• Section 1 - Purpose
• Scope
• Section 2 - Policy
• Section 3 - Procedures
• Section 4 - Guidelines
• Section 5 - Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This Policy and its procedures specify the principles and process by which approved award courses of study (courses) are reaccredited by the University.

(2) This Policy supports the quality, integrity and relevance of the University’s suite of courses, which provide students with an academic experience that meets their needs, as well as the requirements of industry and disciplinary fields, in alignment with national and global priorities, and meets any applicable regulatory requirements.

(3) This Policy also seeks to assist courses with applicable professional or industry peak body accreditation requirements by ensuring strong integration between internal and external processes and alignment of workflow requirements.

Scope

(4) This Policy applies to all Macquarie University award courses that align with the categories of the Australian Qualifications Framework including the Master by Research courses, but excluding:

1. double degrees where the core zone of each constituent course is accredited separately; and
2. other Graduate Research awards.

(5) This Policy does not apply to non-award programs of study.

Section 2 - Policy

(6) Reaccreditation is designed to ensure that all courses of study:

1. remain fit for purpose and continue to meet all internal and external requirements and standards;
2. are periodically assured, through credible, effective and fair quality assurance processes;
3. benefit from enhancement processes that deliver continual improvement;
4. provide staff and students with opportunities to evaluate the course and its delivery; and
5. benefit from consultation with relevant industry partners and professional associations.

(7) Course Reaccreditation is informed by:

1. the Delegations of Authority Register;
2. the Australian Qualifications Framework and the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold standards) 2021;
3. the latest pedagogical and professional developments in the scholarship of education, and the specific discipline field(s) relevant to each course;
4. course-specific benchmarking against national and, where appropriate, international comparators;
5. a risk-based approach to decision-making; and
6. feedback from students, staff, alumni and industry.

(8) Courses will be subject to reaccreditation at least once in a seven (7) year cycle.

(9) Courses will be subject to annual monitoring that supports the reaccreditation process (see Course of Study Monitoring and Review Policy).

(10) If a course is not approved for reaccreditation it will need to be discontinued (see Course of Study Discontinuation Policy).

Section 3 - Procedures

(11) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) will maintain a Course Reaccreditation Schedule (Schedule). 

(12) The Schedule will be updated as required or at least annually to ensure it remains current. The Academic Standards and Quality Committee will oversight the Schedule following an update or annual review.

(13) Where a course would benefit from undergoing reaccreditation with other courses for reasons such as alignment or progression these courses may be bundled as a group to move through the reaccreditation process at the same time.

(14) The course review will be conducted across:

1. Institutional Domains aligned to the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021; and
2. Course-Specific Domains determined by the relevant Course Authority, approved by the Faculty Authority and applicable to the course being considered for reaccreditation.

(15) As part of the reaccreditation process, students, alumni and staff will be consulted regarding their experience of the Course under review.

(16) Representatives from industry, professional associations, and/or the community will be invited to provide feedback regarding the Course under review.

(17) The course will be reviewed by a Review Panel comprising at least four (4) members, including:

1. a senior academic in the discipline area external to the University to act as Panel Chair;
2. a senior Macquarie University academic who does not contribute to the teaching of the course;
3. a current student or recent alumni; and
4. an industry, professional association or community representative.

(18) Prior to appointment any actual or perceived conflicts of interest of Review Panel members regarding the course under review should be disclosed to the Faculty/College Authority and Executive Dean or College Director.

(19) Course Review Panel members will be appointed by the Faculty/College Authority in consultation with Executive Dean or College Director.

(20) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), in consultation with Faculties, will finalise dates for Panel reviews of courses in alignment with the Course Reaccreditation Schedule.

(21) Should a panel member subsequently be unable to undertake their role on the panel an alternate panel member with the same representative role will be appointed in their place. Where this is not possible, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) will make a determination, in consultation with the Faculty Authority and the Course Authority, that ensures the integrity of the review process is maintained.

(22) Courses that undergo external accreditation or endorsement may meet all or many of the internal reaccreditation requirements during the external reaccreditation process. In this case the Faculty/College Authority may make a case to the Executive Dean or College Director to approve a condensed internal review process which may be undertaken by a smaller Review Panel.

