Re-registration 29 June 2020

Renewal of registration

Report on renewal of registration of Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd

On 29 June 2020 TEQSA:

1. Renewed, under section 36 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act), the registration of Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd in the category of Higher Education Provider for a period of four (4) years until 29 June 2024.
2. Imposed, under section 32 of the TEQSA Act, three (3) conditions on the registration of Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd:

Condition 1: Academic policy framework review

By 1 December 2020, Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd (VIT) must:

1. review and update its academic policies in the following areas, to ensure their appropriateness and their consistency with the revised Governance Framework:
   
   1. course monitoring, review and approval, and
   2. teaching staff scholarship activities.
2. develop a comprehensive plan, detailing timeframes and responsibilities, for a review of its academic policy framework to ensure consistency with the revisions made to the Governance Framework.
3. provide TEQSA with copies of the revised policies and review plan at (a) and (b) above, accompanied by evidence the documents have been approved by the relevant VIT governing bodies.

Condition 2: Quality assurance reports - student performance

Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd must establish routine reporting to its corporate and academic governing bodies for the purpose of monitoring student performance and outcomes. The report must also include analysis that incorporates:

1. student attrition, completion, progress rates and grade distributions for each course at each delivery location.
2. entry path (comparing students admitted under each entry pathway).
3. recognition of credit (comparing students admitted without recognition of prior credit to students admitted with credit for up to a third of the course and up to half of the course).
4. external referencing of student achievement (including attrition, progression, completion and grade distribution) in similar courses at other higher education providers.

Condition 3: Governance review and Course review

By 1 December 2021 Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd (VIT) must:

1. engage suitably qualified independent experts, with the agreement of TEQSA as to the identity and terms of reference of the experts, to undertake:
   
   1. a review of VIT's corporate and academic governance arrangements.
   2. a comprehensive review of the Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems.
2. provide evidence of consideration and approval of the reports, and any actions in response to the reports, by the relevant governing bodies.

On 3 July 2020 TEQSA:

3. Imposed, under section 32 of the TEQSA Act, one (1) condition on the registration of Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd:

Condition 4: Student enrolments and delivery locations

The following restrictions apply to Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd's (VIT's) delivery of its accredited courses:

1. VIT may only deliver its accredited higher education courses of study from the following delivery locations:
   
   1. Level 6/118 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
   2. Levels 3, 10,11 & 14/123 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
   3. Levels 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10/235 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
   4. Levels 5 & 8/333 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000
2. The maximum number of higher education students to which Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd may deliver its accredited courses of study may not exceed 2550 students (headcount) at any time.

Main reasons for the decision

TEQSA made these decisions in light of substantial risks that Victorian Institute of Technology Pty Ltd may not meet, or continue to meet, the following provisions of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015:

• Governance, and the extent to which the governing body assures itself that VIT is operating effectively through obtaining required information and academic advice, and ensuring that the quality assurance processes are effective for the identification of risks, development of strategies for addressing risks and ensuring improvements. (Corporate Governance 6.1 and Corporate Monitoring and Accountability 6.2).
• Quality of higher education and the extent to which VIT's institutional quality assurance framework/processes are effective in ensuring the quality of VIT's course offerings and its learning environment, including having and implementing required mechanisms for monitoring and reporting on student performance and outcomes from its multi-campus higher education operations (Academic Governance 6.3 and Monitoring Review and Improvement 5.3).
• Student wellbeing and the adequacy of staffing and resourcing arrangements to ensure academic and non-academic student support services meet the needs of VIT's student cohorts and are informed by the required monitoring activities (Orientation and Progression 1.3, Diversity and Equity 2.2, Wellbeing and Safety 2.3, Learning Resources and Educational Support 3.3, Course Approval and Accreditation 5.1).
• A staffing framework that provides quality assurance mechanisms for monitoring and reporting to the relevant governing bodies on the adequacy of staffing arrangements for teaching its courses at each campus (Staffing 3.2, Higher Education Provider Category B1.1.4).

Application to withdraw conditions

In accordance with section 32 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.

Right of review

VIT has applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of TEQSA's decision to impose conditions. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has stayed condition 4 (student enrolments and delivery locations), pending the determination of the matter.

Further information

Information on TEQSA's regulatory approach and public reporting is available at www.teqsa.gov.au.