On the 26th of August 2024, the Vanuatu Qualifications Authority (VQA) board granted the renewal of registration for Saint Michel Catholic Technical College for a period of five years. Such approval is to ensure Saint Michel Technical College is able to operate again as a registered provider to provide Post-School Education and Training Services.
The institution has previously registered with VQA from the 5th of November 2015 to the 5th of November 2020. After the registration period lapsed, VQA then conducted an external review from 10th to 11th of May 2021 and assigned a quality status of poor.
Having the Provider’s registration renewed shows the commitment and great effort of the institution to meet the minimum requirements set by the Qualification Authority. Saint Michel College will now operate as a registered provider in Vanuatu. 
Vanuatu College of Nursing Education (VCNE), as the only nursing college in the country, has been registered with the Vanuatu Qualifications Authority (VQA) since 8th of December 2014, where the registration duration lasts till 8th of December 2019. After the registration period has elapsed, VQA conducted an external review on VCNE from 20th of July to 10th of August 2021 and assigned a quality status of poor after the review. Due to this, the VQA Board suspended VCNE registration until all issues identified in the external review are rectified before applying for renewal of registration.
The Vanuatu Qualifications Authority Board has recently approved and granted VCNE’s renewal of registration on 26th of August 2024. The renewal of registration period is for five years till 26th of August 2029.
Despite having a poor-quality status during the external review carried out by VQA in 2021, VCNE has worked hard to meet the requirements and standards set by VQA to be granted a renewal of registration by VQA to ensure VCNE is able to operate as a national recognized nursing institution in Vanuatu. VQA and VCNE will continue to work in collaboration to sort out any non-compliances to ensure quality training delivered to Ni-Vanuatu citizens.
On the 1st of August this month 2024, the Vanuatu Qualifications Authority (VQA) celebrates another key milestone achievement in its operation as a National Post School Education and Training (PSET) regulator in Vanuatu for being certified as a full member of the Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) for successfully meeting all the requirements, required by the APQN.
The Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) is a non-profit and non-governmental network seeking “to enhance the quality of higher education in Asia and the Pacific region that contains over half the world’s population, through strengthening the work of the QAAs and extending the cooperation between them” for its ultimate goal of “Dissolving Boundaries for a Quality Region” according to its Constitution.
The certification of full membership is being awarded to the Authority by APQN which connects VQA with other Quality Assurance Authority members around the world to have access and benefits such as;
o Participate in the APQN Annual Conference (AAC) and AGM as well as the APQN on-line forum;
o Gain branding through using the APQN logo on the VQA website or relative documents.
o Develop different kinds of collaborations across the distinguished network of Quality Assurance Agencies (QAAs) and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through AACs;
o Co-organize international seminars, workshops or fora together with APQN in our local context;
o Have the right to apply for an APQN Award which occurs once every year;
o Have access to over 180 the consultants in Consultant Data Base and get advice on different and specific Quality Assurance (QA) matters;
o Receive the electronic APQ News twice every year and Annual Report;
o Publish our qualified research paper on APQN Academic in Proceedings during AAC every year;
o Have Access to the electronic periodical of the academic journal “Higher Education Evaluation and Development (HEED)”;
o Have the right to apply for the Asia-Pacific Quality Register (APQR) for QAAs; and
o Have the right to apply for the accreditation of APQN Quality Label for HEIs.
This is a great achievement for the Authority as the National regulator of the PSET sector in Vanuatu, more specifically, as a Quality Assurance Agency for Vocational Training and Higher Education. This milestone marks the commitment, hard work, perseverance and support towards this achievement which will now be a beneficial to the VQA in its operation as a full member of APQN.
For more Information Visit: https://apqn.org/
