Re-accreditation 28 August 2014

Renewal of course accreditation

Report on renewal of accreditation of three higher education courses of study offered by Morling College

TEQSA has determined, under section 56 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA Act), to renew accreditation of the following higher education courses of study offered by Morling College Ltd (Morling College) for a period of seven years from date of decision:

• Master of Counselling
• Graduate Diploma of Counselling
• Graduate Certificate of Counselling

TEQSA has, under subsection 53(1) of the TEQSA Act, imposed one condition on the accreditation of the above courses of study. Morling College must:

Condition 1:

That, within six months of the Notice of Decision, Morling College provides revised course outlines and structures which:

1. clearly state the rationale, core counselling theory and knowledge requirements for each of the courses;
2. map Key Graduate Attributes to course level student learning outcomes;
3. articulate clearly how graduates of the different awards will achieve the stated learning outcomes of each award at clearly differentiated AQF levels; and
4. reflect increasingly challenging levels of achievement aligned to the AQF specifications, taking account of external professional accreditation standards, such as the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) Training Standards.

Background to Decision

Morling College submitted an application for renewal of accreditation of three courses of study under Part 4 of the TEQSA Act. Subsection 45(4) of the TEQSA Act requires a registered higher education provider who is not authorised to self-accredit the course of study to apply to TEQSA for accreditation. Subsection 56(4) enables TEQSA to renew accreditation of a course of study for a period not exceeding seven years.

Main Reasons for the Decision

TEQSA has determined that the three higher education courses of study submitted by Morling College for accreditation comply with the Provider Course Accreditation Standards. The course accreditation covers delivery at all Australian sites.

TEQSA considers that the decision to apply a condition to Morling College's application for accreditation of three courses of study is consistent with the basic principles for regulation in Part 2 of the TEQSA Act, as Morling College is at risk of not complying with a number of the Threshold Standards. TEQSA considers that the risks of non-compliance with the Threshold Standards involve a number of matters that may affect Morling College's capacity to manage and deliver its higher education awards.

• The broad issues which relate to the Master of Counselling, Graduate Diploma of Counselling, Graduate Certificate of Counselling include:

  a) Course rationale

  b) Key Graduate Attributes

  c) Australian Qualifications Framework alignment

  d) External professional accreditation standards

In accordance with subsections 53(2) and 53(3) of the TEQSA Act, TEQSA may vary or revoke a condition imposed on the registration of a higher education provider, either on its own initiative, or upon application by the provider for variation or revocation.