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* When initially approved this policy
was known as Guidelines for Quality Review Audits of Offshore
Courses
Quality Review Audits of Offshore Courses
| Principles Governing
Reviews |
In this policy any reference to a course
should be taken to mean a contractual agreement to provide coursework as
specified in the relevant Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).
| 1.1 |
Reviews shall be conducted on a
regular and systematic basis as part of the University’s commitment to
maintaining and enhancing the quality of all its
activities. |
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| 1.2 |
Where a course to be reviewed
is identical to one offered onshore by Murdoch University, then the
onshore offering should be reviewed before the offshore offering and
questions of the appropriateness of the curriculum resolved before the
offshore review is undertaken. |
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| 1.3 |
The Panel should be sensitive
of the need for the syllabi of units to be aligned to the requirements of
local content. |
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| 1.4 |
Offshore reviews should occur
as soon as possible after the relevant school review, unless the President
of Academic Council determines this is not feasible. |
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| 1.5 |
The review process will
emphasise compliance with the Memorandum of Agreement covering the
particular courses and evaluation of the success of the
arrangements. |
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| 1.6 |
The review process must not
impose an undue burden on members of staff nor impede the normal pattern
of teaching and assessment. |
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| 1.7 |
The review process will be
carried out in conjunction with Murdoch University’s Office of Internal
Audit and Risk Management and the Division of Student Services, Marketing
and International Affairs as well as the relevant Schools and
Division. |
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| 1.8 |
Where possible, the review
should try to cover all courses offered by Murdoch University at the
partner institution. |
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| 1.9 |
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| 2.1 |
Every course should be reviewed
at least once every five years. The President of Academic Council will
determine a schedule for reviews, after consultation with the Offices of
Internal Audit and Risk Management, the Division of Student Services,
Marketing and International Affairs and the relevant Executive
Dean. |
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| 2.2 |
If the course to be reviewed is
identical to that offered internally, onshore, by Murdoch University, then
the review of the offshore version must be carried out within five years
of a review of the internal offering. |
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| 2.3 |
In exceptional circumstances,
the President of Academic Council may authorise the establishment of more
than one review panel to review simultaneously the activities of a single
School. |
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| 2.4 |
The President of Academic
Council or the Vice-Chancellor may at any time initiate a review outside
the normal schedule. |
| Composition and Appointment of Review
Panels |
| 3.1 |
Review panels shall be
appointed by the President of Academic Council, in consultation with the
relevant Executive Dean, the Offices of Internal Audit and Risk Management
and the Division of Student Services, marketing and International
Affairs. |
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| 3.2 |
Each panel shall normally
consist of three members. Each panel shall normally
include: |
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(a) |
a Chair internal to the
University, from a Division other than that in which the relevant School
is located; |
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(b) |
one or more persons with
expertise in some of the disciplines covered by the
agreement; |
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(c) |
a member who is familiar with,
or resident in, the country that the course is being offered
in. |
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At least one member of the
panel must be female and at least one male, unless no suitable qualified
person of that gender is available.
All members of the panel
must be independent of the relevant School. |
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| 3.3 |
The University shall pay the
Chair an honorarium of $1,500 and other external members of the panel $500
each. The University shall also provide the Chair, and any other
interstate or international member of the review panel, with a business
class return air fare, accommodation at a high standard hotel, taxi
vouchers and any reasonable incidental expenses. If the school requests
extra panel members, the school must meet those
expenses. |
| 4.1 |
The review shall consider
whether the obligations stated by both parties in the Memorandum of
Agreement in regard to teaching and learning, staffing, facilities,
admissions, enrolments and timelines are being adhered
to. |
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| 4.2 |
The review shall consider the
past and present performance of the arrangement to assess whether or not
it is succeeding. |
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| 4.3 |
The review shall be conducted
in the context of the strategic plans of the University, relevant Division
and the School. The offshore courses under review shall be considered in
the light of national and international trends, best practice in
discipline(s) concerned and any bench marking activities in which the
relevant School has participated. |
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| 4.4 |
The review shall consider
whether the academic experience of off-shore students is comparable to
that of other students at Murdoch University. Consideration should include
facilities such as library, information technology facilities, buildings
including lecture theatres and classrooms, class sizes, administrative
support and pastoral care. |
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| 4.4a |
The review shall consider the
question of equivalency in admission standards and assessment between
off-shore and on-shore students. |
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| 4.5 |
The review shall consider the
quality assurance mechanisms of the institution, and whether there are
adequate quality assurance mechanisms in place, including an assessment of
the effectiveness of the review process, and in particular, that the
outcomes of previous reviews are addressed. Consideration should also be
given to any other external audits and financial
controls. |
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| 4.6 |
Undergraduate courses offered
offshore (wholly, or partially) should include a Foundation Unit, unless
Academic Council has approved an exemption based upon a submission from
the Divisional Board responsible for the program in which it is
