Re-registration 21 October 2014

Renewal of registration

Report on renewal of registration of Macleay College Pty Limited

TEQSA has determined, under section 36(1) of the TEQSA Act, that registration of Macleay College Pty Limited (Macleay College) as a higher education provider is renewed for a period of two years until 15 May 2016 in the provider category of higher education provider.

Under subsection 32(2) of the TEQSA Act, TEQSA has imposed the following conditions on the registration of Macleay:

By 15 November 2015, at the time of its application for renewal of registration, Macleay College:

1. Provides TEQSA with a report covering the previous 12-month period which includes:
   
   1. The College's framework for scholarship together with details of professional development and scholarly activities undertaken by all academic staff (to include scholarship on teaching and learning as well as disciplinary scholarship) and evidence of the Academic Board's consideration of these activities.
   2. The benchmarking activities undertaken by the College and their consideration by the Academic Board.
2. Provide evidence, including the minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors and any relevant committees, covering the previous 12-month period that the corporate governing body accesses and uses a full range of expertise required for the effective governance of a higher education provider.

Background to Decision

Macleay College Pty Limited submitted an application for renewal of registration in the category of higher education provider under section 35 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA Act). Subsection 36(4) of the TEQSA Act enables TEQSA to renew a provider's registration for a period not exceeding seven years.

Main Reasons for Decision

As part of the renewal of registration process, TEQSA assessed the application submitted by Macleay College Pty Limited against the Threshold Standards. The scope of the assessment included all its Australian sites.

TEQSA decided to renew the registration of Macleay College for a period of two year to ensure the College addressed TEQSA's concerns about certain issues relating to corporate governance and management, academic leadership, scholarship, professional development, and benchmarking.

The conditions have been imposed to satisfy TEQSA that the issues identified have been resolved by appropriate actions to demonstrate compliance.

The conditions have been imposed on the basis that TEQSA considers that there is a risk that Macleay College may not meet the following Provider Registration Standards (PRS) and Provider Category Standards (PCS):

a) PRS 3.2. TEQSA is concerned that Macleay College's corporate governance arrangements and processes may not access and use the full range of expertise required for effective governance, including higher education expertise and independent financial advice.

b) PRS 5.1 and 5.3 and PCS 1.3 and 1.4. TEQSA considered that the evidence provided did not demonstrate a systematic approach to academic leadership, scholarship and the implementation of professional development for teaching staff.

c) PRS 5.6 in relation to Macleay College's benchmarking arrangements. While it does not yet have an established comprehensive, systematic approach to benchmarking, TEQSA notes that Macleay College is taking steps to compare its performance with other higher education providers.

TEQSA considers that the risks of non-compliance with the Threshold Standards above, if not addressed, may ultimately affect Macleay College's capacity to manage and deliver its higher education awards at a level of quality expected under the Threshold Standards.

TEQSA considers that the decisions to renew the registration for two years and to impose conditions on Macleay College's registration are consistent with the basic principles for regulation in Part 2 of the TEQSA Act.