(1) The University will apply consistent principles and procedures to guide the University community in the approval of new courses. (2) Refer to the Course Lifecycle Policy (Expires 31/10/18). (3) Refer to the Course Lifecycle Policy (Expires 31/10/18). (4) The University will apply consistent principles and procedures to guide the University in the approval of new courses. (5) This process for the approval of new courses will ensure the assessment, prior to approval, of: (6) New course opportunities may be identified by a College, staff member, academic unit or may be commissioned by the Course Portfolio and Scholarships Committee (CPSC). (7) In circumstances where more than one School and/or College are proposing the course, one should be identified as the Proposing College and/or Proposing School. Responsibility for preparing all documentation lies with the Proposing College. (8) Where the course is being proposed by more than one College, the course proposal must be endorsed by both College Academic Committees. (9) There are two components to the approval of a new course: (10) An initial course idea can be submitted by any person in the University by completing an online ‘One Page Pitch’ form via the Market Strategy Unite Site. (11) The MSU will conduct an initial validation and market assessment of the course idea, and, if the initial course idea is found to be viable, MSU will collaborate with the relevant College to develop the idea further, drawing on input from internal and external stakeholders. (12) The College PDGs are responsible for endorsing the course idea. Finance and the MSU will support the proponent to prepare a financial Business Case Calculator (available from the College Finance Business Partner) and the Product Summary Form, which includes the following: (13) The College PRC is responsible for endorsing the business case documentation and product summary form. Once endorsed, the documents will be submitted to CPSC accompanied by a copy of the relevant committee minute. (14) CPSC endorsement of the business case is required prior to submission of the New Coursework Proposal to the academic governance committees. (15) The Committee Executive Officer will advise the Senior Manager, College Planning and Governance and the relevant Curriculum Project Manager and the Executive Officer to the Coursework Committee of the outcomes of the submission to the CPSC in writing, usually in the form of an extract from the draft minutes of the meeting. (16) The academic governance process is concerned with evaluating the academic merit of the course. Proposals normally enter this process after the CPSC has endorsed the proposal. If the College is very confident of the evidence of demand and sustainability it is permissible to start this process at the same time as the CPSC process is being started (17) The New Coursework Proposal Template is downloaded from the Course Lifecycle website. All relevant fields in the New Coursework template must be completed. Committees will not progress incomplete submissions to the next approval level. (18) All subjects outlines for subjects in the course must be included in the submission, excepting open electives. (19) The relevant School Advisory Group should be involved in the development of any new course. Proponents should be available to speak to the proposal at the meeting of the School Advisory Group. (20) The College Coursework Committee will consider the academic design of the proposal, the alignment of course learning outcomes with the level and field of education and that the methods of assessment and subjects are consistent. (21) After the College Coursework Committee endorsement, the College Academic Committee must also endorse the proposal and a College Referral Report must be included with the submission of the proposal to the Coursework Committee. The College Academic Committee considers the academic alignment of the proposal with the College resources and plans. (22) Throughout the process of preparing the New Coursework Program Proposal, other areas of the University must be consulted. This includes discussions with: (23) Students should be consulted on course proposals, normally through the relevant College committees. (24) The Academic Board's Coursework Committee will consider the academic merit of the proposal and its compliance with University policies and external legislative requirements. (25) The Executive Officer of the Coursework Committee will advise the College Curriculum Project Leader, the course proponent and the College representatives on the Coursework Committee of course-related decisions in writing, usually in the form of an extract from the draft minutes of the meeting. (26) In situations where the course proposal raises issues of policy, these matters will be referred by the Coursework Committee to the Education Committee for consideration. (27) In circumstances where an issue of policy compliance has been referred to the Education Committee by the Coursework Committee, the relevant College Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Coursework will be requested to prepare a memorandum outlining the case for a policy waiver or policy change. (28) The New Coursework Proposal will not be referred to the Academic Board until such time that the Education Committee has made a deliberation on the policy issue. The Executive Officer will advise the Chair and the Executive Officer of the Coursework Committee and the College APVC Coursework, College Education Team and proponent of the Education Committee's decision. (29) Academic Board will make a decision about the academic merit of the course based on the Course