demonstrated that all objectives of Foundation Units are encompassed
within other required units. The review is asked to consider whether the
course is meeting its obligations in terms of Foundation
Units. |
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| 4.7 |
The President, after
consultation with the Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic), Executive Dean,
Managing Director, Student Services, Marketing and International Affairs,
and the Director of Internal Audit and Risk Management, may approve
additional or amended Terms of Reference for any review at the time of
appointment of the review panel. |
| 5.1 |
Six months before the scheduled
panel visit, the Executive Dean, Managing Director, Student Services,
Marketing and International Affairs and the
President of Academic Council will meet to
review the application of these guidelines to the planned review. Where it
is clear that the interests of the University would be best served by a
variation to the guidelines, an agreement outlining these variations will
be signed by the Executive Dean, the Managing Director, Student Services,
Marketing and International Affairs and the President of Academic
Council. |
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| 5.2 |
Six months before the scheduled
panel visit, the Managing Director, Student Services, Marketing and
International Affairs will write to the appropriate officer of the Partner
Institution explaining that the review will be carried out, that there is
a requirement on staff at the institution to provide some documentation as
noted in the section below and to ask for cooperation in facilitating for
the panel’s visit. This should be in the nature of an initial indication
that the review will take place. A formal letter from the President,
outlining the process and asking for cooperation in the review, will
follow. |
Six months before the scheduled panel visit,
the Director of Internal Audit and Risk Management, the Managing Director,
Student Services, Marketing and International Affairs
and the Head of School shall be asked to provide documentation for the review,
as outlined below.
| 6.1 |
The School responsible for the
course under review shall prepare the following Review
Documentation: |
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- A copy of the relevant Memorandum of
Agreement and Schedule of Amendments
- A Statement of Past and Future
Performance of the Agreement (see 6.8)
- A Statistical Report (see
6.9)
- Review Panel’s Itinerary (see
6.12)
- A copy of the report and subsequent
commentaries from any previous reviews of the Agreements/Courses under
review
- Where the course does not include a
Foundation Unit, the School must provide documentation supporting that
the objectives of Foundation Units are encompassed within other required
units
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The Panel Secretary, when forwarding the review documentation
to panel members, will also provide the panel with a copy of the following
documents: |
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- A copy of the AVCC’s publication, Ethical
Practice in the Provision of Education to International Students by
Australian Universities
- A copy
of the current University’s Strategic plan
- A copy of the current Division’s
Strategic plan
- A copy of the current Murdoch
University’s Academic Guidelines for Offshore Course
Offerings.
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| 6.2 |
Relevant Staff from the
offshore partner institution shall provide a Statement of Past and Future
Performance of the Agreement (see 6.8). This is to be provided via the
School responsible for the course being offered. |
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| 6.3 |
The Managing Director, Student
Services, Marketing and International Affairs shall provide a Report on
the Adherence of all parties to the relevant Memorandum of Agreement and
any subsequent amendments. |
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| 6.4 |
The Office of Internal Audit
and Risk Management will provide a Statement of Compliance with Protocols
(see 6.11) for the courses under review. |
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| 6.5 |
All relevant staff in the
School should be consulted in determining what is the collective School
submission, as reflected in the review documentation. |
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| 6.6 |
At least six weeks prior to the
date of the panel’s arrival at Murdoch University, the review
documentation shall be submitted to the President. The President shall
consider whether there are any strategic issues, problem areas or
parameters that should be drawn to the attention of the review panel, and
if additional material should be provided in the documentation. The School
shall also have the opportunity to provide the review panel with comments
on these matters. |
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| 6.7 |
At least two weeks prior to the
date of the panel’s arrival, copies of the review documentation shall be
forwarded to each member of the panel. The documentation shall be
accompanied by an invitation to the panel members to request additional
information or to modify the proposed itinerary in any way and at any
time, including the scheduling of additional meetings with persons not
currently scheduled to meet with the panel. The invitation should inform
the panel that it may, as it thinks appropriate, handle some aspects of
the review on a sub-committee basis. |
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| 6.8 |
A Statement of Past
and Future Performance of the Agreement |
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The Statement of Past and
Future Performance of the Agreement shall have the following
format: |
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(a) |
The Past |
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This is a statement of how
successful the agreement has been. It can draw on facts provided in the
Statistical Report. It must address the issue of the adequacy of academic
quality assurance measures in the agreement. It may also reflect on issues
such as the adequacy of course materials, provision of appropriate staff,
adequacy of facilities, adequacy of equipment, adequacy of communications
with the main Murdoch Campus, support of students as Murdoch University
students and preparation of students for completion of their studies in
Australia (if appropriate). |
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(b) |
The Future |
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This is a statement of how each
signatory to the agreement sees the development of the agreement. It is an
opportunity to refine the agreement in light of the reflections needed to
prepare the review documentation. |
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| 6.9 |
Statistical
Report |
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The Statistical Report shall
report on the performance of the course on the 6 performance indicators
set out in an attached Schedule (page 7), as approved from time to time by
the President of Academic Council.
