Course quality advisory groups

Governance

The Award Course Improvement and Accreditation Procedures specify the terms of reference, membership composition and reporting responsibilities for the groups.

The establishment, coordination and work of the Course Quality Advisory Groups are the responsibility of colleges. They are chaired by Teaching Program Directors (or their nominees) and are overseen by Dean(s) Education and Teaching Program Directors.

Primary responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of Course Quality Advisory Groups are set out in the Annex A of the Award Course Improvement and Accreditation Procedures.

Membership

The composition of Course Quality Advisory Groups are set out in Annex A of the Award Course Improvement and Accreditation Procedures.

Establishing Course Quality Advisory Groups (CQAGs)

1. Consider starting with the internal course accreditation review groups. Keep the same group or break it down into two or more smaller course groups if desirable. Please contact the Educational Quality Team for information about these groups. 
2. Assign a distinct name to each group.
3. Establish the membership for each group in line with the Terms of Reference. A formal invitation is to be sent to members of each CQAG by the Dean (Education).
4. Proposed members external to the university must be approved by the Dean (Education).
5. When confirmed, provide a list of CQAGs and the Chair for each to the Educational Quality Team to include on the CQAG register.

Meetings

1. CQAGs must convene at least once per year.
2. Chairs to periodically monitor KAMs and OPMs and request input from topic coordinators where needed via the Brief Topic Summary Report ahead of each meeting.
3. Each Chair to send a communication to members to schedule meetings.  For the first meeting, this communication will include the Terms of Reference outlined in Annex A of the Award Course Improvement and Accreditation Procedures.
4. Papers to be circulated one month before each scheduled meeting, and should include an agenda with links to relevant course rules, a link to access KAMs and OPMs for the relevant courses, and the CQAG Brief Summary Template.
5. CQAGs meet to discuss relevant courses in the context of quality indicators (KAMs, OPMs and topic quality indicators).

Recommendations and reporting

1. Observations and recommendations resulting from meetings to be concisely documented on the Brief Summary Template and submitted to the Executive Officer for the College Education Committee and included in the papers of the next College Education Committee meeting.
2. The College Education Committee will discuss and note the Brief Summary Report, endorse any recommendations and may make additional recommendations (to be noted on the Brief Summary Report).
3. A copy of the final Brief Summary Report to be forwarded to the Educational Quality Team for storing in a central repository.
4. Academic staff in Colleges may initiate improvements/changes to curriculum based on recommendations from Brief Summary Report.
5. Curriculum development work and improvements resulting from CQAG recommendations are to be included in the relevant Internal Course Accreditation submission as per the Award Course Improvement and Accreditation Procedures.

Annual review and reporting cycle

See annual process workflow diagram. 

Resources

• CQAG Communication 1 – extending an invitation to potential CQAG members template
  
• CQAG Communication 2 – inviting confirmed CQAG members to a meeting template
• CQAG Topic Coordinator’s Structured Summary Report template
• CQAG Agenda template
• CQAG Brief Summary Report template
• CQAG Annual Process Workflow diagram