UOW Policy Documents

Policy Documents at a Glance

Writing & Reviewing Policy

FACULTY AND ACADEMIC UNIT REVIEW PROCEDURES


Date approved:	5 November 2008	Date Procedures will take effect:	1 January 2009	Date of Next Review:	2011
Approved by:	Academic Senate
Custodian title & e-mail address:	Executive Officer, Strategic Planning & Quality Office
Author:	Executive Officer, Strategic Planning & Quality Office
Responsible Faculty/Division & Unit:	Strategic Planning & Quality Office
Supporting documents, procedures & forms of these procedures:	UOW Academic Review Policy Curriculum Review Procedures
References & Legislation:	UOW Strategic Plan 2008-10 UOW Performance Monitoring Framework Risk Management Policy
Audience:	Internet – public access
Expiry Date of Procedures:	Not applicable

1 Introduction / Background 3
2 Scope / Purpose 3
3 Definitions 3
4 Flowchart & Timeframe 3
5 Appointment of Review Secretariat 5
6 Notification 5
7 Appointment of Review Committee 5
8 Data Package 6
9 Self-Assessment Process 6
10 Initiation of Review Committee Process 6
11 Review Committee Meetings 7
12 Review Reporting and Outcomes - Faculty-Administered Reviews 7
13 Review Reporting and Outcomes - Centrally-Administered Reviews 7
14 Implementation of Approved Recommendations 8
15 Triennial Review and Reporting 8
16 Roles and Responsibilities 8
17 Version Control Table 8
Attachment 1: Self Assessment Report Template 10
Attachment 2: Review Report Template 14

1 Introduction / Background

1. These procedures operate under the UOW Academic Review 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 Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic (DVCA).

2 Scope / Purpose

1. These procedures apply to:

A faculty-administered review of an academic unit, under section 7.12 of the Policy

A centrally-administered review of a faculty or an academic unit, under section 7.16 of the Policy

The process for developing triennial faculty performance review reports, under section 7.2 of the Policy.

3 Definitions

1. Definitions in this procedure are the same as those in the UOW Academic Review Policy.
2. In this Procedure, Policy” refers to “UOW Academic Review Policy” unless otherwise indicated.

4 Flowchart & Timeframe

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

the DVCA in the case of a centrally-administered review

the 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 (Cl.5) * Notification (Cl.6) * Appointment of Review Committee (Cl.7)
30 days ▼	* Self Assessment Process (Cl.9) (max 3 weeks preparation) * Reference Package * Self Assessment Template * Initiation of Review Process (Cl.9) * Review Committee Package * Invitations – Submissions and Interviews * Meeting Schedule Finalised * Self assessment Report Received
40 days ▼	* Review Committee meeting (Cl.11) * Self Assessment Report to Committee
50 days ▼	* Review Report and Outcomes Submitted (Cl.12 Faculty, Cl. 13 Central)
*70 days (or by next meeting date)* ▼**	* Outcomes (Centrally Administered Review Only) to University Council and Academic Senate for nothing and approval (Cl13.7). * Approval Recommendations reported to Committee and Participants (Cl.14).
12 months ▼	* Implementation of recommendations – monitor and reported on annual Faculty and Review Report (Cl.14)

* Cumulative from date of initiation of review.

5 Appointment of Review Secretariat

1. For faculty-administered reviews, a faculty staff member shall be appointed by the Dean.
2. For centrally-administered reviews, a staff member shall be appointed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & International).
3. The review secretary shall organise the review process in accordance with these Procedures and in consultation with the Review Committee Chair.
4. 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.

6 Notification

1. For centrally-administered reviews, the Vice-Chancellor shall notify Dean of the initiation and reasons for the review.
2. For faculty-administered reviews, the Dean shall notify the Head of Unit of the initiation and reasons for the review.
3. The Dean or Head of Unit shall inform all faculty or unit members about the review.

7 Appointment of Review Committee

1. For faculty-administered reviews, the Dean shall:

a. consult with the DVCO, in accordance with section 7.13 of the Policy;
b. invite the selected nominees and provide advice on the review terms of reference and proposed timetable; and
c. appoint the Committee members.

2. For centrally-administered reviews, the Vice-Chancellor, in accordance with section 7.17 of the Policy, shall:

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

3. The Committee Chair shall notify the faculty or unit of the Review Committee membership.

8 Data Package

1. The Chair shall request the Planning Services Unit to provide a data package aligned to KPIs listed in self-assessment Template (Attachment 1) within two weeks.

9 Self-Assessment Process

1. A Self-Assessment Report shall be prepared by the faculty or unit, on the approved template (Attachment 1), as a key reference document for the review committee’s evaluations in both faculty- and centrally-administered reviews.
2. The Chair, in consultation with the DVCA, may adapt the Self-Assessment Report template to amend or add specific indicators, as identified for the particular review.
3. The Chair shall formally initiate the self-assessment process by advising the Dean or Head of Unit and forwarding a set of reference materials, including:

a. the self-assessment template (or electronic access details), as adapted if required under clause 9.2 above
b. the composition of the Review Committee
c. the Academic Review Policy and Procedures
d. the UOW Strategic Plan and Performance Monitoring Framework
e. the Data Package
f. Preliminary Review timetable
g. Contact details for Review Secretariat

1. The Dean or Head of Unit shall complete the Self-Assessment Report template:

a. with reference to the data package, and
b. after consultation with unit/faculty members and key committees and with any external input considered appropriate

and submit it to the Review Secretary within three working weeks of notification under clause 9.3 above.

