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Course of Study Monitoring and Review Policy

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) The purpose of this Policy is to support the assurance and enhancement of the quality, integrity, and relevance of the University’s suite of award courses of study (‘courses’). It ensures that all courses meet agreed institutional, disciplinary and regulatory standards regarding their quality in teaching, learning and the student experience.

(2) The Procedures documented in this Policy specify the process through which an accredited award course is supported by regular annual monitoring and can be made the subject of targeted review during its period of Accreditation.

(3) This Policy should be read in conjunction with the Unit of Study Monitoring and Grade Ratification Policy and the Unit of Study Review Policy.

Scope

(4) This Policy applies to all Macquarie University award courses that align with the categories of the Australian Qualifications Framework including Combined Degrees and the Master by Research courses with the exception of the following awards:

  1. double degrees, since each core zone of each course is monitored separately as per this Policy; and
  2. Graduate Research awards.

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

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Section 2 - Policy

(6) Annual Course Monitoring ensures all award courses meet required standards throughout the period of Accreditation through:

  1. annual monitoring, known as Annual Health Check; and
  2. targeted review if risk to the quality of the course is identified during the period of Accreditation, known as In-Cycle Review.

(7) Annual Course Monitoring and Review will also provide staff with regular opportunities to reflect on the course and its delivery.

(8) An award course will be subject to the Annual Health Check process each year with the exception of:

  1. the year a course is scheduled to be reviewed as part of the Course of Study Reaccreditation process; and
  2. the year immediately following this scheduled review.
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Section 3 - Procedures

(9) All processes associated with Annual Health Check and In-Cycle Review will occur using the approved University system.

Part A - Annual Health Check

(10) Based on the data and perceived risks, the relevant authorised Course Authority will make one of the following Recommendations to the relevant authorised Faculty/College Authority:

  1. no action required; or
  2. enact an In-Cycle Review; or
  3. enact a Course Reaccreditation Review.

(11) The relevant authorised Faculty/College Authority will review all course Annual Health Checks and either support or amend the Recommendation.

(12) The relevant authorised Faculty/College Authority will compile an Annual Health Check Final Report and submit this to the Faculty/College Board.

(13) The Faculty/College Board will approve the Faculty Annual Health Check Final Report.

(14) The Faculty/College Board will submit the Faculty/College Annual Health Check Final Reports to Academic Standards and Quality Committee for noting.

Part B - In-Cycle Review

(15) An In-Cycle Review can be triggered by:

  1. an Annual Health Check; or
  2. the authorised Faculty/College Authority

(16) The terms of reference of an In-Cycle Review (including the composition of the Review Panel) will be set by the relevant Course Authority in consultation with the authorised Faculty/College Authority.

(17) The authorised Faculty/College Authority will ensure that Review panel members have the appropriate expertise and/or experience to support the In-Cycle Review terms of reference.

(18) Following an In-Cycle Review, the Review Panel will provide a report of the findings and any Recommendations.

(19) The relevant Faculty/College Authority, in consultation with the Executive Dean, will respond to the Recommendations of the In-Cycle Review Panel.

(20) The relevant authorised Course Authority, in consultation with the relevant authorised Faculty Authority, will consider the Recommendations and create a Recommendation Implementation Plan.

(21) The relevant Faculty/College Authority, in consultation with Executive Dean will approve the plan or direct a course to the reaccreditation process (see Course of Study Reaccreditation Policy).

(22) The approved plan will be submitted to the Faculty Board for oversight.

(23) Following implementation of the Plan, the relevant authorised Course Authority will complete the Final Report section in the University’s Curriculum Management System (MQCMS) for Faculty Authority endorsement.

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Section 4 - Guidelines

(24) Nil.

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Section 5 - Definitions

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

  1. Accreditation means the process within the Curriculum Lifecycle Framework 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. Annual Course Monitoring means the oversight provided by the Annual Health Check and In-Cycle Review processes.
  3. Annual Health Check means the process through which the performance of a course is assessed annually. This process is light touch, data-driven, risk based and supported by a dashboard reflecting institutional data. Risks highlighted by the Annual Health Check process may result in the course progressing to an In-cycle Review or a full Reaccreditation review.
  4. Course Monitoring and Review is the process by which a course performance is subject to regular monitoring throughout the period of their accreditation through Annual Health Checks and In-Cycle Reviews.
  5. Course Authority is the person assigned by a Faculty or equivalent to perform certain roles within the Curriculum Lifecycle processes at a course level, for example Course Director, Head of Department, Program Director.
  6. 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.
  7. Curriculum Management System means the University’s repository for all curriculum information including courses, course components (majors, specialisations, and minors) and units.
  8. Faculty Authority is the person assigned by a Faculty or equivalent, to perform certain roles within the Curriculum Lifecycle processes at a Senior Leadership level, for example: Deputy Dean, Associate Dean, Associate Director.
  9. In-Cycle Review means a monitoring process for courses, data and risk driven, resulting from a deficient Annual Health Check result or a request from the Executive Dean of the relevant faculty.
  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.
  12. Success Plan means the plan developed by the relevant authorised Course Authority to address issues highlighted as a result of a review process.