Policies and procedures
POLICY NO:
A-35B.5DATE OF APPROVAL:
22 June 2001AMENDMENTS:
REFERENCE AUTHORITY:
Vice ChancellorCROSS-REFERENCES:
Quality assurance and improvement: Programs, Courses and Teaching Arrangements A-35.A.9
The University is committed to quality, effectiveness and continuous improvement in all its activities and processes. Systematic reviews which pervade governance and planning processes are the means of realising this commitment. They utilise key performance and other indicators, are benchmarked against international good practice, provide for stakeholder views to be taken into consideration, and inform planning for both quality improvement and strategic innovation.
1. Divisional Boards, Research Institutes and Research Centres will undertake an Annual Review of their activities.
2. Under the direction of the relevant Senior Manager administrative units will undertake Annual Reviews of their activities.
3. Senior Management Group will undertake a review of key functions and of Divisions, Research Institutes and Units as part of an annual planning and review cycle.
4. Divisional Boards and members of Senior Management Group will maintain an annual schedule of reviews of identified functions, priorities or areas—to be known as Nominated Reviews. The schedule of Nominated Reviews will take into account previous or intended reviews by external bodies such as professional associations or accrediting/registering organisations
Nominated
Reviews will be undertaken of5. The Vice Chancellor may at any time initiate Vice Chancellor’s Reviews of specific areas, functions or priorities.
6. Where external bodies such as professional associations or accrediting/registering organisations undertake reviews within the University:
7. The University will pursue opportunities to benchmark its practices and achievements in specific areas against other Australian and international institutions.
8. The University Audit Committee, a Committee of Council, established under the Audit Committee Charter, will determine an annual schedule of audit reviews to be undertaken by Planning and Assurance Services independent of the Annual Reviews, Nominated Reviews and Vice Chancellor’s Reviews specified above.
Divisions, Research Institutes, Research Centres and administrative units will report annually against targets and priorities identified in the Corporate Plan. The structure and timing of such reviews will be determined annually by Senior Management Group.
1.1 Reporting
Outcomes of Annual Reviews and actions proposed will be considered by the Senior Management Group. The Senior Management Group will prepare for adoption by Council each year a Corporate Plan which includes a summary report of all Annual Reviews.
Nominated Reviews will normally be foreshadowed in a review schedule included in the Divisional, Unit or Research Institute Annual Review statement. However members of Senior Management Group may, with the approval of the Vice Chancellor, initiate a Nominated Review outside the schedule.
2.1 External participation
Nominated Reviews will utilise reviewers from outside the University to conduct reviews or to join review panels. The membership of any review panel and the approach proposed will be approved by the Vice Chancellor.
2.2 Benchmarking
Benchmarking exercises will be undertaken with other institutions and organisations as well as comparison of performance against national data. Information from such exercises will inform planning for quality improvement in Divisions, Schools, Research Institutes, Research Centres and administrative Units.
2.3 Reporting
The report from a Nominated Review panel will be presented to the member of Senior Management Group who commissioned the Review. That officer will be responsible for consulting upon an appropriate response and developing an action plan. After discussion at a meeting of Senior Management Group the Vice Chancellor will approve an agreed action plan. Where the Nominated Review is of an academic area, the report and recommended action plan will be presented to Academic Board and the relevant Standing Committee of Academic Board. If the academic area lies within a Division the report and recommended actions will also be presented to the relevant Division Board.
2.4 Council
The Vice Chancellor will report to the Council annually on all Nominated and Vice Chancellor’s Reviews conducted or in process that year.
