Registration not renewed 23 December 2015

Renewal of registration

Report on rejection of application for renewal of registration by Phoenix Institute of Australia Pty Ltd

TEQSA has rejected the application for renewal of registration by Phoenix Institute of Australia Pty Ltd (Phoenix) under Section 36(1) of the TEQSA Act.

Main Reasons for Decision

TEQSA has assessed the application submitted by Phoenix Institute of Australia Pty Ltd against the Threshold Standards. The scope of the assessment included all its Australian sites.

TEQSA considers that the decision to reject the renewal of registration is consistent with the basic principles for regulation in Part 2 of the TEQSA Act, as it is not satisfied that Phoenix Institute of Australia Pty Ltd continues to meet a number of Threshold Standards.

Financial viability

TEQSA considered that Phoenix does not have the capacity to sustain quality in its higher education operations, or to continue to apply sufficient financial resources to ensure the achievement of its higher education objectives. On this basis TEQSA concluded that Phoenix does not continue to meet Provider Registration Standards (PRS) 2.1 and 2.2.

Governance

Phoenix has not demonstrated that it has a corporate governing body that has responsibility for oversight of all of its higher education operations and so does not meet PRS 3.1. Phoenix does not have a majority of external members on its corporate governing board and does not meet PRS 3.2. Phoenix's corporate governance arrangements do not demonstrate a clear distinction between governance and management responsibilities and it does not meet PRS 3.3. Phoenix does not adequately monitor potential risks to its higher education operations and does not meet PRS 3.4. Phoenix does not have approved delegations in place and does not meet PRS 3.5. There are no corporate and academic governance arrangements (including a properly constituted governing board, academic board and standing committees) protecting the academic integrity and quality of Phoenix's higher education operations. Phoenix does not meet PRS 3.7.

Academic Quality Assurance

There is no evidence of effective development, implementation and review of policies and systematic monitoring, review and improvement of Phoenix's higher education operations. Phoenix has not demonstrated that its corporate and academic governance arrangements provide for the maintenance of academic standards with appropriate mechanisms for external input, and has not demonstrated implementation of effective quality control mechanisms. Phoenix does not meet PRS 3.8.