Accreditation of higher education courses in Victoria
Organisations seeking accreditation of their higher education courses must apply to the VRQA using the national application form for course accreditation and associated templates listed below.
Organisations must first be registered as a higher education institution in order to be able to deliver an accredited higher education course. Once registered, institutions may apply to have additional courses accredited.
Criteria for course accreditation
Before accrediting higher education courses, the VRQA must be satisfied that the courses meet the requirements for course accreditation under the National Protocols and Guidelines and that the applicant has the staff and learning resources to deliver the courses.
The applicant must provide detailed information on course outcomes and demonstrate that the course/s is/are designed to satisfy the requirements of the proposed qualification under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). The applicant must satisfy the VRQA that the proposed course/s is/are comparable in standard to courses leading to a similar award in an Australian university.
Period of accreditation
Course accreditation is for a period of up to five years and is dependent on the period of registration of the institution approved to deliver the course(s). To maintain the accreditation of their courses, higher education institutions are required to apply for re-accreditation and applications should be submitted no later than eight months prior to the accreditation expiry date.
Fees
A revised fee structure has been implemented from January 2009.
Forms
- Application Form for Accreditation of a Higher Education Course (Word - 305Kb)
- Attachment 1.2a template (Application for accreditation – course details) (Word - 64Kb)
- Attachment 2.3a template (Course rationale and structure) (Word - 71Kb)
- Attachment 2.3c template (Individual subject outlines) (Word - 120Kb)
- Attachment 2.8a template (Overall assessment methodology) (Word - 84Kb)
- Attachment 3.2a template (Qualifications and experience of current academic staff) (Word - 58Kb)
- Attachment 3.2b template (Abbreviated CVs for key academic staff) (Word - 45Kb)
- Attachment 3.3a template (Qualifications and experience of current support staff) (Word - 53Kb)
- Attachment 4 (Applicant’s Declaration – Accreditation) (Word - 36Kb)
Major changes to higher education courses
Major changes to the structure, title or mode of delivery of a course, or its recognition by a relevant professional body, may alter the terms under which the course was accredited. If major changes are planned, or are likely to occur due to a change in circumstances, an application for approval of the change(s) must be submitted to the VRQA at least three months prior to the change.
Major changes implementation advice (PDF - 46Kb)