• Section 1 - Establishment
• Background
• Purpose
• Section 2 - Glossary
• Section 3 - Membership
• Term of office
• Section 4 - Functions and responsibilities
• Part A - Committee responsibilities
• Advisory role and referral of matters
• Section 5 - Meetings
• Quorum
• Meetings
• Agendas and Minutes
• Conflicts of interest
• Variations

Section 1 - Establishment

Background

(1) Charles Sturt University (the University) is required to exercise academic governance oversight of its courses and subjects, through the Academic Senate and its sub-committees. The Vocational Education and Training Teaching Committee is established by Academic Senate, with responsibilities that apply to all matters associated with vocational education and training (VET) strategic course development and academic governance issues pertaining to the quality of VET courses.

Purpose

(2) The Vocational Education and Training Teaching Committee provides academic oversight of the VET course profile and related external course accreditation. It makes recommendations to the Academic Senate on standards and measures of quality in relation to the course profile.

Section 2 - Glossary

(3) For the purpose of this document:

1. Committee - means the Vocational Education and Training Teaching Committee.
2. Courses – means all vocational education and training courses whether registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) or not.

Section 3 - Membership

(4) The members of the committee are:

1. Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (chair)
2. Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) or nominee (deputy chair)
3. Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Student Success or nominee
4. Director, Academic Quality, Standards and Integrity or nominee
5. Three academic staff members with experience in VET teaching, course development, and course review, nominated by the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
6. One elected academic member nominated by the Academic Senate

(5) Right of audience and debate is granted to:

1. Executive Director, Student Experience or nominee
2. Executive Director, Customer Experience or nominee

(6) The chair may grant the right of audience and debate to any staff member of the University for a specified period of time.

Term of office

(7) Nominated members of the committee will have terms of office of two years.

(8) Casual vacancies will be filled in accordance with the membership of the committee.

(9) A person who fills a casual vacancy holds office as a member for the rest of the term of the person’s predecessor in office.

Section 4 - Functions and responsibilities

Part A - Committee responsibilities

(10) The committee is responsible for the review of submissions and applications to ASQA to ensure their quality and alignment to approvals and delegated authority.

(11) The committee has the following responsibilities in relation to ASQA accredited courses:

1. Undertake critical scrutiny of course proposals, as defined in the Course and Subject Policy, and make recommendations to the Academic Senate for approval as appropriate.
2. Monitor continuous improvement and quality assurance processes.
3. Oversee the schedule of comprehensive course reviews.
4. Receive and review summary reports on annual course reviews.

(12) The committee has the following responsibilities in relation to external (professional) accreditation of VET courses:

1. Receive and consider the register of professional accreditation.
2. Receive and consider reports on the progress of courses undergoing accreditation.
3. Receive advice on conditional approvals and failures, and plans for meeting conditions or re-applying.

(13) The committee will review relevant policies and procedures and make recommendations to the Academic Senate or the policy owner in accordance with the Delegation Schedule A - Governance and Legal, including but not limited to policies and procedures for course development and review, admissions, curriculum and credit where required.

(14) The committee will provide an annual assurance statement to the Academic Senate on the matters within the scope of its responsibility.

(15) The committee will monitor its effectiveness through annual self-assessments. A review of the committee will be undertaken after two full years of establishment to ascertain whether its functions and responsibilities can be integrated into other Academic Senate committees.

Advisory role and referral of matters

(16) The committee will advise the Academic Senate on all matters relating to the VET course profile and the academic governance of the VET courses of the University.

(17) The committee may refer any item to the Academic Senate, Academic Quality and Standards Committee, or Faculty Boards for discussion, consideration and/or action, and may refer relevant matters for action or noting to other committees or officers as appropriate.

Section 5 - Meetings

Quorum

(18) A quorum for a meeting of the committee is a majority of the membership.

Meetings

(19) Meetings will be published by the Office of Governance and Corporate Administration in an annual schedule of meetings, approved by the Academic Senate. Meetings are open to all members of the University.

Agendas and Minutes

(20) Agendas and minutes for the meetings of the Vocational Education and Training Teaching Committee will be prepared by the Office of Governance and Corporate Administration.

Conflicts of interest

(21) Where a member has a perceived or material conflict of interest, they must declare this to the chair and at the committee meeting prior to discussion to the item of business.

Variations

(22) Variations to the terms of reference and/or membership of the committee must be approved by the Academic Senate.