Australian Immigration Daily News

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• 

  Jon Jovanovic Friday, 08 November 2019

  Hi Guys,
  
  Please find enclosed correspondence I forwarded to the Vice Chancellor of Griffiths University regarding the Migration Agent's Course. It seems that the University has similar misgivings about the Capstone Test. Whilst not saying so implicitly, it is evident that they also regard the Capstone test as being otiose.
  
  I also forwarded the above mentioned correspondence to the Right Honourable Andrew Wilkie MHR and requested that the forward the same to the Minister for Education and the Shadow Minister for Education.
  
  I shall also forward the response from Griffiths University and request that he lobby the relevant authorities to scarp the totally unnecessary Capstone test. I urge everybody to write to their local members of parliament and lobby them to get rid of this unnecessary fee gouging exercise in career inhibiting process.
  
  Dear Professor Evans,
  
  My son Adam Jovanovic has just completed a Migration Agent's Diploma
  at your University. Are you aware that completion of this $24,500
  course is not a sufficient qualification to become migration agent as
  there is an additional necessary tet that needs to be passed; the
  Capstone test at a further cost of $2,700.
  
  The very expensive course offered by your University does not equip
  students to successfully complete this Capstone course as indicated by
  the abysmal failure rate.
  
  My son has indicated that the offered by your University has
  emphasises obscure and rarely used contents like orphan visas, whereas
  the emphasis of the Capstone test has a greater practical bias and
  tests on rural, student and work visas which mirrors events in the
  real world.
  
  Why is this not given emphasis in your course?
  
  After all the whole purpose of the course is to prepare students for
  the real world, is it not?
  
  Why is no training given to students to deal with these issues leading
  to the ongoing waste of talent and resources?
  
  How can your University justify the $24,500 fee when successful
  competition of your course, whilst a necessary condition for becoming
  a migration agent is not sufficient as it does not prepare students to
  successfully navigate the further requirement to become a migration
  agent.
  
  Is this a policy issue of the government which has severely cut
  funding to force Universities by hook or crook to raise money?
  
  I await your response with assedious interest.
  Cheers
  Jon Jovanovic
  
  Hi Andrew,
  
  Please find enclosed correspondence sent to the Vice Chancellor of
  Griffiths University where my son completed a Post Graduate Diploma in
  Migration. He would like to practise as a migration agent. Due to the
  rules introduced last year he has to in addition to completing a Post
  Graduate Diploma in Migration he has to pass a Capstone test which has
  an astonishingly high failure rate and there is no preparation for the
  same provided.
  
  Furthermore it is administered by the College of Law. Students that
  have sat the test have indicated that not enough time is provided for
  competing the test. It seems that the test is designed in such a
  manner to prevent candidates who have obtained the Post Graduate
  Diploma from passing and competing with lawyers who can be migration
  agents without having any qualifications except a law degree and a
  practising certificate.
  
  Seems a bit odd that lawyers who are in direct competition are setting
  and the test and assessing the results. Don't you think?
  
  Don't you think this is just a tad of conflict of interest?
  
  I would also appreciate if you could pass on my letter to the Minister
  for adduction and the shadow minister as they no longer provide their
  emails.
  
  Thanks Andrew.
  
  Cheers
  
  Dear Mr Jovanovic
  
  Thank you for your email dated 5 November 2019 and for your concern about the suitability of Griffith University's Graduate Diploma of Australian Migration Law & Practice.
  
  In 2017, after considering Griffith University's extensive program proposal, OMARA approved Griffith's Graduate Diploma program as meeting all of the criteria set by OMARA for this program, and listed it as one of the prescribed courses for the purposes of registration. Our program's learning activities and ​assessment items have all been mapped to the appropriate Australian Qualifications Framework level for a Graduate Diploma and to the Occupational Competency Standards for Registered Migration Agents.
  
  Since January 2018, in addition to the Graduate Diploma program, OMARA also listed the capstone assessment as the prescribed exam for registering as a migration agent. The capstone assessment is set and run by the College of Law independently of the universities providing the Graduate Diploma program. Following recommendations made by the Kendall Review that the capstone assessment is a stand-alone assessment de-linked from the Graduate Diploma program, OMARA has enforced this separation between the providers of the Graduate Diploma and the providers of the capstone assessment. In practical terms what this means is that the providers of the Graduate Diploma do not have any knowledge of the content of the capstone assessment or the level at which the questions in the capstone assessment are pitched. As any educator would know, this lack of alignment is problematic.
  
  We have long expressed our concerns with this model to OMARA and have advocated strongly for changes to the capstone assessment, particularly in light of the low pass rates. We also note that the low pass rates apply universally to all candidates sitting the capstone, regardless of which university Graduate Diploma program they have completed. We have been successful in having some of our concerns accepted by OMARA with subsequent changes to the capstone assessment. These changes were applied to the August 2019 intake of the capstone assessment but we have yet to receive pass rates statistics from OMARA for this intake. We continue to communicate our concerns to OMARA and will be meeting with them later this month.
  
  There are eight courses in our Graduate Diploma program. Four of these courses focus on legislative requirements and the other four courses focus on teaching the relevant practitioner skills required to apply those legislative requirements. The practitioner skills courses include a simulated client file component in which students are required to prepare and lodge two visa applications (and manage their client files according to the Code of Conduct requirements). In 2019 the visa applications prepared by students were a partner visa and an orphan relative visa, and the students learned to deal with numerous practical issues as part of those visa applications including, but not limited to, client management, financial management, PIC 4020 notifications, DNA requests, and visa refusal.
  
  These were not the only visa sub-classes taught, as combined, our eight courses cover a wide range of knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to practise as ethical and competent registered migration agents. Each course has at least 4 assessment items assessing students' knowledge and understanding of the learning materials and covers areas including valid visa application requirements, legislative constraints, eligibility requirements for most visa classes, cancellation powers, merits and judicial review, legal writing, client interviewing, oral and written advocacy, Code of Conduct and file management requirements.
  
  We update and change our assessment for each program cohort so that the range of visas taught and assessed varies and takes into account the innumerable changes to the migration law and policy as well as student feedback. A wide variety of visa sub-classes are taught and assessed throughout the program, including employer-sponsored, independent skilled, TSS and student visas.
  
  Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
  
  Kind regards
  
  Emma
  
  
  
  Emma Robinson | Program Director
  
  Graduate Diploma of Australian Migration Law & Practice
  
  Griffith Law School

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• 

  Rakesh Saturday, 04 July 2020

  Maybe all this Capstone business was designed the law council or some interested parties who do not want RMA population to increase.

  Reply Cancel ·

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