Document Name
COURSE REVIEW POLICY AND PROCEDURE
Document Number
PO-COU-01
Document Status
Author / Academic Director / March 2016Approving Authority / Academic Board / May 2016
Publication / Issue 6 / May 2016
Review Date / Review of Issue 6 / May 2017
Purpose
The Course Review Policy ensures Excelsia College courses are of a uniformly high quality and satisfy the requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework and the Threshold Standards. The Course Review Policy also ensures that each course offering is reviewed for its current positioning within Excelsia’s full portfolio of course offerings.
Processes for reviewing, monitoring and evaluating Excelsia College courses are conducted in accordance with the policies and strategic directions of the College, with reference, as appropriate, to relevant comparative or evaluative data. Information derived from evaluation, monitoring and review processes are used to develop and shape the teaching and learning environment.
The policy and procedures outlined below provide the framework within which the Academic Board, the Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee, and the Management Committee oversee the review, monitoring and evaluation of the College’s courses.
Definitions
For the purposes of this policy:
· Review refers to course reviews, including reviews of significant course components or academic offerings.
· Monitoring refers to annual monitoring of courses including significant course components or academic offerings.
· Evaluation refers to student evaluation of their learning experiences in course units; evaluation of all course elements by the relevant Head of School; and evaluation of new and existing courses against the course evaluation framework.
· Positioning refers to the analysis of a course’s relative market attractiveness and competitive standing. This analysis is conducted annually for every new and existing course to provide a portfolio view of Excelsia’s offerings.
· The scope of a Major Review takes into account course design, units, content, content, and student and staff data, and requires input from an External Review Panel. A major review is conducted at the end of the fifth year of the course offering cycle.
· A Minor Review has a more limited scope with terms set according to the particular course offering. Minor reviews require input from Course Development/Advisory Committees. A minor review is conducted at the end of the second year of the course offering cycle.
Principles
Review, monitoring and evaluation of courses, units and course elements are intended to enable the College to:
· assess the overall quality of the teaching and learning environment, and judge whether educational aims and learning outcomes have been achieved;
· identify areas where performance needs to be improved and strategies for improving performance in these areas; and monitor improvements over a given period of time; and
· consider the ongoing value, viability and sustainability of units or course elements, and their relevance and place within the College’s academic program.
The review, monitoring and evaluation of academic offerings are to be conducted with reference to:
· the policies and strategic directions of Excelsia College as determined by the Board of Directors;
· analysis of relevant factors in Excelsia College’s external and internal environments;
· data derived from quality assurance processes related to teaching and learning; and
· the views of: academic staff peers, learners, graduates, employers, regulatory agencies, peak bodies, and other relevant stakeholders.
Course Reviews
Courses are to be reviewed at the end of their second year of offering (minor review) and at the end of their fifth year (major review). The review team includes the Academic Director, Director of Quality, and relevant Head of School.
The terms of reference of a course review will be subject to approval by the Academic Board. The terms of reference will include the following matters on which the course review will consider and report:
· The place of the course within the Excelsia College academic offerings and its contribution to the College’s strategic objectives;
· The overall quality of the course and its ongoing relevance, value, viability and sustainability;
· The quality of significant course components or academic offerings, where these form part of the course, and their ongoing relevance and viability;
· The educational aims and learning outcomes of the course and whether these remain appropriate;
· The relationship of the course with other courses;
· Learner demand, progress rates and attrition rates;
· The academic content and structure of the course;
· Teaching and learning methods, including the use of educational technologies, and assessment practices, and their relationship with educational aims and learning outcomes;
· The range, level and relevance of topics within course units;
· Any significant resource issues arising from continuing to offer the course or from proposed new developments;
· The operation and success of the course taking account of community expectations, and feedback from professional associations, employers, learners and graduates, the Teaching and Learning Committee, and where appropriate, the Course Development Committee.
The review team will develop findings and recommendations, inviting a response from the Head of School. The Academic Director will present the report and response to the Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee and to the Management Committee. The Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee will discuss the findings with the Academic Board and, subject to the advice of the Academic Board, respond to the Academic Director with recommendations. The Academic Director will develop an action plan, and report back on the implementation of recommendations.
Responsibilities
The operational responsibility for course review resides jointly with the Heads of School and the Academic Director, who report to and are supported and advised by the Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee, Course Development and Advisory Committees (where appropriate), and ultimately the Academic Board.
· The Excelsia College Academic Board considers and approves proposals for development and review of all courses. The Academic Board is informed in this responsibility by analysis and findings from other sources, including student feedback.
· The Academic Director chairs the Teaching and Learning Committee which manages the day-to-day academic operations of the College.
· The Director of Academic Development chairs the Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee and monitors course delivery and assessment.
· The Course Development Committee, chaired by the Head of School, meets on an ad hoc basis to discuss the development and review of the course and its units, reporting to the Academic Board.
· An External Advisory Committee, convened by the Head of School, is made up of at least one external academic with discipline expertise, at least one industry representative, and at least one senior academic who has taught with the relevant School in the previous two years. The External Advisory Committee meets at least annually to assist the College in its ongoing review of course delivery and assessment. This committee also assists the College with the continuing development of the course by discussing relevant developments in the specific discipline environment, higher education trends, changes in government policy or industry standards, and appropriate directions in course development. The committee advises the relevant School in relation to course design and content, assisting us in benchmarking our courses against similar courses in Australian universities. It also provides advice in relation to our responsibility to monitor the standards of delivery and assessment in the courses.
