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Faculty and Academic Unit Review Procedures

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Section 1 - Introduction / Background

(1) These Procedures operate under the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy and take effect from the initiation of a faculty or academic unit review.  Unless indicated otherwise, they may be varied only with approval by the Vice-Chancellor and President or Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Assurance).

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Section 2 - Scope / Purpose

(2) These Procedures apply to:

  1. a faculty-administered review of an academic unit, under Section 10 of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy.
  2. a centrally-administered review of a faculty or an academic unit, under cunder Section 10 of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy.
  3. the process for developing triennial faculty performance review reports.
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Section 3 - Flowchart and Timeframe

(3) The faculty or unit review shall be conducted within the timeframes in the Flowchart below except where a variation is approved by:

  1. the Vice-Chancellor and President or Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Assurance) (DVCSA) in the case of a centrally-administered review;
  2. the Executive Dean in the case of a faculty-administered review.
Max intervals* from initiation of review
(in working days)
Academic Unit & Faculty Reviews Flowchart and Timeframe
5 days * Review Secretariat Appointed (section 4)
* Notification (section 5)
* Appointment of Review Committee (section 6))
30 day * Self Assessment Process (section 8) (max 3 weeks preparation)
* Reference Package
* Self Assessment Template
* Initiation of Review Process (section 8)
* Review Committee Package
* Invitations – Submissions and Interviews
* Meeting Schedule Finalised
* Self assessment Report Received
40 days * Review Committee meeting (section 10)
* Self Assessment Report to Committee
50 days * Review Report and Outcomes Submitted (section 11 Faculty, section 12 Central)
70 days (or by next meeting date) * Outcomes (Centrally Administered Review Only) to University Council and Academic Senate for nothing and approval (clause 38).
* Approval Recommendations reported to Committee and Participants (section 13).
12 months * Implementation of recommendations – monitor and reported on annual Faculty and Review Report (section 13)
* Cumulative from date of initiation of review.
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Section 4 - Appointment of Review Secretariat

(4) For centrally-administered reviews, a staff member shall be appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and President.

(5) For faculty-administered reviews, a faculty staff member shall be appointed by the Executive Dean.

(6) The review secretary shall organise the review process in accordance with these Procedures and in consultation with the Review Committee Chair.

(7) The review secretary’s responsibilities shall include document and communications management, record-keeping and the compilation of the review report after input from Committee members. 

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Section 5 - Notification

(8) For centrally-administered reviews, the Vice-Chancellor and President (or nominee) shall notify the Executive Dean and/or Head of Unit of the initiation and reasons for the review.

(9) For faculty-administered reviews, the Executive Dean shall notify the Head of Unit of the initiation and reasons for the review.

(10) The Executive Dean or Head of Unit shall inform all faculty or unit members about the review.

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Section 6 - Appointment of Review Committee

(11) For centrally-administered reviews, the Vice-Chancellor and President, in accordance with under Section 10 of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy, shall:

  1. invite the selected nominees and provide advice on the review terms of reference and proposed timetable; and
  2. appoint the Committee members.

(12) For faculty-administered reviews, the Executive Dean shall:

  1. consult with the Vice-Chancellor and President, in accordance with under Section 10 of the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy;
  2. invite the selected nominees and provide advice on the review terms of reference and proposed timetable; and
  3. appoint the Committee members.

(13) The Committee Chair shall notify the faculty or unit of the Review Committee membership.

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Section 7 - Data Package

(14) The Chair shall request the Information Management Unit to provide a data package aligned to KPIs listed in self-assessment template within two weeks.

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Section 8 - Self-Assessment Process

(15) A Self-Assessment Report shall be prepared by the faculty or unit, on the approved template, as a key reference document for the review committee’s evaluations in both faculty- and centrally-administered reviews.

(16) The Chair, in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Assurance), may adapt the Self-Assessment Report template to amend or add specific indicators, as identified for the particular review.

(17) The Chair shall formally initiate the self-assessment process by advising the Executive Dean or Head of Unit and forwarding a set of reference materials, including:

  1. the self-assessment template (or electronic access details), as adapted if required under clause 16;
  2. the composition of the Review Committee;
  3. the  Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy;
  4. the UOW Strategic Plan and latest performance report against the goals (if applicable);
  5. the Data Package;
  6. Preliminary Review timetable; and
  7. contact details for Review Secretariat.

(18) The Executive Dean or Head of Unit shall complete the Self-Assessment Report template:

  1. with reference to the data package; and
  2. after consultation with unit/faculty members and key committees and with any external input considered appropriate; and
  3. submit it to the Review Secretary within three working weeks of notification under clause 17.
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Section 9 - Initiation of Review Committee Process

(19) The Chair shall formally initiate the Review Committee process by forwarding Committee members a review package consisting of:

  1. the Preliminary Review timetable;
  2. the Summary of Reasons for initiation of the review;
  3. the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy and Procedures;
  4. the UOW Strategic Plan  and latest performance report against the goals (if applicable);
  5. the relevant Faculty Plan; and
  6. the Data Package.

(20) The Chair shall invite feedback from members on the terms of reference, timetable/interview schedule and review material package and finalise them in consultation with members.

