National University Course Accreditation Program
(NUCAP)
Policies, procedures and application form for academic units applying for accreditation of a course with Exercise Sports Science Australia (ESSA)
NUCAP is a core business of ESSA
(updated November 2014)
NUCAP/ESSA national office:
327 Sandgate Road, Albion, QLD 4010
Locked Bay 102, Albion DC, QLD 4010
Telephone: (07) 3856 5622
Facsimile: (07) 3856 5688
E-mail:
Website: www.essa.org.au
© ESSA 2014
5
Contents
Part A: Policies and procedures 7
1 Introduction 9
1.1 The NUCAP executive group and committee 9
1.2 ESSA’s jurisdiction to accredit courses 10
1.3 Accreditation types 10
1.4 How does accreditation benefit the academic unit? 11
1.5 How does accreditation benefit the student? 11
1.6 How does accreditation benefit the profession? 12
1.7 When to submit an application 12
1.8 Structure of this document 12
2 Overview of the process for course accreditation 15
2.1 Standard accreditation process 15
2.2 Specific considerations 21
2.3 Consultancy service 24
2.4 Accreditation fees for 2015 25
2.5 Future directions of NUCAP 26
2.6 Submitting an application 28
Part B: Application form 29
Application Section 1: General information 31
Application Section 2: General criteria 33
Academic staffing 33
Support staff 38
Facilities and equipment 39
Reference materials 41
Application Section 3: Exercise and sports science criteria 45
Exercise and sport science core areas 45
Essential knowledge and skills 47
Application Section 4: Exercise physiology criteria 69
Postgraduate courses in clinical exercise physiology 70
Section A: General criteria 71
Section B: Cardiopulmonary criteria 79
Section C: Metabolic criteria 81
Section D: Musculoskeletal criteria 82
Section E: Neurological or neuromuscular criteria 83
Section F: Other conditions 84
Application Section 5: Practicum — exercise science and exercise physiology 85
Aim of the practicum program 85
The exercise science practicum 85
The exercise physiology practicum 93
Supporting documentation for both exercise science and exercise physiology applications 103
Application Section 6: Quality assurance 105
Application Section 7: Concluding comments 107
Appendix 1: Terms and conditions of university course accreditation 109
Appendix 2: Unit of study outline/description requirements for NUCAP applications 113
Appendix 3: Further supporting documentation required and NUCAP application checklist 123
Please consider the environment before printing this document.
Glossary of terms and definitions
Approved practicum experience / includes work experience, paid or unpaid, that is appropriately supervised
Course / also commonly referred to as program or degree
Formal assessment of application criteria / may be undertaken by the university unit or the practicum supervisor
Formal university study
Unit of study / includes coursework completed at undergraduate or postgraduate level
also commonly referred to as subjects or study units
5
Part A: Policies and procedures
2: Overview of the accreditation process for full accreditation of a course 9
1 Introduction
The primary objectives of the National University Course Accreditation Program (NUCAP) are to provide university academic units with a framework to build courses of excellence in exercise and sports science and to align graduate outcomes with industry requirements.
This document outlines the policies and procedure for university course accreditation as part of NUCAP. It also contains the application form that academic units must complete to apply for accreditation of their course.
The document has been designed to help academic units develop exercise and sports science courses. It also outlines the accreditation procedure for new and existing courses. The accreditation requirements are designed to provide flexibility and allow for diversity of the organisation and curriculum within academic units, while ensuring that graduate outcomes meet industry requirements.
NUCAP is dedicated to ensuring that its policies are fair and equitable. We invite any feedback that will help us to improve our practices.
NUCAP is a core business of Exercise Sports Science Australia (ESSA). Therefore, NUCAP represents the views of ESSA.
1.1 The NUCAP executive group and committee
NUCAP has two interdependent groups; the NUCAP executive group and the NUCAP committee.
The NUCAP executive group ensures that NUCAP operates effectively, efficiently, consistently, fairly and equitably. The NUCAP executive group is responsible for the work that underpins the day-to-day operations of NUCAP (e.g. overseeing the review of applications, writing policy, budgeting, recruiting committee members) and for adequately informing the ESSA board of relevant issues pertaining to NUCAP.