10 Initiation of Review Committee Process

1. The Chair shall formally initiate the Review Committee process by forwarding Committee members a review package consisting of:

a. the Preliminary Review timetable
b. the Summary of Reasons for initiation of the review
c. the Academic Review Policy and Procedures
d. the UOW Strategic Plan and Performance Monitoring Framework
e. the relevant Faculty Plan
f. the Data Package

2. 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.
3. The Chair shall forward copies of review terms of reference, committee composition and deadlines to relevant stakeholders, including:

a. members of the participating Unit and Faculty (including student representatives)
b. other faculties and professional units
c. community partners

and invite individual/group submissions and requests for interview.

4. On receipt of the Self-Assessment Report, as required under clause 9 above, the Review Secretary shall:

a. reserve interview times with the Dean and/or Head
b. after consultation with the Chair and Committee members, confirm other interview times and advise interviewees
c. confirm the review timetable and interview schedule in advice to the faculty/unit and committee

11 Review Committee Meetings

1. The Review Secretary shall forward the completed Self-Assessment Report to committee members for consideration at least seven working days before the first meeting.
2. The Review Committee shall meet no later than 40 working days after initiation of review and normally over a three -day period.
3. The Committee shall:

a. address the reasons for initiating the review
b. consider the Self-Assessment Report and supporting data
c. conduct interviews as appropriate
d. follow-up issues as required via, e.g., additional data and interviews
e. draft and finalise review report, including recommendations

12 Review Reporting and Outcomes - Faculty-Administered Reviews

1. The Chair, with input from the Committee, shall prepare the review report on the attached Review Report Template (Attachment 2), adapted if required for the particular focus of the review.
2. The Chair shall submit the final draft of the review report to the DVCO, DVCA and Vice-Chancellor for comment.
3. 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.
4. The Head of Unit shall submit the response and action plan to the Dean for endorsement in consultation with Faculty Executive Committee.
5. The Dean shall advise:

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

1. The Dean shall report the review outcomes to the Faculty Advisory Committee at its next meeting.

13 Review Reporting and Outcomes - Centrally-Administered Reviews

1. The Chair, with input from the Committee, shall prepare the review report on the Review Report Template (Attachment 2), adapted if required for the particular focus of the review.
2. The Chair shall forward the review report to the Vice-Chancellor, for consideration and determination of the content for public release (in some cases, sections may need to be withheld on privacy or confidentiality grounds).
3. The Vice-Chancellor shall refer the review outcomes, as appropriate, to the faculty/unit for response.
4. For an academic unit review, the Head of Unit shall develop the response and action plan, in consultation with unit members and the Dean, for submission to the Vice-Chancellor within two working weeks of receipt.
5. For a faculty review, the Dean shall prepare the response and action plan, in consultation with Faculty Executive Committee and other faculty members/groups as appropriate, for submission to the Vice-Chancellor within two weeks of receipt.
6. After considering the review report and the response, the Vice-Chancellor shall prepare a commentary, where necessary, and forward it to the Dean and Head of Unit.
7. The Vice-Chancellor 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.
8. The Dean shall report the review outcomes, approved recommendations and response strategies to members of faculty/unit and to the Faculty Advisory Committee for noting.
9. The Chair shall advise:

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

14 Implementation of Approved Recommendations

1. The faculty or unit shall implement the approved review recommendations in accordance with the endorsed action plan.
2. For faculty-administered reviews, the Dean and Faculty Executive Committee shall monitor the implementation of approved recommendations and submit an implementation report to the DVCA as part of annual Faculty Plan and Review Report until outstanding action is completed.
3. For centrally-administered reviews:

a. the DVCO (via regular meetings with Deans) shall monitor the implementation of recommendations
b. an implementation report shall be submitted to the DVCA as part of the annual Faculty Plan and Review Report until outstanding action is completed

15 Triennial Review and Reporting

1. The Dean, in consultation with the faculty, shall prepare a triennial review of performance against the University Goals and aligned Faculty Planning strategies, as required under section 7.2 of the Policy, and submit it to the Faculty Advisory Committee and to the DVCA and DVCO for advice and feedback, as necessary.
2. The triennial report shall be based on the Self-Assessment template attached to these Procedures (Attachment 1) and make reference to relevant performance and outcomes data.

16 Roles and Responsibilities

1. Roles and responsibilities are as detailed under the UOW Academic Review Policy.

17 Version Control Table

Version Control	Date Effective	Approved By	Amendment
1	1 January 2009	Academic Senate	First Version
2	30 April 2009	Senior Manager, Policy and Governance	Migrated to the UOW Procedure Template as per the Policy Directory Refresh

Attachment 1: Self Assessment Report Template

Self-Assessment Report - Template

Introductory Notes:

Under section 7.11 on the UOW Academic Review Policy, a Faculty or Academic Unit Review shall assess performance against the UOW Goal areas, with reference to specific faculty objectives and strategies.

The self assessments under each Goal area should be linked to the UOW Goal KPIs, as adapted for the template, the current Faculty Plan and specific indicators identified for the review.

The Self-Assessment Report should be concise and evaluative with evidence-based conclusions (including ‘good practice’ examples referenced to data).

The Report must be completed and submitted to the Review Secretary within three working weeks of receipt of template.

A Central Data Package will be made available to the faculty/unit and the review committee.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Faculty/Unit profile as aligned with current Faculty Plan:

Strengths:

Key risks:

Opportunities for Improvement:

Future priorities:

Specific Issues Identified For Review

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Faculty/Unit Response:

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REPORT AGAINST GOAL AREAS