

In keeping with national framework, Queensland approval legislation regulates the use of the title 'university', the offering of higher education courses and the conferring of higher education awards. Higher education offered by institutions other than universities is subject to authorisation by the State. The accreditation process is designed to ensure that higher education courses offered by non-university providers are comparable in requirements and learning outcomes to courses at the same level in a similar field at Australian universities.

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