Quality improvement at UB is undertaken in the context of the University's vision, mission and goals. Quality improvement is a continuous, active and responsive process that considers:
- strategic objectives, targets and priorities contained in the University's 2020 Agenda, the 2005 –2010 SSI, the annual priorities statements, and key supporting plans such as the Learning and Teaching Plan.
- systems and processes to support achievement of these objectives, targets and initiatives;
- mechanisms to monitor progress toward planned objectives, targets and priorities;
- outcomes that are achieved;
- what improvements are made to continually enhance the University's activities.
Central to the approach to quality improvement at the University is the ongoing application of the ‘quality improvement cycle' of ‘planning, implementing, reviewing and improving'.
Purpose
As part of its quality assurance procedures, UB conducts Higher Education School Reviews on a rolling 5 yearly basis for the purpose of:
- Providing advice to the Vice-Chancellor on the internal organisation and management of the School and its relationship to the University
- Enabling the Vice Chancellor to assess the performance of the School and its courses within the context of the University's Mission, Goals and Statements of Strategic Intent.
Policy and Guidelines
To achieve the stated purpose, the review of Higher Education Schools will be conducted in accordance with the Review of Higher Education Schools Policy and Guidelines.
Review Reports - internal access only |
All courses within the University (Higher Education) are reviewed every five years.
Course reviews have two stages:
- A School-based self-assessment of the course, followed by
- Evaluation of the self-assessment documentation by an external course review panel
The process for conducting course reviews is detailed in the
Guidelines for Review of Established Courses
Guidelines for Alterations and Review of Established Courses
Procedure for Reviews of Established Courses in Higher Education
Higher Education Course Review Flowchart
Curriculum Committee (Higher Education) has carriage of Course Reviews and reports their findings to Academic Board.
Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA)
The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) is an independent, not-for-profit national agency that promotes, audits, and reports on quality assurance in Australian higher education. The Ministerial Council on Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) formally established AUQA in March 2000. It operates independently of governments and the higher education sector under the direction of a Board of Directors. AUQA is owned by and receives core, operational funding from the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers for higher education who are members of MCEETYA.
AUQA’s Focus
AUQA is concerned with all academic activities carried out in an institution's name. This includes not only the actual teaching and research activities, but also such things as research management, teaching support, student administration and learning resources.
AUQA considers an auditee's processes, and for at least some of these will assess the corresponding outcomes. Conversely, AUQA may start from an outcome and investigate the processes leading to it. More generally, AUQA refers to the ADRI sequence: Approach (the processes planned), Deployment (the processes implemented), Results (the outcomes), Improvement (what is done as a result of monitoring ADR).
AUQA and UB
UB was included in the first round of audits in 2002. The UB Performance Portfolio, AUQA Audit Report and UB’s response are available on the University’s Quality website.
Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF)
The AQTF is a set of nationally agreed standards to ensure the quality of vocational education and training services throughout Australia. The University of Ballarat (TAFE Division) as a registered training organisation must comply with the AQTF standards.
ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Certification
The ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Standard is an internationally recognized standard that describes the essential features of an effective quality management system. The standard is generic, in that it can be applied to any organisation; private or public, product or service based, large or small. The TAFE Division has ISO 9001:2000 certification.
External quality audits are conducted on a six-monthly basis to maintain certification and to support the continuous improvement of TAFE Division services.
TAFE Division Quality Management System
The TAFE Division has established a quality management system that meets both the requirements of the AQTF and ISO9001:2000.
Details of the TAFE Division’s approach to quality can be found on the Quality at UB TAFE website.
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