Benchmarking
In addition to benchmarking carried out through External Advisory Committees, Heads of School work closely with peers of other higher education providers to benchmark discipline and education standards, practices, and graduate attributes. The results of this benchmarking are incorporated into relevant course reviews.
Revision of Course Units
All course materials are revised each semester. Heads of School work closely with unit Lecturers to update curricula and resources (including readings, videos and web content). Revisions take into account advice and information received from industry, peer and internal sources, and reflect the College’s emphasis on the professional development of its staff. Curation of each unit’s Moodle site is a standard part of the semesterly revisions.
Student Feedback on Course Units
Excelsia College values student feedback in its quest for continual improvement, and so provides formal mechanisms as well as inviting feedback of a more informal nature. At the end of each semester feedback is sought from students regarding each course unit using a standard instrument based on the Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ). After grades have been approved and published, these student evaluations, summarised for each class, are reviewed by Heads of School and lecturers. As a result of these reviews changes may be made to the course materials. Heads of School maintains regular contact with Lecturers, and informal feedback students give their Lecturers throughout the semester forms part of ongoing discussions about study materials, assessment, student progress, intervention and support. This kind of dynamic conversation enables informal feedback to be taken into consideration when the outlines are prepared for the following semester.
Students’ formal evaluations of their units are analysed and submitted to the Teaching and Learning Committee, together with a report from each Head reflecting the nature of student feedback, the School’s response, and any changes or actions taken as a result. Members consider all this material, discuss strategies, and revise procedures where appropriate. Students are able to see their feedback and how it is being used on the unit’s Moodle site.
Moderation of Assessment Practices
The involvement of at least one External Moderator in each School’s moderation of assessments at semester-end provides a rich resource in benchmarking and refining our practice. Moderation feedbacks informs the review of assessment in the subsequent semester.
Student Feedback on Course
Graduands are asked to complete a Graduation Destination Survey (STU-AD-F24) in March of the year following their final semester. These surveys explore the satisfaction of graduates with many areas of their study experience, and with that experience overall. The surveys are analysed in student administration, and data reported to various committees for consideration and response as part of the College’s continuous improvement cycle. The data from student surveys is routinely considered during course review.
External Review of Courses
Major reviews include external course reviews conducted by approved External Review Panels. These reviewers receive course and unit details, statistics of student progress, and staff details. Course reviews assist the School in its analysis of the effectiveness of current practices and plans for future course development.
Course Reaccreditation
Application is made to the Tertiary Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) for the reaccreditation of each course. This includes assessment of all aspects of the course design, curricula, delivery and resourcing.
Review Time Line
The following table gives an indicative schedule of review activities for each course.
Schedule of Review Activities / Frequency / Nature of Review / AgencyExternal course advice / Annually / Ongoing advice / Head convenes the Course Advisory Committee
Revision of course units / Semester start / Curriculum update / Head and Academic Staff
Student feedback on units / Semester end / Unit Questionnaire / Teaching and Learning Committee
Student feedback on course / End of course / Exit Questionnaire / Academic Board, Management Committee
Course review – first review in an accreditation cycle / At the end of Year 2 / Internal review looking at course design, positioning, readiness, units, and feedback / Academic Director, Head of School, Course Advisory Committee, Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee
Course review – major review in preparation for renewal of accreditation / At the end of Year 5 / External / Internal considering all elements of the course offering / Course Advisory Committee,
External Review Panel, Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee
Renewal of course accreditation / Every seven years / External Review (TEQSA) / Academic Board, Curriculum Governance and Academic Standards Committee, internal and external course committees, Academic Director, Head of School, Director of Quality,
Course termination / teach out / Each semester / · Review of quality and standards
· Review of student progression
· Report to TEQSA any emerging issue / Academic Director
Head and Registrar
CEO or his/her delegate
Final semester / · Report to TEQSA / CEO or his/her delegate
Course Closure
The closure of an active course will normally lead to the formulation of teach out plans and related administrative arrangements designed to ensure students enrolled in the course at the time of closure have opportunity to complete the course. The Chief Executive or his/her delegate will forward teach out plans for each student to TEQSA,. This enables TEQSA to extend the accreditation period of the terminating course to allow students to complete their studies, and to allow all course activities to be completed, including the conferral of the award on graduands. The course will then be in teach out mode, i.e. not open for new enrolments.
During the formal teach out period, the Academic Director will conduct semesterly reviews of academic standards and learning opportunities afforded to students, and receive reports from the Registrar regarding student progression in the course. The Academic Director will report to the Academic Board each semester on:
· maintenance of academic standards and quality of learning experience afforded to students during the teach out period, and
· the progress of individual students and strategies for managing risk of students not completing the course within the agreed teach out period.
In the last weeks of the final semester of the teach out period, the Academic Director will determine the status of all students finishing the course, and report on this to the Academic Board. If all students remaining in the course are on track to finish the course requirements by semester-end, the CEO or his/her delegate will contact TEQSA to confirm that all student teach out plans have been fulfilled, and that the course in teach out will be closed at the agreed date.
If, at any time during the teach out period it becomes obvious that a student will not be able to finish the course according to the agreed teach out plan, the Academic Director, after exploring available strategies, will report this to the Academic Board as soon as possible. Unless a satisfactory strategy is identified, TEQSA must be informed of the problem. The CEO or his/her delegate will inform TEQSA of the issue of concern at the earliest possible opportunity.