For each of the designated
indicators, the Statistical Report shall, in tabular form and with
succinct comment:
- use the
table and time series supplied at the
web-site
- report its level of satisfaction with the performance
indicated by that data on a scale of 1 (dissatisfied) to 5
(satisfied)
- briefly state any explanation of the outcomes
for each indicator;
and
- briefly outline any action that has
been taken, or is proposed, in response to the outcomes for each
indicator.
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| 6.10 |
Report on the
Adherence the Memorandum of Agreement |
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The Managing
Director, Student Services, Marketing and International Affairs will
provide a report on the adherence of both parties to the Memorandum of
Agreement. This will include a description of any agreed changes to this
Agreement (Schedule of Amendments). This report will include a discussion
of the need for any future changes to the
Agreement. |
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| 6.11 |
Statement of Compliance with
Protocols |
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The Office of Internal Audit
and Risk Management will provide a statement that assures the panel that
the financial requirements of the agreement are being complied with and
that there are no statutory reasons, including taxation law requirements,
preventing the continuance of the Agreement. In the event that the Office
of Internal Audit and Risk Management is unable to provide such an
assurance, the Review will be cancelled and the Vice-Chancellor notified
by the President. |
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| 6.12 |
Review Panel’s
Itinerary |
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The itinerary proposed by the
School shall include (but not be limited to): |
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(a) |
On Shore
Sessions (attended by those members of the panel that can be
conveniently brought to Perth): |
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- at the panel’s first session, a
meeting with the President of Academic Council and the Managing
Director, Student Services, Marketing and International Affairs to
explain the context of the review and any strategic issues, problem
areas or parameters which warrant special attention;
- on the full
panel's final day, a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor, President of
Academic Council, the Managing Director, Student Services, Marketing and
International Affairs and the Executive Dean to discuss the draft
recommendations and the thrust of the
report.
- Meetings with staff with specific
responsibilities in teaching, administration and/or moderating the
courses.
- In cases where the agreement requires
that students complete their studies in Australia at Murdoch University,
a meeting with those students who are currently enrolled to complete
their course, or graduates from the course.
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(b) |
Off Shore
sessions: |
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- meetings with academic staff,
administrative staff of the partner institution, and
students;
- meetings with relevant
external stake-holders (e.g. alumni, employers, relevant professions,
external persons or bodies contributing to the School’s offerings or
research).
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| 6.13 |
Students in the course
under review and staff covered by the agreement will be invited to make
written submissions to the review panel. Staff and representative students
will be invited to meet the panel. |
| 7.1 |
The School is responsible
for ensuring that all necessary documents have been prepared, students and
staff appropriately advised and all relevant schedules
determined. |
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| 7.2 |
The members of the review
panel will be expected to be available
for: |
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- 1 day of intensive interviews prior to
leaving Australia
- 1 day at least visiting the offshore
institution.
- 1 day following the offshore visit for
discussions and deliberation
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It is understood that it
may not always be possible to have a full panel at all these times. It is
also understood that some panel visits will bring together reviews of more
than one agreement at one institution. |
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| 7.3 |
The Chair of the review
panel shall be responsible for coordinating the preparation of a report on
the conduct of the review, its findings and its
conclusions. |
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| 7.4 |
The draft report shall be
focused around the recommendations, which shall be numbered consecutively.
