• Section 1 - Establishment
• Section 2 - Functions and Responsibilities
• Section 3 - Membership
• Section 4 - Chair
• Section 5 - Secretary
• Section 6 - Terms of Office
• Section 7 - Quorum
• Section 8 - Meetings
• Section 9 - Agenda
• Section 10 - Minutes
• Section 11 - Reporting
• Section 12 - Conflicts of Interest
• Section 13 - Non-compliance

Section 1 - Establishment

(1) The Higher Education Course Advisory Groups are established under the Academic Board Terms of Reference.

Section 2 - Functions and Responsibilities

(2) Higher Education Course Advisory Group (CAG) is an entity formed to oversee and advise on the quality of a group of cognate courses. In some cases, a single Course Advisory Group may encompass other aligned (but not nested) courses where it is practical and academically reasonable to do so.

(3) The Course Advisory Group is usually established by a College Dean. A College may have more than one (1) Course Advisory Group.

(4) The Course Advisory Group is charged with engaging representatives of major stakeholders (for example, students, graduates, staff, the disciplines, employers, industry, relevant professional bodies and the wider community) in developing, proposing, reviewing and improving the course/s. In so doing, it will maintain and advance the University’s academic standards and have regard for the interests of the students, the discipline/s, the associated industries and professions, and relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.

(5) The Course Advisory Group will provide advice on:

1. the need and demand for the course in the context of professional strategic directions and workforce needs;
2. the course learning outcomes, and incorporation of the University’s Graduate Attributes;
3. professional attributes, as designated by an external professional body as part of accreditation;
4. the course structure;
5. the desired and appropriate teaching and learning methods, modes of course provision and assessment strategies; and
6. appropriate articulation and partnering arrangements.

(6) The Course Advisory Group will receive relevant information and evaluate course performance on an annual basis against a set of performance indicators, which may include:

1. load, number and characteristics of students entering the course;
2. retention, progression and completion rates of the student population in the course;
3. aggregated students’ evaluation for course units and the course/s as a whole;
4. student satisfaction generally;
5. gradate satisfaction and employer satisfaction with the quality of the graduates; and
6. any other information as it deems pertinent.

(7) The Course Advisory Group will contribute to the development of submissions for the academic and (where applicable) professional re‐accreditation of the course.

(8) The Course Advisory Group will regularly conduct external referencing (benchmarking) of the success of CDU student cohorts against comparable courses of study at other institutions, by:

1. analysing progression rates, attrition rates, completion times and rates and, where applicable, comparing different methods and locations of delivery;
2. comparing assessment methods and grading of students’ achievement of learning outcomes for selected units of study within courses of study.

Section 3 - Membership

(9) The Course Advisory Group should be composed of approximately ten (10) members, drawn from a range of stakeholder groups, who can contribute to the development and enhancement of the course. The majority of Members should be persons other than staff of the University. A typical membership would include representatives from the following categories:

1. The College Dean is responsible for the course/s ex officio (Chair);
2. Course coordinator/s of the relevant course/s ex officio;
3. External stakeholders, such as employers of graduates from the course or relevant professional bodies*;
4. Academic/s of appropriate seniority from other tertiary institution/s*;
5. Enrolled student/s from the course/s*;
6. Graduate/s of the course/s*;
7. VET staff representative/s from a cognate training package**;
8. Higher Education or VET Product Specialists from Education Strategy**; and
9. Library**

Section 4 - Chair

(10) The Chair of the Course Advisory Group will be the College Dean or their nominee as applicable.

Section 5 - Secretary

(11) The Secretariat and Administrative support will be provided by the College.

Section 6 - Terms of Office

(12) Memberships marked with an asterisk (*) will be appointed for a term of two (2) years. This may be renewed up to two (2) times at the discretion of the Course Advisory Group Chair.

(13) Memberships marked with two (2) asterisks (**) are appointed by the contributing College for terms at their discretion and are contributing Observers but have no voting authority.

Section 7 - Quorum

(14) At a meeting of the Course Advisory Group, a quorum is constituted as 50% plus one (1), voting members of the Group.

Section 8 - Meetings

(15) For courses under development or subject to re‐accreditation, the Course Advisory Group will meet regularly and as required.

(16) For established courses the Course Advisory Group will meet at least once a year and more often as required, to undertake an annual review of the program and report to the appropriate College Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee on the performance of the course in the previous twelve (12) month period.

Section 9 - Agenda

(17) The agenda is to be distributed with supporting documentation normally at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting date.

Section 10 - Minutes

(18) Meeting minutes will be taken and distributed within two weeks of the meeting.

Section 11 - Reporting

(19) This Committee must provide a report in a timely manner to the next meeting of the College Learning and Teaching Committee.

(20) The Course Advisory Group is advisory only. However, it may make recommendations to the College or other parts of the University for their consideration.

(21) Recommendations should normally be established by consensus. Where necessary, contrary views may be noted in the Minutes.

Section 12 - Conflicts of Interest

(22) Where a member has an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest regarding an agenda item, they must declare this to the Chair at the commencement of discussion of the item, and be prepared to excuse themselves from the discussion, or the room, if required, as per the terms of the Conflicts of Interest Policy.

Section 13 - Non-compliance

(23) Non-compliance with Governance Documents is considered a breach of the Code of Conduct – Staff or the Code of Conduct – Students, as applicable, and is treated seriously by the University. Reports of concerns about non-compliance will be managed in accordance with the applicable disciplinary procedures outlined in the Charles Darwin University and Union Enterprise Agreement 2022 and the Code of Conduct – Students.

(24) Complaints may be raised in accordance with the Code of Conduct – Staff and Code of Conduct - Students.

(25) All staff members have an individual responsibility to raise any suspicion, allegation or report of fraud or corruption in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Control Policy and Whistleblower Reporting (Improper Conduct) Procedure.