Accreditation 14 October 2016

Course accreditation

Report on accreditation of two higher education courses of study offered by Eastern College Australia

On 14 October 2016, a delegate of TEQSA:

• accredited, under section 49 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act), the following courses offered by Eastern College Australia Incorporated, for a period of four years until 14 October 2020:
• Master of Teaching (Primary)
• Master of Teaching (Secondary)
• imposed, under section 53 of the TEQSA Act, four conditions on the accreditation of the Master of Teaching (Primary) and Master of Teaching (Secondary).

Condition 1:

Prior to marketing the courses and enrolling students, Eastern College Australia Incorporated must provide to TEQSA, evidence that the course is accredited by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).

Condition 2:

Prior to marketing the course and enrolling students, Eastern College Australia Incorporated must provide to TEQSA a report, approved by the Academic Board, which describes a comprehensive rationale for the units in the course, including for the sequence of units in the course. This rationale must state how the units and the unit sequencing prepares students to undertake practicums, and enables students to achieve the course learning outcomes.

Condition 3:

Eastern College Australia must provide TEQSA with a report, not later than four weeks prior to the commencement of each semester for its higher education course, which, in relation to each staff member at each location proposed to teach one or more units in the course, describes:

1. the highest qualification in the discipline of the course being taught;
2. the units proposed to be taught;
3. the professional experience held; and (where applicable)
4. a summary of how Eastern College Australia's policy for academic staff qualifications and experience has been applied to that staff member.

Condition 4:

Eastern College Australia must provide to TEQSA by 30 June 2017, a copy of a written agreement with another higher education provider that will enable it to benchmark the academic standards intended to be achieved by students and the standards actually achieved by students in the course against similar accredited courses of study offered by other higher education providers.

Main reasons for the decision

TEQSA made these decisions in light of risks that the courses submitted by Eastern College Australia Incorporated may not meet, or continue to meet, the following provisions of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2011:

1. Provider Course Accreditation Standard (PCAS) 1.2, in relation to course design and professional accreditation
2. PCAS 1.7, in relation to course documentation and overall coherence:
3. PCAS 4.2, in relation to appropriately qualitied and experienced academic staff
4. PCAS 5.5 in relation to benchmarking against similar accredited courses of study

TEQSA's assessment considered Eastern College Australia Incorporated's arrangements for delivery at all Australian sites.