- Purpose
- Scope
- Legislative context
- Related policy documents
- Definitions
- 1. Approval of the business case
- 2. Approval of the short course specification
- 3. Recognising and recording short course completion
- 4. Stacking of short courses for credit into a Federation University award course
- 5. Modifying an existing short course
- 6. Discontinuing an existing short course
- 7. Reviewing short courses
- Forms
- Responsibility
- Promulgation
- Implementation
- Records Management
To establish a procedure for the approval of non-award and award short courses, which includes Industry and Custom short courses.
This procedure applies to the approval and maintenance of higher education short courses, including approval of the business case and the curriculum specification.
Please refer to the VET Program Approval and Maintenance Procedure for development and approval of VET non-award and/or vendor accredited programs.
Short courses may be developed, approved, and delivered by Institutes/Schools. The New Business Accelerator (NBA) is responsible for Industry (B2B) and Custom (B2C) short course offerings which arise from business opportunities or a market-driven addition to the catalogue of short courses. Curriculum Committee is responsible for approving the stacking of short courses for credit into a Federation University award course.
- Federation University Australia Act 2010 (Vic)
- Federation University Australia Statute 2021
- Federation University Australia AcademicRegulations 2022
- Tertiary Education Quality and StandardsAgency Act 2011 (Cth)
- Australian Qualifications Framework
- National Microcredential Framework
- Higher Education Academic Credit Transfer Procedure
- Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021
- National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018
| Term | Definition |
| Award | Degree, diploma, certificate, licence or other award in any discipline |
| Category A | A non-credit-bearing short course which has no specific relationship to AQF qualifications and need not include assessment. |
| Category B | A credit-bearing short course designed at a defined AQF level which includes assessment. Stacking of category B short courses for credit into a Federation University award course requires approval by Curriculum Committee. |
| Course | A course of study/research leading to the granting of an official award or qualification of the University contained in Schedule 5.1 of the University’s Legislation. A course contains subsidiary elements referred to as units. |
| Global Professional School GPS | University School within the portfolio of Global and Engagement. |
| Institute | University Institute within the Academic portfolio. |
| New Business Accelerator (NBA) | University directorate within the portfolio of Global and Engagement, tasked to design and deliver Federation University B2B industry and custom (B2C) short course offers. |
| Non-award | An individual short course, unit, or series of units that does not, in itself, lead to a qualification or award covered by the Australian Qualifications Framework. |
| Policy Administration Management System (PAMS) | The University-approved centrally controlled policy repository policy library which is the authoritative source for all University-wide governance documents, accessible through the Federation University website policy portal. |
| Proponent | The person seeking approval of a proposal. |
| Register of award courses | The register provided for in the Federation University Australia Academic Regulations 2022. |
| Short courses | An overarching description for short education offerings that typically address a particular area of knowledge or skill. Short courses may be credit or non-credit bearing. Short courses are available in a range of formats including workshops and seminars, and cover a range of delivery modes including digital, face-to-face and/or hybrid/blended learning. |
| TEQSA | Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. |
| Activity | Responsibility | Steps | |
| A. | Develop a short course business case (industry and custom short courses) | Proponent |
|
| B. | Submit the business case for approval (industry and custom short courses) | Proponent |
|
| C. | Approve the business case (industry and custom short courses) | DVC (G&E) |
|
| D. | Provide rationale for short courses developed by Institute/School (not industry and custom short courses) | Institute/School |
|
| Activity | Responsibility | Steps | |
| A. | Complete the short course specification forms |
NBA (for Industry and Custom short courses) Institute/School |
|
| B. | Submit the short course for approval |
NBA (for Industry and Custom short courses) Institute/School |
|
| C. | Approve the short course for delivery |
GPS (for Industry and Custom short courses) Institute/School Board |
|
| Activity | Responsibility | Steps | |
| A. | Recognising completion | Graduation office |
|
| B. | Recording credentials | Student HQ |
|
| Activity | Responsibility | Steps | |
| A. | Propose the stacking of short courses for credit | Institute/School |
|
| B. | Submit the proposal for consideration | Institute/School |
|
| C. | Endorse the stacking of short courses | Institute/School Board |
|
| D. | Approve the stacking of short courses | Curriculum Committee |
|
| Activity | Responsibility | Steps | |
| A. | Complete the short course modification forms | NBA/Institute/School |
|
| B. | Submit the forms for consideration | NBA/Institute/School |
|
| C. | Approve the short course modification |
GPS Board (for Industry and Custom short courses) Institute/School Board |
|
| Activity | Responsibility | Steps | |
| A. | Complete the short course discontinuation form | NBA/Institute/School |
|
| B. | Submit the form for consideration | NBA/Institute/School |
|
| C. | Approve the discontinuation of short course |
GPS Board (for Industry and Custom short courses) Institute/School Board |
|
Short courses that provide credit into a Federation University award course must be reviewed as part of the scheduled review of the award course, as detailed in the Review of Established Sealed Award Courses (Higher Education) Procedure.
Forms
- Short Course Establishment and Variation Form (DOCX 258.9kb)
- Short Course Outline (Category A - Higher Education) (DOCX 190.3kb)
- Short Course Outline (Category B - Higher Education) (DOCX 197.9kb)
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global and Engagement) (as the Approval Authority) is responsible for monitoring the implementation, outcomes and scheduled review of this procedure.
- Chair, Curriculum Committee (as the Document Owner) is responsible for maintaining the content of this procedure as delegated by the Approval Authority.
The Short Courses Procedure will be communicated throughout the University via:
- A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website;
- Distribution of e-mails to Provost, Executive Deans of Institutes, Deans & Directors and Heads of Campus.
The Short Courses Procedure will be implemented throughout the University via:
- A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.
| Document Title | Location | Responsible Officer | Minimum Retention Period |
Short Courses (industry/custom) & Project Proposal Form |
A University approved credentials management system | Coordinator, New Business Accelerator |
Originals should be retained by the Proponent. Copies can be disposed of once the administrative use has concluded. Electronic record will be retained in a University approved Short Courses (industry/custom) management system. |
|
Master set of curriculum approved records submitted for approval including: Short course establishment and variation form Short course outline Category A Short course outline Category B |
A University approved credentials management system | Executive Dean/Dean | Permanent |
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