Guideline: Code of practice for teaching and learning

Purpose

This Code describes how students, teachers and the University ensure teaching and learning excellence in undergraduate and graduate coursework programs, delivered face-to-face or in an online learning environment.

Guideline

1. All those involved in teaching and learning:
   1. Adhere to the University’s Rules, Policies and Procedures.
   2. Balance their commitment to teaching and learning with the need to engage in university life and the life of the broader community in a way that encourages healthy living.
   3. Respect diversity (including, for example, diversity of culture, religious belief, age, race, gender and other personal and group-based attributes) and recognise that diversity of student and staff backgrounds, opinions and views is a valuable resource for enhancing critical, motivated and dialogic teaching and learning.
   4. Experience an educational environment that is equitable, collegial, and responsive to the diversity of individuals and the academic requirements of different disciplines.
   5. Contribute to an environment free from harassment, discrimination and bullying, with access to complaint procedures which will facilitate speedy and just resolutions.
   6. Demonstrate integrity in scholarship and academic practice.
2. Students:
   1. Prepare for undertaking a course to the best of their ability using orientation, induction and other preliminary resources and activities, including Course Outlines.
   2. Attend all scheduled activities for the courses in which they are enrolled, or make equitable and practicable alternative arrangements in consultation with teachers, which may include listening to lecture recordings or reading notes and/or slides.
   3. Prepare in advance to participate in all scheduled activities for the courses in which they are enrolled to the best of their ability, including completion of reading, practice and other activities specified by teachers, and any other preparation that may be required to fully realise learning opportunities.
   4. Recognise that many learning experiences are collaborative and that it may be necessary to be excluded from some activities when they have not prepared at the necessary standard communicated by teachers in advance in order to avoid negatively impacting the learning of others.
   5. Complete assessment tasks to the best of their ability within the requirements communicated by teachers in advance, including assessment deadlines.
   6. Acknowledge that academic staff are qualified by the University to make assessment judgements based on academic expertise and professional integrity.
   7. Improve their skills and knowledge by acting on assessment feedback provided by teachers and/or peers.
   8. Recognise that it may not be possible to receive the same level of feedback for assessment submitted after the deadline as for assessment submitted on time when an extension to the deadline has not been granted.
   9. Recognise that teachers may be available for individual consultation only during specified times, and that there may be delays when corresponding during some periods due to competing professional and personal responsibilities.
   10. Provide genuine, constructive and considered feedback about their learning experiences through regular formal course and program evaluation surveys conducted by the University and directly to teachers as opportunity arises in order to assist with continuous improvement of teaching and learning.
   11. Use the University’s support services and infrastructure to enable them to learn and demonstrate learning to the best of their ability, including learning management systems, discipline-based and University-wide academic support services, libraries and information services, counselling and medical services, and access and inclusion services.
   12. Participate in appeals and grievances procedures with integrity and without recrimination.
3. Teachers:
   1. Engage students with the latest research and scholarly developments.
   2. Provide orientation, induction and other preliminary resources and activities that enable students to prepare to undertake a course to the best of their ability, including detailed Course Outlines.
   3. Provide explicit learning outcomes that will be developed and assessed in a course and have been approved within the University’s academic governance policies and procedures.
   4. Teach courses in a structured, coherent manner appropriate to students at the target level and clearly communicate that structure to students in advance, including the relationships between learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, taught content and assessment tasks.
   5. Provide opportunities for the application of skills and knowledge to genuine research questions and practical problem solving, enable interdisciplinary approaches and develop critical thinking.
   6. Embed education of broad and/or discipline-specific academic integrity principles and practices in the curriculum, which may range from specific academic integrity education to academic referencing consistent with best practice in the discipline.
   7. Design courses with workload demands appropriate for students with a range of personal circumstances and with respect to the unit value of the course.
   8. Make equitable and practicable alternative arrangements with students who are unable to attend scheduled activities, which may include providing lecture recordings, notes and/or slides.
   9. Specify all reading, practice and other activities necessary for students to prepare in advance to enable them to participate in all scheduled activities to the best of their ability and with respect to a range of personal circumstances.
   10. Clearly communicate in advance any standards of preparation necessary for students to participate in activities without being excluded to avoid negatively impacting the learning of others.
   11. Aim to design assessment that allows students from a range of personal circumstances to perform to the best of their ability and adjust assessment where necessary.
   12. Clearly communicate in advance the requirements of assessment tasks to enable students to complete them to the best of their ability, including assessment criteria and deadlines.
   13. Judge assessment transparently and equitably based on academic expertise and professional integrity.
   14. Provide feedback from assessment that enables students to act to improve their skills and knowledge.
   15. Give the same level of feedback from assessment submitted within an extended deadline granted in advance as from assessment submitted on time.
   16. Are available to students seeking individual advice via methods and at times communicated in advance, such as consultation hours, by appointment or by email correspondence.
   17. Enable students to provide genuine and considered feedback about their learning experiences through regular formal course and program evaluation surveys conducted by the University and/or directly as opportunity arises in order to assist with continuous improvement of teaching and learning.
   18. Encourage students to use the University’s support services and infrastructure to enable them to learn and demonstrate learning to the best of their ability.
   19. Participate in appeals and grievances procedures with integrity and without recrimination.
   20. Contribute to curriculum design, and the planning and review of the University’s teaching and learning practices, governance and infrastructure, as relevant.
4. The University:
   1. Designs coherently-structured coursework programs and courses, which are organised and delivered in a manner appropriate to the needs of students at the related AQF level, and take into account relationships within the wider curriculum, such as the role of courses in a major or program and pathways between programs.
   2. Involves teachers in the planning and ongoing development of the wider curriculum related to courses they teach.
   3. Supports students to make informed academic decisions by providing clear, timely, reliable and accessible information in advance, both via publication and in consultation with expert advisors.
   4. Facilitates staff professional development in teaching and learning at all levels.
   5. Enables students to learn from a diverse range of teachers who possess the qualifications, experience, scholarly understanding and pedagogical ability to provide excellence in teaching.
   6. Provides both specialist and flexible teaching and learning environments and infrastructure, including online environments and infrastructure, which enhance learning in a variety of contexts.
   7. Allocates resources effectively to support high-quality teaching and learning.
   8. Provides students and teachers with course and program evaluation tools and information which enable continuous improvement of curriculum design, and the University’s teaching and learning practices, governance and infrastructure.
   9. Provide support services and infrastructure to enable students to learn and demonstrate learning to the best of their ability, including learning management systems, discipline-based and University-wide academic support services, libraries and information services, counselling and medical services, and access and inclusion services.
   10. Maintains transparent, equitable and just appeals and grievances procedures.