In drafting the Report, the Chair shall take into account that the formal
process that flows from the lodging of the Report will focus on the listed
recommendations. |
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| 7.5 |
As the Memorandum of
Agreement (MoA) governs all aspects of the courses, the Chair will
specifically address the issue of whether or not the MoA is being adhered
to and whether or not the MoA has any substantive
deficiencies. |
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| 7.6 |
The report shall include
an executive summary, which includes a full list of the numbered
recommendations. |
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| 7.7 |
The report should be
written on the basis that it will become a public document; it is not a
confidential report. The report will be distributed to the offshore
partner institution. |
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| 7.8 |
If the chair believes
there are issues that should not be contained in a public document, the
panel may attach a confidential appendix or mention additional matters in
their meeting with the Vice-Chancellor. |
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| 7.9 |
Reports shall be
submitted to the President of Academic Council, in both electronic and
paper form marked "confidential". Within two weeks of receipt of the draft
report, the President, Managing Director, Student Services, Marketing and
International Affairs, Executive Dean and the Head of School shall meet to
review the draft report. If they believe that the report contains errors
of fact, needs reconsideration, clarification or to address additional
matters, the President will advise the Chair of the panel. After
consultation with the other panel members, the Chair will submit the final
report within two months of the review, with the "confidential" marks
removed. The President shall distribute copies to the Vice-Chancellor, the
Principal of the Offshore Partner Institution, the Pro Vice Chancellor
(Academic), the Managing Director, Student Services, Marketing and
International Affairs, the Executive Dean, the Office of Policy and
Planning, the Office of Internal Audit and Risk Management and the Office
of Records Management and
Archives. |
| 8.1 |
Decisions on implementation
of the recommendations of the review panel will be determined by the
following process: |
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|
Body/person |
Responsibility |
Timing |
|
Executive
Dean |
-
invite comments on the review panel’s final report from
staff in the School.
-
transmit the Divisional response to the President of
Academic Council and the Managing Director, Student Services,
Marketing and International Affairs, after consideration by the
Divisional Board. This should include a reference to any
difference between that response and the comments submitted by
staff and students in the School.
-
distribute to all members of staff in the School,
copies of the final Academic Council decision on the
recommendations of the review report.
|
As soon as possible
after receipt of the report.
Within 1 month of
receipt of the final report.
After receipt of this
from the secretary of Academic Council. |
|
Divisional
Board |
After considering any
comments received from staffs, determine the Division’s response to
each of the recommendations. The Divisional Board will present an
Action Plan for each of the recommendations endorsed, to be
submitted with the response to recommendations.
|
Within 2 months of
receipt of the final report. |
|
President of
Academic Council |
After considering the
advice of the Divisional Board and the Action Plan for
recommendations, and in consultation with the Managing Director,
Student Services, Marketing and International Affairs, provide
Academic Council with a consolidated table recommending whether or
not each recommendation (or a modified version) should be accepted,
and a process and timetable for implementation of each
recommendation supported.
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Within 4 months of
publishing of the final report. |
|
Academic
Council |
Determine what action is
to be taken on each recommendation of the panel, and how this is to
be implemented.
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Within 6 months of
receipt of the final report. |
|
Secretary to
School Reviews |
Forward to the Executive
Dean (and, as a courtesy, to the members of the review panel) the
table recording Council’s decision on the
recommendations. |
After the Council
meeting. | |
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| 8.2 |
Divisional responses to the report shall
be submitted in standard electronic format, taking the form of a table
listing each recommendation of the panel in the first column, and the
Divisional response in the second. (A template can be obtained from the
President’s assistant.) The recommendations of the President shall be
reported in columns added to this table. The decision of Council shall be
recorded on the table against each recommendation. |
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| 8.3 |
Eight months after Council's
decision on the review report, and not more than twelve months after the
report is published, the Executive Dean shall report to the
President of Academic Council on progress in implementing the decisions of
Council on the report. This follow-up report shall be reported in an
additional column to the table recording the review outcomes. The
President, if of the view that insufficient progress has been made, may
recommend appropriate action to the Division or to Academic
Council. |
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| 8.4 |
When making submissions during
subsequent annual academic planning rounds, the School shall refer to how
any changes proposed relate to the plan for the future set out in its most
recent review and the direction for the School endorsed by Council in the
School review. |
| Schedule of Offshore Course Performance
Indicators |
The Performance Indicators used for
offshore course reviews are:
Teaching and Learning
Effectiveness
| Indicator
1: |
All Coursework Programme
Load |
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All Coursework AOU
Load |
| Indicator 9: |
Program Load Student Progress Rate
(SPR) |
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AOU Taught Load Student Progress Rate
(SPR) |
| Indicator 10: |
Drop-out Rate |
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| Completion
Rate |
| RESPONSIBILITIES: |
| Responsible Officer |
President of Academic Council |
| Implementation Officers |
Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic), President of Academic Council,
Managing Director,
Division of Student Services, Marketing and
International Affairs, Executive Deans,
Heads of Schools, Director,
Office of Internal Audit and Risk Management |
| Information Contact Officer |
Quality Audit Projects & Administration
Officer |
| REVISION HISTORY: |
| Approved / Amended / Rescinded |
Date |
Committee |
Resolution Number |
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