Evocca College under investigation by the Australian Skills Quality Authority after reports of low graduation rates
One of the largest players in the training industry is under investigation by the federal regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority.
Figures obtained by the ABC show Evocca College has a graduation rate of about 10 per cent despite claiming more than $290 million in government funding via the VET FEE-HELP student loan scheme.
The figures show out of 38,213 students who signed up to its diploma courses in the past four years, only 2,058 were handed diplomas by October 2014.
There were 16,567 students who officially cancelled and 3,897 who timed out of the course.
The college said about 15,000 were still on track to graduate.
More than 20 former Evocca employees spoke to the ABC about questionable practices at the college after concerns about the training provider were first aired in January.
Since then the graduation rates of the college have been the subject of debate.
Now more allegations have come to light including that it enrolled students ill-equipped for diploma level courses without enough support, that it enrolled students who did not pass the required literacy test, and that it backdated tutor qualification forms to pass federal government audits.
Former staff claimed the college actively sought to hamper students who wanted to leave the college and cease adding to their government training debt.
An email obtained by the ABC shows the college sent an email to staff stating that "cancellation is a banned word".
The college rejected suggestions it was taking advantage of the the VET FEE-HELP student training loan scheme, which was opened up to diploma courses in recent years.
In a statement, a company spokesman said they had a team of people dedicated to reaching out to students who were not attending.
"In cases where we have been through all possible processes endeavouring to re-engage a student, but have not been able to do so, we will cancel their enrolment, and have many thousands of documented cases to back this up," he said.
The spokesman said the enrolment figures were not accurate and did not take into account "the flexible model that we deliver in allowing students more time than many other providers to complete their courses at no additional cost, which provides for differing levels of ability and also a variety of personal circumstances".
It comes after a senate inquiry into the training loan scheme handed down its interim report on Monday.
Under VET FEE-HELP students can borrow up to $96,000 from the government for training, plus a 20 per cent loan fee, but not make repayments until they earn more than $53,000.
The loans attract interest in line with inflation (indexation) and the level of debt accrued can affect people's ability to take out some types of loans in the future.
Free iPads ending up at pawn shops
One of the key criticisms of many new players in the diploma-level training market is the use of incentives such as free laptops and iPads to sign students up to courses, and ultimately training debts.
In Sydney's west the Mega Cash pawn shop around the corner from Evocca's Mt Druitt campus sees up to five students a day trying to pawn their computers.
"I was getting about five a day, last week," manager Dean Rasmussen said.
"We can't take the iPads because as the college tells us, they still own them until the student finishes the course so they cannot legally sell it or loan [it]."
There are similar reports in other states.
Evocca has 40 campuses around Australia and enrols about 15,000 students.
Evocca said the computers were loaned to students in line with a scheme with Federal Government approval.
"They are provided as a necessary tool with which students may become familiar with technology and also complete their studies, especially as many do not have the immediate wherewithal to purchase their own," a spokesman said.
Former employee Steven Fogerty said the computers were useless as learning tools because they did not come equipped with relevant learning software such as Microsoft Office.
"The concept of giving students an iPad is purely an incentive because they're a toy," he said.
Regulator to investigate
The federal regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, said it has been investigating a number of complaints about Evocca.
Chief commissioner Chris Robinson said some related to recruitment practices and others related to its operations.
He said the ABC raised new allegations the regulator was not aware of.
"We certainly are concerned about some of [the allegations]," he said.
"It would be very good if people have information and concerns in the way Evocca has operated to come through ASQA."
He said the regulator audited 4,000 colleges in the past three years and suspended or chose not to renew many providers.
"Certainly not enough providers are fully compliant at all times," he said.
"There's a large amount of tax-payers' money going into these colleges, it's crucial tax-payers are getting value for money."
Staff come forward
More than 20 former Evocca employees have come forward to the ABC with concerns about the college's operation.
Mr Fogerty was a business management tutor at Mt Druitt campus for six months.
He said they regularly discussed at morning meetings the low educational ability of students recruited by the company's sales agents.
"We'd all say we know this is wrong," he said.
In vocational training, students typically progress through Certificates I to III or IV before undertaking a diploma level course, unless they have extensive workplace experience.
Mr Fogerty said he had one student who had vision and hearing impairments who was enrolled despite not writing 100 words as required by the Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) entrance test.
This student was then given little or no extra support despite his impairments.
"They would let anyone into this college. Your intellectual abilities were not even considered," he said.
"If you were an Australian citizen and you could sign your name, you're in."
Other students included migrants with poor English skills, single mothers and elderly people, many of whom he said did not get appropriate learning support.
Evocca said it had a thorough pre-enrolment process that ensured students understood the requirements and were capable of completing the course.
"It is due to these self-imposed standards of closely vetting any potential student that, although we receive many thousands of inquiries annually, only 14 per cent of these result in enrolments," a company spokesman said.
Claims of backdating forms
Former Queensland branch manager Michelle Naylor said when the college was audited by the Australian Skills Quality Authority it deliberately backdated staff qualification paperwork to pass the audit.
"We were asked to go through everyone's qualifications," she said.
"If they didn't have qualifications we were asked to sign a form called Working Under Supervision and unfortunately I had to backdate a couple of those to the term the tutors commenced work.
"I didn't know I was supervising them, I thought they had qualifications and experience.
"I knew I was doing the wrong thing."
The college denied any wrongdoing and said it would "update" paperwork of those who were required to be supervised while they were in the process of obtaining their Certificate IV in Workplace Training.
"This was an internal administrative process, which was in part designed to ensure some transparency and accountability for those who were undertaking this training, to ensure that it was completed in a timely manner, and that those being supervised were of an acceptable standard," a spokesman said.
Students say they lose out
Dylan Palmer would travel three hours each day to study digital gaming at Evocca's Brisbane campus.
He was referred to the course by a friend who received $100 cash from Evocca and Dylan received a free laptop.
"It was a lot of fun at first but as I went on it kind of jumped from point A to point C without ever really explaining point B and it just got really confusing for me," he said.
The 21-year-old has Asperger's syndrome and said he did not receive sufficient support.
"Sometimes they'd just say 'watch the video again'."
He now has a $27,000 VET FEE-HELP debt.
Also in Queensland, single mother Leanne Fraser would travel two hours each day for a diploma in tourism.
She has multiple sclerosis and said there was no help for students with a disability.
"I did struggle. It was very, very hard," she said.
"There's nothing for disabilities. They've got nothing in place, no protocols, nothing."
A college spokesman said the Evocca teaching model was based on doing everything it could to support students.
"[There is] a robust system in place for the ongoing management of students, including regular one-to-one catch ups with tutors, to ensure that these objectives are achieved."
