Learning and teaching in Australian universities: a thematic analysis of Cycle 1 AUQA audits

This thematic study covers all institutional reports prepared by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) in the first round of institutional reviews from October 2002 to November 2007 (see appendix one). This review does not consider the situation in non self-accrediting higher education institutions, which were not audited by AUQA in this review cycle. Specifically this review: (1) identifies structures and mechanisms deployed by institutions to oversee curriculum design and review, assessment and academic benchmarking; (2) highlights collegial and management processes demonstrated as achieving, or being required to achieve, effective outcomes in these areas; and (3) summarises sector-wide policies and practices in these areas, as identified by audit reports. It should be emphasised that this review describes practices and situations as they were at the time of the audit which, in some cases, was six years prior to the writing of this review document. This review represents a summary of observations and lessons learned from AUQA audits. It does not represent an accurate description of the way things are currently. Audit report commendations related to teaching and learning have been summarised in appendix two. Beginning with this analysis, the report goes on to draw out some general guidance for the Australian higher education sector on good practice and key topics for future assessments of institutional performance in learning and teaching.

Excerpts from publication.

This thematic study covers all institutional reports prepared by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) in the first round of institutional reviews from October 2002 to November 2007 (see appendix one). This review does not consider the situation in non self-accrediting higher education institutions, which were not audited by AUQA in this review cycle. Specifically this review: (1) identifies structures and mechanisms deployed by institutions to oversee curriculum design and review, assessment and academic benchmarking; (2) highlights collegial and management processes ...  [+] Show more