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Australian and New Zealand university sector regulatory requirements

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Australian and New Zealand university sector regulatory requirements

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  1. Emerging policy management models in Australian and New Zealand universitiesAmerican Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Annual Meeting April 14-17, 2013MosconeCenter West, San Francisco, CA, USBrigid FreemanCentre for the Study of Higher EducationUniversity of Melbournebrigid.freeman@unimelb.edu.au

  2. Australian and New Zealand university sector regulatory requirements • University meta-policy (policy on policy) (Dror, 1971) • Strategic policy management • Policy cycle (models) • Policy evaluation and review • Policy overload • Online policy repositories • Networks and consultation • Building policy capacity

  3. Why important, now? The agenda has fundamentally shifted from policy development… to strategic policy management.

  4. Australia: 40 universities (including 3 private universities) 2 international universities, other self-accrediting tertiary education providers and state/territory accredited providers (TAFEs and private providers). New Zealand: 8 universities, 18 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) and 3 Māori wānanga.

  5. New regulatory requirements for evidencing policy implementation, policy improvement over time and policy compliance are game changers for university policy management.

  6. In Australia, the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) requires ‘evidence of (policy) implementation; evidence of (a) review schedule; evidence of approval processes …; evidence of development and improvement over time’ and ‘evidence of active benchmarking (and) formalised benchmarking relationships’ (Fitzgibbon & Treloar, 2013, n.p.).

  7. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) Tertiary Evaluation Indicators explicitly require that tertiary education organisations ensure that ‘policies and practices are legal and ethical’ (NZQA, 2010, pp. 24-25).

  8. Familiar territory

  9. New challenges

  10. Comprehensive university meta-policy- policy on policy - defines university policy, establishes the range of instruments, specifies approval authorities, articulates policy cycle stages and defines the application of policy instruments.

  11. University meta-policy may also identify key policy categories as organising constructs for governance, academic and administrative policy published in policy repositories.

  12. Policy is ‘a formal statement which gives effect to relevant University principles, values, procedures, requirements and strategic goals and improves the University’s risk management’ (Swinburne University of Technology Policy Framework, 2009, p. 2).

  13. Policy is ‘a concise formal statement that outlines non-discretionary governing principles and intentions, in order to guide University practice. … a formal statement of intent that mandate principles or standards that apply to the University’s governance or operations or to the practice and conduct of its staff and students’ (Charles Darwin University, 2012, Governance web-page, n.p.).

  14. The place of local policy is vexed.

  15. ‘Faculty and other (Central Services Unit) documents are meant to add specificity to university-wide policy documents or address issues that only concern the faculty or CSU. They must not contradict or conflict with university-wide policy documents’ (Victoria University of Wellington Policy Documentation Development Information, 2007, p. 2).

  16. The fundamental question for local policy relates to the alignment between university policy and local policy, rather than the existence of, or semantics regarding the nomenclature of, the latter.

  17. Strategic policy management = implementation of comprehensive university meta-policy.

  18. University meta-policy contains numerous provisions regarding policy development and publication in online policy repositories, and supporting procedures and templates contain prescriptions regarding presentation in terms of consistent formatting and plain English requirements. However, policy management involves considerably more than policy development, publication and effective record keeping.

  19. Policy management functions: • providing strategic oversight of the implementation of (the meta-policy) • co-ordinating the development, approval, promulgation and review of policy … • developing and delivering policy development, evaluation and review resources and support

  20. Policy management functions cont …: • maintaining the … Policy Library • facilitating consultation and communication to support policy development, review and implementation • developing policy implementation monitoring and evaluation tools • managing and facilitating the Policy Review Schedule (University of Melbourne Policy on Policy, 2012).

  21. Policy process is represented by the university policy development and review cycle (the policy cycle).

  22. Basic policy cycle

  23. A mature policy cycle: ‘identification and confirmation of policy requirement, preliminary consultations, drafting, benchmarking, consultation, revision, compliance with the (meta-policy …), endorsement, approval, communication and publication in … (the) Policy Library, implementation, implementation and compliance monitoring, implementation evaluation, (and) triennial review’ (University of Melbourne Policy on Policy, 2012, p. 6).

  24. The ticking time bomb … Large volumes of university policy are overdue for review

  25. Policy evaluation is like the policy ‘black box’.

  26. Generic policy review resourceshave been developed.

  27. Policy review resourcesClauses for university meta-policyReview questionsInclusions for a policy approval form Feedback form Issues log Review schedule Draft policy consultation notice board Policy benchmarking URLs

  28. Policy review approaches:when you simply reformat the policy statement (that’s reformatting)when you just make it shorter (that’s rephrasing)when you just make it longer without adding substance (that's probably stupid)when you don’t ask anyone if the policy works, or reflects current practice(s) (that’s not evaluating policy implementation)xx

  29. Policy review approaches cont …:when you don’t ask anyone how it could be better (that’s a missed opportunity)when you ‘review’ it sitting at your desk one afternoon in between other tasks (that’s just not right, is it?)when you don’t take any notice of feedback since the policy was implemented (that’s definitely stupid)

  30. Policy review considerations:- consultation with stakeholders, including students and student advocates- policy content- how being applied/implemented- issues regarding compliance- resource management issues- impact- responsibilities for monitoring- data / evaluation metrics

  31. The large volume of policy texts suggest many policy practitioners are suffering from policy overload.

  32. Policy repositories are not the be all and end all. The policies themselves are the main game.

  33. Good practice policy repository features include: • a high level of search functionality (topic or category, title, instrument type, audience, alphabetical list) • consideration of the file format for accessibility purposes (html, pdf, txt or other)

  34. Good practice policy repository features include cont …: • inclusion of an interface between the repository and the individual texts (title, summary, owner, approval authority, related texts) • access to former versions.

  35. Consultation and communication are deal breakers for effective policy implementation.

  36. The Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM), the Institutional Policy Network, ATEM forums and policy groups, and individual universities are building policy capacity. Networking and policy borrowing will continue to be vitally important for policy practitioners.

  37. Source of images in presentation Confused - http://accessibiliteweb.com/presentations/2011/csun/a11y-lifecycle/ui/suck.jpgScream - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/The_Scream.jpgBomb - http://blog.castsoftware.com/crash-report-exposes-millions-in-technical-debt/Black box - http://www.rainiercrossfit.com/.a/6a00d8341d2d0353ef017d410fdae8970c-300wiOverload - http://www.nikdaum.com/news/2009/06/weird-shanghai-styrofoam.htmlChirpy - http://www.thumbtackpress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Failure-To-Communicate-by-Colin-Johnson.jpegCommunication - http://stuartjallen.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/effective-communication/AcknowledgementParticipation in this conference has been supported by an AACRAO and Association of Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) scholarship, and University of Melbourne MGSE scholarship

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