Twelve months ago, Wells Advisory merged with MinterEllison Consulting, the multi-disciplinary professional services capability of law firm MinterEllison. This strategic move created a powerhouse team of legal experts, management consultants and education leaders, dedicated to addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by universities.

In the last year, the sector's landscape has shifted markedly. The impact of Government reforms arising from the Accord and the international education reviews has led to the most dramatic policy impact in decades. With a domestic and international capped system, universities are now committing at pace to a set of strategic and operational responses that will change the face of institutions. These changes will require careful calibration, risk management and critical path planning.

The push into transnational education (TNE), further into online, to streamline program portfolios, and greater prioritisation of research areas all have profound implications. The introduction of major new compliance requirements not only across the main HESA/TEQSA/ESOS frameworks, but also in new institutions and codes will pose challenges for already stretched governance / legal / compliance teams. Our team is fully engaged across this terrain and is working to provide our clients with forward thinking advice on strategy, risk and compliance.

Expertise and Services

The Education Consulting team is renowned for its deep understanding of the university sector. Drawing from experience in both the higher education sector and government, they bring new ideas for growth, portfolio optimisation, improved student outcomes, research facilitation, risk management, and operational efficiency. Working with their colleagues, they are a comprehensive resource for legal and strategic advice, understanding the fast evolving sector, academic nuances and commercial realities.

Governance and regulation: The Education Consulting team provides strategic governance and regulatory advice. MinterEllison’s consultants offer insights into governance structures, board and leadership effectiveness, and leadership transition strategies. They work closely with university leaders to develop robust governance frameworks that support strategic decision-making and accountability.

The team has extensive experience undertaking forensic reviews and audits against both Australian and UK regulations and standards. This includes regulatory audits against TEQSA and ESOS requirements, Office for Students (UK) and independent reviews of corporate and academic governance.

Business planning and support: The team has expertise in designing university load planning and budget models, executive reporting and decision support systems, including interactive dashboards. They can support university business planning through load planning, budgeting, business analytics, institutional business planning tools and process mapping.

Strategy and Planning: The team excels in designing and executing strategic plans that align with the university's goals at an institutional and portfolio/faculty/school level, including research, teaching and external engagement. This includes the provision of business/investment cases, market strategy and competitor analysis, development of program and course portfolio strategy, annual operational plans, and student and graduate lifecycle. Their strategic advice helps universities to identify growth opportunities, enhance student outcomes, and achieve long-term sustainability.

Third party partnerships: Crafting effective frameworks for both onshore and offshore partnerships is another area of strength for the Education Consulting team. They assist universities in developing policies, conducting due diligence, and performing regulatory audits to ensure successful collaborations. This support is vital for universities looking to expand their reach and impact through strategic partnerships.

Experience

MinterEllison’s Education Consulting team has a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes for their clients. This includes:

• assisting universities with their TEQSA renewal processes advising on governance, compliance, financial sustainability and risk issues based on the regulatory framework
• advising universities on the application of TEQSA requirements to offshore and online delivery, and the calibration of governance, compliance and quality assurance requirements across different delivery and business models.
• Developing university strategic plans, commercialisation plans, faculty plans
• Undertaking audits and reviews of universities' compliance with the complex and often inter-connected legislative requirements of HESA, ESOS and TEQSA, and research integrity, and correlating these to the internal university policy and delegation framework
• undertaking reviews of commercial partnerships including the management and governance arrangements overseeing them.
• advising clients on their policies and processes in relation to gender-based violence, student complaints and disciplinary proceedings.
• undertaking independent reviews of university's corporate and academic governance.

The Education Consulting team at MinterEllison Consulting, with their highly specialised expertise and track record in university regulatory compliance, governance, strategy, and performance improvement, can be a valuable partner for University lawyers. By leveraging their comprehensive services, universities can better navigate the complexities of the education sector, achieve their strategic objectives, and deliver superior outcomes across education, research and engagement.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you get ahead of the curve.