(21) The Chair shall forward copies of review terms of reference, committee composition and deadlines to relevant stakeholders, including:

  1. members of the participating Unit and Faculty (including student representatives)
  2. other faculties and professional units
  3. community partners
  4. and invite individual/group submissions and requests for interview.

(22) On receipt of the Self-Assessment Report, as required under section 8 above, the Review Secretary shall:

  1. reserve interview times with the Executive Dean and/or Head of Unit;
  2. after consultation with the Chair and Committee members, confirm other interview times and advise interviewees; and
  3. confirm the review timetable and interview schedule in advice to the faculty/unit and committee.
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Section 10 - Review Committee Meetings

(23) The Review Secretary shall forward the completed Self-Assessment Report to committee members for consideration at least seven working days before the first meeting.

(24) The Review Committee shall meet no later than 40 working days after initiation of review and normally over a three -day period.

(25) The Committee shall:

  1. address the reasons for initiating the review;
  2. consider the Self-Assessment Report and supporting data;
  3. conduct interviews as appropriate;
  4. follow-up issues as required via, e.g., additional data and interviews; and
  5. draft and finalise review report, including recommendations.
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Section 11 - Review Reporting and Outcomes - Faculty -Administered Reviews

(26) The Chair, with input from the Committee, shall prepare the review report on the attached Review Report Template (Attachment 1), adapted if required for the particular focus of the review.

(27) The Chair shall submit the final draft of the review report to the Executive Dean for comment.

(28) The Chair shall finalise recommendations in light of comment and with reference to Review Committee, as required, and forward the review outcomes to the Head of Unit for preparation of a response and an action plan in consultation with unit members.

(29) The Head of Unit shall submit the response and action plan to the Executive Dean for endorsement in consultation with Faculty Executive Committee.

(30) The Executive Dean shall advise:

  1. the Review Committee members of the outcomes of the approval process;
  2. participants (from outside faculty or unit) of public outcomes where confidential issues are not involved.

(31) The Executive Dean shall report the review outcomes to the Faculty Executive Committee at its next meeting.

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Section 12 - Review Reporting and Outcomes - Centrally-Administered Reviews

(32) The Chair, with input from the Committee, shall prepare the review report on the Review Report Template (Attachment 1), adapted if required for the particular focus of the review.

(33) The Chair shall forward the review report to the Vice-Chancellor and President, for consideration and determination of the content for public release (in some cases, sections may need to be withheld on privacy or confidentiality grounds).

(34) The Vice-Chancellor and President shall refer the review outcomes, as appropriate, to the faculty/unit for a response.

(35) For an academic unit review, the Head of Unit shall develop the response and action plan, in consultation with unit members and the Executive Dean, for submission to the Vice-Chancellor and President within two working weeks of receipt.

(36) For a faculty review, the Executive Dean shall prepare the response and action plan, in consultation with the Faculty Executive Committee and other faculty members/groups as appropriate, for submission to the Vice-Chancellor and President within two weeks of receipt.

(37) After considering the review report and the response, the Vice-Chancellor and President shall prepare a commentary, where necessary, and forward it to the Executive Dean and Head of Unit.

(38) The Vice-Chancellor and President shall refer the report on the review outcomes as appropriate, the commentary and the response from unit/faculty to the Academic Senate and University Council for noting and approval, as appropriate, of recommendations and action plan.

(39) The Executive Dean shall report the review outcomes, approved recommendations and response strategies to members of faculty/unit and to the Faculty Executive Committee for noting.

(40) The Chair shall advise:

  1. the Review Committee members of the outcomes of the approval process;
  2. participants (from outside faculty or unit) of public outcomes where confidential issues are not involved.
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Section 13 - Implementation of Approved Recommendations

(41) The faculty or unit shall implement the approved review recommendations in accordance with the endorsed action plan.

(42) For faculty-administered reviews, the Executive Dean and Faculty Executive Committee shall monitor the implementation of approved recommendations and submit an implementation report to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Assurance) as part of annual Faculty Plan and Review Report until outstanding action is completed.

(43) For centrally-administered reviews:

  1. the Vice-Chancellor and President shall monitor the implementation of recommendations;
  2. an implementation report shall  be submitted to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Assurance) as part of the annual Faculty Plan and Review Report until outstanding action is completed.
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Section 14 - Triennial Review and Reporting

(44) The Executive Dean, in consultation with the faculty, shall prepare a triennial review of performance against the University Goals and aligned Faculty Planning strategies, and submit it to the Faculty Executive Committee and to the Chief Strategy Officer for advice and feedback, as necessary.

(45) The triennial report shall be based on a Self-Assessment template as provided by the Strategy Division and make reference to relevant performance and outcomes data.

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Section 15 - Roles and Responsibilities

(46) Roles and responsibilities are as detailed under the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy.

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Section 16 - Definitions

(47) Definitions in this procedure are the same as those in the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy.

(48) In this Procedure, ‘Policy’ refers to Quality Assurance and Enhancement Policy unless otherwise indicated.

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Section 17 - Attachment 1: Review Report Template

(49) Faculty and Academic Unit Review Report Template