The NUCAP executive group includes:
• the ESSA executive officer
• the NUCAP chair
• the NUCAP manager
• the ESSA director of accreditation and curriculum
• one academic and one practitioner NUCAP committee member
The NUCAP committee is responsible for the review of applications for course accreditation and operates as an assessment panel. The committee can have about 15members, depending on the number of applications expected or received. The NUCAP executive group is responsible for ensuring that the committee’s membership best represents the field of exercise and sports science.
The NUCAP committee has two membership categories — academic and practitioner. An academic member is preferably a level D or E. A practitioner member must be considered senior in their field and have a working knowledge of university practicum programs. Only one member is permitted from any one institution, organisation or business. Committee vacancies are advertised to the ESSA membership and academic units. Please refer to the ESSA website (www.essa.org.au) under ‘For Universities’ for a detailed list of current members.
1.2 ESSA’s jurisdiction to accredit courses
ESSA is governed by its constitution and by-laws. Clause30 of the constitution provides the ESSA board with the authority to administer an accreditation system for universities that provide courses in exercise and sports science and clinical exercise physiology. Engagement by universities in the accreditation process is voluntary.
1.3 Accreditation types
NUCAP offers two levels of accreditation: exercise and sports science, and exercise physiology. The exercise and sports science criteria are the foundation knowledge and skills that are required for accreditation in both exercise and sports science, and exercise physiology. Exercise and sports science accreditation therefore acts as the foundation for all other ESSA accreditation levels. Figure1.1 describes ESSA’s membership structure and the university course accreditation levels offered by NUCAP.
ESSA membership structure
1.4 How does accreditation benefit the academic unit?
NUCAP is dedicated to ensuring that its accreditation process and requirements are contemporary and that graduates from accredited courses will meet the industry’s needs. Therefore, the accreditation process provides academic units with important information about what their students need to know, and what they need to be able to do, before practising as exercise and sports scientists or clinical exercise physiologists. The involvement of a quality third-party assessor conducting the accreditation process also adds much more to a course than what may ordinarily result from an internal review.
The ESSA office regularly receives enquiries from prospective students and their parents about the accredited status of a course. Prospective students and their parents are therefore viewing accreditation as a marker of quality when selecting university courses.
1.5 How does accreditation benefit the student?
If a university course is accredited through NUCAP, this reassures students that the course is of sufficient quality, reflects current practice and aligns with industry requirements.
A course that has exercise and sports science accreditation provides its graduates with an opportunity to gain recognised ESSA membership at the exercise science level (upon application). Similarly, a course that is accredited at the level of exercise physiology provides its graduates with an opportunity to gain recognised exercise physiology accreditation through ESSA (upon application).
Accredited exercise physiologists (AEPs) are eligible to apply for a provider number through Medicare, the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs, state-based WorkCover and Comcare. For example, WorkSafe Victoria now recognises exercise and sports scientists and accredited exercise physiologists to deliver WorkHealth checks.
AEPs are also eligible to apply for a provider number through many private health insurers, including:
Australian Health Management HCF/Manchester Unity Peoplecare
Australian Unity HCI Phoenix Health
BUPA Australia Health Partners Police Health
Commonwealth Bank Health Services HIF Queensland Country Health
CUA Latrobe Health Services Reserve Bank Health
Defence Health Medibank Private rt health fund
GMF Health Mildura District Health Fund St Luke’s Health Fund
Grand United Health NIB Teacher’s Health Fund
HBF onemedifund Teacher’s Union Health
As another incentive, ESSA awards the top graduating student from every university that has a NUCAP-accredited course the ‘NUCAP award’ — a $150 Human Kinetics voucher, which has been kindly donated by Human Kinetics.
