Re-registration 22 January 2020

Renewal of registration

Report on renewal of registration of Charles Darwin University

On 22 January 2020 TEQSA:

• renewed, under section 36 of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act), the registration of Charles Darwin University in the category of Australian University, for a period of seven years until 22 January 2027.
• imposed, under section 32 of the TEQSA Act, one condition on the registration of Charles Darwin University.
  • Condition 1: Governance and accountability
    
    1. By 30 June 2020 CDU must provide TEQSA with a comprehensive framework, approved by its Council, for reporting:
       
       1. against the performance targets in its Strategic Plan and Teaching and Learning Plan
       2. on performance against institutional benchmarks for academic quality and outcomes
       3. on the occurrence and nature of formal complaints, allegations of misconduct and breaches of academic or research integrity
       4. on the quality of teaching and learning, including external referencing of the success of student cohorts against comparable courses of study.
    2. By 28 February 2021 and 28 February 2022, CDU must provide TEQSA with evidence covering the previous 12 months that the Council:
       
       1. has in place, and implements, systems and processes to monitor and ensure compliance with the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015
       2. monitors progress against performance targets as set out in the Strategic Plan and the Learning and Teaching Plan (to be developed and introduced for 2020), and takes action to address underperformance
       3. monitors the occurrence and nature of formal complaints, allegations of misconduct and breaches of academic or research integrity, and takes action to address underlying causes
       4. regularly reviews risk registers and has adequate processes in place to monitor and mitigate risks, including risk posed by third-party providers.
    3. By 28 February 2021 and 28 February 2022, CDU must provide TEQSA with evidence covering the previous 12 months that its Academic Board:
       
       1. monitors performance against institutional benchmarks for academic quality and outcomes, and action is taken to improve performance
       2. monitors the quality of teaching and learning and reports on the outcomes of such monitoring to the Council
       3. evaluates the effectiveness of institutional monitoring, review and improvement of academic activities
       4. ensures that data on student progress and success is used to inform admission criteria and approaches to course design, teaching, supervision, learning and academic support.The evidence in relation to paragraphs b. and c. of this condition must include copies of reports to the relevant governing bodies, as well as evidence of consideration and action taken on those reports by the relevant bodies.

Main reasons for the decision

TEQSA made these decisions in light of risks that Charles Darwin University may not meet, or continue to meet, the following provisions of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015:

1. Section 5.2 of Part A, in relation to academic integrity
2. Section 5.3 of Part A, in relation to course monitoring, review and improvement
3. Section 6.2 of Part A, in relation to corporate monitoring and accountability
4. Section 6.3 of Part A, in relation to academic governance.

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.