The Educational Quality Framework (EQF) is a high-level framework (in the form of a policy) that brings together a range of new and amended policies and procedures aligned with Educational Quality. In consultation with stakeholders, a working group led by Professor Deborah West has put together a draft EQF package. This package was made available online for open consultation from mid-December 2018 to 31 January 2019. Feedback from this open consultation will now be considered before the package makes its way through the formal approval process via College Education Committees, the Education Quality Committee and Academic Senate.
Professional accreditation and internal course accreditation: bringing the two into closer alignment
The final report, Professional Accreditation: Mapping the Territory (and the subsequent advice to the Minister by the Higher Education Standards Panel), makes for interesting reading. An overwhelming message from both is that for professional accreditation to be valuable it needs to complement existing academic accreditation processes and be undertaken in an efficient and effective manner as possible. It will be interesting to see whether the government takes the HESP up on the suggestion of implementing a legislated code of practice limiting professional bodies to profession-specific accreditation, leaving academic matters to TEQSA.
The new EQF includes a proposed Internal Course Accreditation process. The new process will be supported by continuous improvement and monitoring overseen by Course Quality Advisory Groups, membership of which includes ‘at least one representative from a professional body, government, community or other organisation with expertise in the discipline area’. This external engagement will enable close alignment of professional accreditation requirements with internal course quality and monitoring, thereby (hopefully) benefiting the facilitation of re-accreditation submissions. Section 5 of the EQF outlines the Educational Quality team’s role in the professional accreditation process, and Anna Smith will be happy to liaise with you on your submission. A Professional Accreditation Hub is under development and will house commonly used documents, guides and FAQ. Contact Anna if there is anything you would like to see in the Hub.
Update on the Curriculum Management Project (CMP)
Flinders does not currently have a central repository of curriculum-related information. Different curriculum data is stored in separate systems, which makes it difficult to map related information, such as determining which courses will be impacted by a change to a topic. The Curriculum Management System will become the single source of truth for a range of curriculum information and integrate with a number of University systems. This will mean that information will only need to be updated once and be consistent wherever it is accessed. This single source of truth will make life much easier for staff involved in curriculum management and, very importantly, will improve the quality, accuracy and consistency of information available to our students.
Having received three responses to tender for a Curriculum Management System (including demonstrations from all prospective providers), the project team, sponsored by Professor Deborah West, is in the final stages of selecting a vendor. Planning has commenced regarding how the migration of data into a new system will be managed. This data migration planning will allow us to move quickly once a vendor is confirmed.
If you have any questions about the CMP or would like to discuss the project in further detail, please do not hesitate to email Lorraine Karunaratne, Associate Director: Educational Quality or phone 8201 3828.
Lorraine Karunaratne
Associate Director: Educational Quality