1.6 How does accreditation benefit the profession?
NUCAP policies and process have helped to secure formal recognition of the exercise and sports science profession by a number of key stakeholders (Medicare, the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs, private health funds and WorkCover Australia). However, due to the small number of courses ESSA accredits, it has not attained formal recognition of the profession from some important entities (e.g.NSW Health). NSW Health has raised a concern that the profession may not have enough consistent standards. Therefore, the more courses that become accredited, the greater the profession’s lobbying power. NUCAP’s policies and process are currently being used to lobby NSW and Queensland WorkCover, and private health insurers.
1.7 When to submit an application
An application for accreditation can only be submitted when an academic unit has students undertaking the course (as it appears in the application) in their final year of study. In this year, a site visit will occur only when students have completed at least 50% of their final semester. The site-assessment team cannot conduct a site visit before this, because it is expected to interview two students from each cohort — and, wherever possible, two students who have graduated from the course — to discuss unit content and preparation for practicum. The team is also required to speak with an appropriately represented group of practicum supervisors who can provide feedback on practicum issues, including the skills and knowledge that students are bringing into their worksite.
There are two common due dates for the submission of applications for course accreditation — 31January and 31July of each year.
1.8 Structure of this document
This document contains two main parts:
• Part A — policies and procedures for academic units applying for accreditation of an exercise and sports science or clinical exercise physiology course through NUCAP
• Part B — application form, which contains the accreditation criteria for accreditation of an exercise and sports science or clinical exercise physiology course.
Part A explains the policies, procedure, requirements, fees, and timeframe of the accreditation process. Applicants should check that they are eligible for accreditation by reading the policies and procedures document and the application form before applying.
Part B contains the accreditation criteria and the application form, which is divided into seven sections. All academic units (i.e. those applying for exercise and sports science accreditation, as well as those applying for exercise physiology accreditation) must complete the following sections of the application form:
• Application Section 1 — General information
• Application Section 2 — General criteria
• Application Section 5 — Practicum
• Application Section 6 — Quality assurance
• Application Section 7 — Concluding comments.
Academic units seeking only exercise and sports science accreditation for a course must also complete Application Section3 — Exercise and sports science criteria
Academic units seeking only exercise physiology accreditation for a course must also complete Application Section4 — Exercise physiology criteria.
Academic units seeking both exercise and sports science and exercise physiology accreditation for a course must also complete Application Sections3 AND 4.
This document also contains three appendixes:
• Appendix 1 — a list of the terms and conditions for course accreditation
• Appendix2 — the template that academic units must use to provide unit outline information to support the application
• Appendix 3 — a list of further supporting documentation and a checklist to ensure that applicants have completed all parts of the application form.
1: Introduction 11
2 Overview of the process for course accreditation
This section outlines the steps of the standard course accreditation process, as well as details of accreditation (including considerations for accreditation and fees for 2015).
To ensure compliance with the accreditation requirements, the National University Course Accreditation Program (NUCAP) encourages course coordinators to contact the NUCAP manager when planning and developing new or modifying existing courses.
2.1 Standard accreditation process
The standard accreditation process begins with the application form contained in PartB of this document. Figure2.1 shows the steps of the standard accreditation process. The anticipated duration of the process is nine to eighteen months, dependent upon the proceedings of the application
In the months leading up to the submission of an application, the academic unit is strongly advised to liaise with the NUCAP manger to seek advice on their application. In all instances, the academic unit must provide the NUCAP manager with at least four months’ notice of intent to submit an application.
8 12 month timeframe
The application fee includes for the provision of no more than three reports. Any communiqués arising from the third report will incur additional fees. Please refer to the NUCAP schedule of fees on page 25.
2.1.1 Assessment and site visit teams
Assessment teams have at least four NUCAP committee or executive group members, but normally no more than two members of the NUCAP executive. If necessary, the NUCAP executive group may source a member of an assessment team outside the NUCAP committee’s membership.
Ideally, assessment teams will have:
• one level D or E academic NUCAP committee member
• one academic member whose academic unit has an accredited course at the same level
• one practitioner member whose experience is aligned with the accreditation level being applied for
• one member with experience on two or more NUCAP applications
The most senior and experienced member (normally a level D or E academic) is assigned the role of chair of the assessment and site visit team.
When compiling assessment teams, the NUCAP executive group also considers:
• spread of expertise