PURPOSE
This policy sets out the rules that guide the structure and design of courses offered at Global Leadership Institute (GLI).
PRINCIPLES
The design and structure of courses align to the GLI Strategic Plan, as well as the vision, mission and values of GLI, and will:
conform to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), the Higher Education Standards (Threshold Standards), relevant accrediting bodies, and other relevant national or international protocols;
contribute to the development and assessment of the GLI Graduate Attributes;
have a defined set of course learning outcomes that support the Graduate Attributes;
constructively align learning activities and assessment tasks to ensure the attainment of those learning outcomes;
build on clearly stated prerequisite knowledge and/or assumed background;
ensure quality assurance in the development of all new courses, including courses being delivered with a third-party provider or delivered in a different mode such as in the lecture room on campus or online delivery;
ensure student-centred approaches to learning and teaching that aim to accommodate students from a wide range of backgrounds, with a wide range of interests for a variety of professional futures.
Micro-credentials
A micro-credential is a certification of assessed learning
or competency, with a minimum volume of learning of one hour and less than an AQF award qualification, that is additional, alternate, complementary to or a component part of an AQF award qualification
(adopted from National Micro-credentials Framework, 2021). Micro-credential students have access to GLI’s library and information resources. GLI micro-credential modules:
are approved by Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum Committee;
delivered by discipline experts or experienced practitioners online, on campus, or in blended mode;
assessed against clearly stated learning outcomes;
do not lead to an accredited AQF qualification but may count as partial credit in some cases;
are assigned a credit point value and corresponding volume of learning in hours;
may be ‘stacked’ to contribute to an AQF award using the unit of exchange;
subject of GLI’s quality assurance system;
verified via metadata on digital certification such as a badge or other means;
incur micro-credential fees.
RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Chair, Academic Board
Scope
All courses
Key Stakeholder
All staff and students
Proceedure
Academic Board oversees the development of a new course. To do this the following steps are generally undertaken:
1. PROPOSAL FOR COURSE DEVELOPMENT
A proposal for a new course (including nested courses) is first tabled to Academic Board for approval. This proposal should include proposed course title(s), commencement date, delivery modes, rationale, business plan and market research. The proposal should include:
how the proposed course aligns with the GLI Strategic Plan;
market analysis;
rationale;
synopsis;
duration, design and pathways;
internal and external stakeholder feedback.
2. APPROVAL TO PROCEED
If the proposal is accepted by Academic Board, then it recommended to Governing Board to develop. It will then either be approved or not approved by Governing Board.
3. COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINTED
A Course Advisory Committee (CAC) is appointed which includes relevant academic staff and external members from relevant fields. The purpose of this committee is to design the course according to these policy guidelines.
4. DRAFT DESIGN
The purpose of CAC is to design the courses in accordance with the graduate attributes of the Institute, the needs of the stakeholders and government requirements. It takes into consideration feedback from market research, stakeholders, threshold learning outcomes for the field of education, AQF levels mapped to the curriculum and TEQSA application requirements.
CAC is responsible to oversee the development of all elements of course design as well as all components of the application form. This includes delegation of the development of components, such as the development of unit outlines, to academic staff outside the committee. CAC ensures constructive alignment of the courses and unit learning outcomes with the unit assessment loads.
This process ensures student assessment tasks appropriately measure the achievement of both unit and course outcomes, which are also mapped against the GLI Graduate Attibutes and AQF. External input is also received from industry representatives through the external peer reviews of unit outlines.
5. EXTERNAL REVIEW OF DRAFT APPLICATION
The Chair of CAC commissions at least one external expert to review the full application, including all the unit outlines. The external reviewer(s) have extensive academic and professional expertise in the field of education of the course. The role of the external reviewer(s) is to provide external scrutiny of the proposed courses, ensure consistency of standards with other Higher Education Institutes offering a comparable course, ensure it meets industry needs, and advise CAC of improvements for the application.
6. COMMENDATION BY COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
CAC considers feedback from the external reviewers and responds to action items during its final review of the application. Once reviewed and edited, CAC tables the draft application to Academic Board.
7. APPROVAL BY ACADEMIC BOARD
The final stage is review of the completed application by Academic Board under delegation and approval from Governing Board. Academic Board provides a rigorous review of the draft application before approving the final application for submission to TEQSA.
8. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION TO ACCREDITING BODIES
The completed and approved application is submitted to TEQSA and other professional accreditation bodies (as relevant). No advertising or promotion of the courses is undertaken until official approval, or official sanction to do so, has been granted by TEQSA.
MICRO-CREDENTIALS
To obtain approval for a new micro-credential, a proposal is made to Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum Committee by the relevant Program Director. The proposal must include:
A name for the micro-credential
business case, including budget;
volume of learning and credit point value;
assessments mapped to learning outcomes;
If Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum Committee is satisfied that the micro-credential is consistent with LI’s policies, the micro-credential will be academically endorsed.
Once academically endorsed, the proposal will be forwarded to the Academic Dean for approval to develop. Once approved by the Academic Dean, the micro-credential may be developed using LI’s designated platform and development guidelines.