Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022C00105:reg:5:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022C00105
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 5 (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 31485–34706

5              Institutional Quality Assurance

5.1            Course Approval and Accreditation

1.         There are processes for internal approval of the delivery of a course of study, or, where a provider has authority to self-accredit, internal accreditation, of all courses of study leading to a higher education qualification.

2.         Course approval and self-accreditation processes are overseen by peak institutional academic governance processes and they are applied consistently to all courses of study, before the courses are first offered and during re-approval or re-accreditation of the courses.

3.         A course of study is approved or accredited, or re-approved or re-accredited, only when:

a.    the course of study meets, and continues to meet, the applicable Standards of the Higher Education Standards Framework

b.    the decision to (re-)approve or (re-)accredit a course of study is informed by overarching academic scrutiny of the course of study that is competent to assess the design, delivery and assessment of the course of study independently of the staff directly involved in those aspects of the course, and

c.    the resources required to deliver the course as approved or accredited will be available when needed.

5.2            Academic and Research Integrity

1.         There are policies that promote and uphold the academic and research integrity of courses and units of study, research and research training activities, and institutional policies and procedures address misconduct and allegations of misconduct.

2.         Preventative action is taken to mitigate foreseeable risks to academic and research integrity including misrepresentation, fabrication, cheating, plagiarism and misuse of intellectual property, and to prevent recurrences of breaches.

3.         Students are provided with guidance on what constitutes academic or research misconduct and the development of good practices in maintaining academic and research integrity.

4.         Academic and research integrity and accountability for academic and research integrity are maintained in arrangements with any other party involved in the provision of higher education, including placements, collaborative research, research training and joint award of qualifications.

5.3            Monitoring, Review and Improvement

1.         All accredited courses of study are subject to periodic (at least every seven years) comprehensive reviews that are overseen by peak academic governance processes and include external referencing or other benchmarking activities.

2.         A comprehensive review includes the design and content of each course of study, the expected learning outcomes, the methods for assessment of those outcomes, the extent of students' achievement of learning outcomes, and also takes account of emerging developments in the field of education, modes of delivery, the changing needs of students and identified risks to the quality of the course of study.

3.         Comprehensive reviews of courses of study are informed and supported by regular interim monitoring, of the quality of teaching and supervision of research students, student progress and the overall delivery