Proposal documentation available to it and, noting the recommendation of the Coursework Committee. The Executive Officer of the Academic Board sends action memos (including references to course approvals) to the College General Managers with a request that all correspondence be distributed to the relevant parties within the College. Copies of the action memo are also sent to the Executive Director, Student Services and Administration and the Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) and the Director MSU (30) Nested Awards within existing courses and involving only the first year of the relevant course with no additional subjects or course structure changes do not require a Business Case. (31) Double Degrees and Combined Degrees involving existing approved courses, where there are no additional resources required, do not require a full Business Case or Product Summary Form to be completed. In these cases, the ‘One Page Pitch’ is provided to the MSU regarding intent and a short form market analysis is completed to establish rationale and justification. If MSU and the relevant College PRC agree that a limited process is justified, this information is submitted as a memo to CPSC for endorsement to proceed. (32) If any part of the proposal involves new subjects or other additional resources, the full Management process for new coursework program proposals must be followed (refer to Part A above) (33) In exceptional circumstances the College may request that one of the management and/or one of the academic governance approval or endorsement processes will be considered out of session. The submission and a memo explaining the exceptional circumstances from the College Pro Vice-Chancellor should be presented to the respective Chair/s of the committees to whom an out of sessions approval is required via the Executive Officer to the Committee. (34) The approval of the Chair out of session will be recorded at the next scheduled meeting of the Committee, under the agenda item, Matters Approved Out of Sessions, however, the date of approval is recorded at the time of certification of the Chair. (35) Committees may delegate to the relevant Chair approval or endorsement of changes to submitted materials subsequent to a meeting at which they have been considered in full. This is not considered an out of session approval. A secretarial note of the outcome will be inserted into the minutes to be confirmed by the next scheduled meeting of the committee. Alternatively, a Committee may consider documentation via circular resolution. (36) Examples of such circumstances are: (37) A proposed new course may be included in the DRAFT version of the TAC Guides once the Business Case has been endorsed by CPSC. (38) A new coursework program may remain in the final version of the Guides for the year only if it has had Academic Board approval and (if intending to offer the course to international students) a CRICOS code issued. (39) Courses for domestic students which have not received Academic Board approval before the deadlines indicated below will be WITHDRAWN from the Guides. (40) Courses for international students which have not received Academic Board approval AND CRICOS codes before the deadlines indicated below will be WITHDRAWN from the Guides. (41) Once a course has been withdrawn from the Guides it cannot be reactivated for that selection period. (42) In light of critical internal administrative procedures including availability of early on-line enrolments and timetabling, the following deadlines apply for courses intended to be offered in the following year: (43) These cut-off dates assume approval by these committees. In cases where the course documentation is not regarded as adequate it is possible for courses not to be approved for offer in the following year. (44) Proponents should review the University Course Calendar, available on the Course Lifecycle website, for critical dates. Submissions that do not met these dates should only be made cognizant of subsequent limitations with regard to Commonwealth registration and publication deadlines. (45) Nil.Course Lifecycle - New Coursework Program Procedure (Expires 31/10/18)
Section 1 - Background and Purpose
Section 2 - Scope
Section 3 - Policy Statement
Section 4 - Procedure
General
Identification of New Course Opportunities and Proposing College
Approval of a New Course
Part A - Management Process
Course Idea, Validation and Initial Market Assessment
Endorsement of Business Case
Part B - Academic Approval Process
Academic Approval / Accreditation
Completion of New Coursework Proposal
College Governance Steps for Referral of New Coursework Proposal
Consultation With Other Areas of the University
Consultation With Students
Coursework Committee Appraisal and Referral
Referral of Matters to the Education Committee
Academic Board Decision and Advice to Stakeholders
Part C - General
Double Combined or Nested Qualifications Approval Processes
Out of Sessions Approvals Processes
Circumstances Which May Allow Out of Sessions Approvals
Inclusion in Tertiary Application Centre Guides
Annual Cut-off Dates for Approval of Courses to be Offered in the Following Year
Business Case and Product Summary Form
Endorsed by the April meeting of CPSC
New Coursework Program Proposal
Endorsed by the May meeting of the Coursework Committee for approval by the June meeting of the Academic Board
Section 5 - Definitions
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This is not a current document. It has been repealed and is no longer in force.
Courses commissioned by the Commonwealth Government, in consultation with the VC or DVCA, and nominated as being of national importance.