(23) For a condensed internal review process to be approved, the Faculty/College Authority should clearly outline:

1. mapping of Domains required for internal reaccreditation to those covered by the external reaccreditation process to show overlap and any remaining gaps;
2. a process for ensuring adequate review of any Domains not covered by external accreditation processes;
3. membership of the Review Panel to ensure adequate review of remaining Domains;
4. a process for ensuring adequate consultation of all key stakeholders is maintained, including students, alumni and staff; and
5. the timelines for both internal and external accreditation processes to ensure all internal reaccreditation requirements can be considered adequately by Academic Senate.

(24) The Panel will receive an information pack for consideration prior to participating on the Course Review Panel. The Panel may also seek further consultation with staff and students.

(25) The Course Review Panel will provide comments and Recommendations for course enhancement as appropriate and convey these to the Course and Faculty Authorities at the end of the panel review.

(26) The Faculty Authority, in consultation with the Course Authority, will respond to the Course Review Panel’s Recommendations including whether Recommendations are to be adopted, noted or rejected, and develop and implement a plan to enhance the course, based on the adopted Recommendations.

(27) The Course Authority, in consultation with the Faculty Authority, will submit a final report within one (1) year of the Panel Review on the status of the course. The final report should include how the Recommendations of the Panel have been addressed or planned to be addressed for any activities that are still in-progress, along with a Recommendation from the Faculty Board on the Course Reaccreditation status for consideration by Academic Senate. The Academic Standards and Quality Committee will be provided with an opportunity to review the report and comment.

(28) The Academic Senate will determine to:

1. approve Reaccreditation with no Conditions, for a specified period of time (up to a maximum of 7 years); 
2. approve Reaccreditation with Conditions, for a specified period of time; or
3. deny reaccreditation.

(29) If a course reaccredited with conditions fails to comply with the specified conditions, the Academic Senate can consider an extension of the course’s conditional status or withdraw Accreditation.

(30) Where reaccreditation is denied, the Faculty must provide a plan to address the concerns raised by the Academic Senate and submit to Academic Senate within six (6) months where a decision will be made to reaccredit the course or withdraw Accreditation.

(31) Where a course is no longer Accredited, the faculty is required to discontinue the course (refer to the Course of Study Discontinuation Policy).

(32) An Annual Institutional Report on Course Reaccreditation will be compiled by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) for the Executive Group and the Academic Senate.

Section 4 - Guidelines

(33) Nil.

Section 5 - Definitions

(34) The following definitions apply for the purpose of this Policy:

1. Accreditation means the process where the design of a new academic item (course, course component or unit) is undertaken followed by the submission of an academic case through the pertinent academic governance process.
2. Course Authority is the person assigned by a Faculty or College to perform certain roles at a course level, for example Course Director, Head of Department, Program Director.
3. Course Reaccreditation means the process for the formal appraisal of a course against Institutional and Course Specific Domains, involving a group of academic, professional experts and stakeholders.
4. Course Specific Domain means a Domain inherent to a specific course.
5. Domain means an area against which the relevance, quality and viability of a course is evaluated during the review phase. They could also be described as the Review Terms of Reference.
6. Faculty Authority is the person assigned by a Faculty or equivalent to perform certain roles at a faculty level, for example: Deputy Dean, Associate Dean, Associate Director.
7. Institutional Domain means a Domain inherent to all courses.
8. Reaccreditation with no Conditions means an action resulting from the review phase of a course, when Academic Senate approves successful execution of Recommendation Implementation Plan, granting the course permission to continue its delivery.
9. Reaccreditation with Condition/s means a decision made by Academic Senate as part of the implementation phase of a course review to grant reaccreditation to a course where additional work to meet a review Recommendation/s will be met within the specified timeframe/s. 
10. Recommendation means an action resulting from a review process where a panel or other authority provide a course of action based on the evaluation of the submission against Domains, data and/or other supporting resources.
11. Recommendation Implementation Plan means the plan developed by the authorised Course Authority to address Recommendations provided by the Review Panel as result of a review process.