• Section 1 - Purpose
• Section 2 - Scope
• Section 3 - Policy
• Section 4 - Procedure
• Course proposals
• Agreements
• Course development, revision, suspension and closure
• Higher degree by research courses
• Management of quality assurance
• Testamurs, transcripts and AHEGS
• Section 5 - Roles and Responsibilities
• Section 6 -  Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This Procedure sets out the University's procedures for the development and management of:

1. joint and dual award courses; and
2. the issuance of testamurs and graduate statements for joint and dual awards.

Section 2 - Scope

(2) This Procedure has the same scope as the Joint and Dual Award Courses Policy.

Section 3 - Policy

(3) This Procedure supports the Joint and Dual Award Courses Policy.

Section 4 - Procedure

Course proposals

(4) Joint and dual award courses course proposals are developed and approved in accordance with the University of Canberra Courses and Awards (Courses of Study) Rules 2023, and the Course Procedure - Courses and Course Components (Development, Revision, Suspension and Closure).

Agreements

(5) Agreements with third party providers are developed in collaboration with the Legal Office and approved as specified in the Course Delivery by Third Party Providers Policy and the Course Delivery by Third Party Providers Procedure.

(6) Agreements for joint or dual award courses must include, without limitation:

1. the responsibilities of each institution
2. which institution is nominated as the host (the host institution is normally the institution responsible for delivery of the highest proportion of the course)
3. which institution will be responsible for development and delivery of each respective course component
4. minimum proportional requirements for the course at each institution
5. a quality assurance schedule to protect the standards of each partner institution and to explicitly state their responsibilities and obligations
6. responsibilities for collecting fees, student support, examinations (where applicable), disbursement and reporting
7. requirements for issuance of joint awards (in some countries, the issuing of joint award is illegal), and
8. further items noted under the ‘Higher degree by research courses’ heading in this Procedure, for a joint or dual HDR award course.

(7) Each institution considers proposals for joint courses through their own accreditation processes.

Course development, revision, suspension and closure

(8) The process for developing, revising, suspending and closing a joint and dual award courses is specified in the University of Canberra Courses and Awards (Courses of Study) Rules 2023, Course Policy and Course Procedure - Courses and Course Components (Development, Revision, Suspension and Closure).

(9) Each joint and dual award course must have its own Course Assurance Pack and Course Assurance Summary. Requirements include:

1. the primary location of study and modes of study available for all elements of the course, including whether delivered on campus, online or through other flexible methods;
2. details of arrangements that allow students to geographically move between the institutions; and
3. details about which institution will manage which component of the course.

(10) Components of a joint and dual award course delivered by different partner institutions should be able to be undertaken concurrently or sequentially as determined by the academic requirements of the course.

(11) There must be provision for students to transfer from a joint award course and apply for admission to a non-joint course at any of the participating institutions. 

(12) Joint award coursework courses should not be offered where the University already offers such degrees. Instead, alternative approaches should be considered, such as:

1. a joint course leading only to a University of Canberra (University) or University of Canberra College (UCC) award;
2. an alternative course which could be produced collaboratively; or
3. through articulation arrangements allowing students to move from one institution to the other.

Higher degree by research courses

(13) For joint and dual Higher Degree by Research (HDR) courses (AQF level 9, Masters by Research and level 10, PhD) the agreement must include details of the arrangements agreed between the parties as to the acceptable codes of supervision practice.

(14) Each collaborative HDR course established under the terms of an agreement must be subject to the conditions of a separate individual student agreement between the institutions concerned.

(15) HDR students must be enrolled at both institutions for the entire period of the award.

(16) Joint HDR courses must individually provide HDR students with how much time is to be spent at each institution during the course of their study.

(17) Specific supervisory arrangements, including the proportion of time each supervisor will spend with a student, should be specified in the HDR student’s individual agreement with each provider.

(18) For HDR joint and dual courses, the collaborative partners must agree on what training will be provided to students by each institution. Training costs are to be met by the institution as detailed in the individual student agreement.

(19) The individual student agreement should specify which institution will provide the student’s Research Training Program (RTP) or International Postgraduate Research Scholarship funding, should the student be eligible. In most cases, the host institution will fund the entire payment for the student.

(20) The University and other provider(s) must determine and report annually on successful completions from a joint or dual HDR course and in accordance with the Higher Education Student Data Collection (HESDC) to the Commonwealth Department of Education.

Management of quality assurance

(21) Joint and dual award courses must be developed and quality assured in accordance with the Course Policy and associated procedures.

(22) Each institution in the joint or dual award course arrangement must ensure that they:

1. conduct due diligence when establishing and monitoring partner arrangements;
2. promote and maintain academic integrity across institutions in accordance with their relevant policies and procedures; these include the University’s Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure and Research Conduct and Governance Policy;
3. oversee and monitor student progress and students using their specified policies and procedures, of which the University of Canberra’s are the:
   1. University of Canberra (Academic Progress) Rules 2022;
   2. Academic Progress Policy and  Academic Progress (Coursework Units) Procedure; and
   3. where relevant the Bachelor Honours Degree Thesis Procedure, Higher Degree by Research Progress and Milestones Policy and Higher Degree by Research Progress and Milestones Procedure;
4. provide accurate and sufficient information about joint and dual course arrangements;
5. resolve any conflicts between their academic policies or cultural norms that may affect the progress of students or the quality of learning and assessment;
6. avoid inappropriate and excessive granting of credit between mutually interdependent courses of study;
7. prevent premature commencement of a higher level course of study without sufficient academic or other preparation arising from a lower level of prerequisite study;
8. prevent unmanageable student workloads and/or insufficient opportunities for engagement;
9. prevent logistical issues for students;
10. prevent unintended adverse consequences for Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) registration and/or international students; and
11. maintain records to confirm that a student is enrolled in a joint or dual award course and the nature of the relationship between the participating institutions.

(23) The host institution’s rules, statutes, policies and procedures governing academic matters (apart from matters that relate to individual subjects only) will apply.

(24) Student or staff conduct issues (unless otherwise stated in the agreement) are handled under the host institution’s policies. The University’s Rules, policies and procedures are the:

1. Academic Integrity Policy and Academic Integrity Procedure;
2. Student Grievance Resolution Policy;
3. University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023;
4. University of Canberra Enterprise Agreement; and
5. Research Conduct and Governance Policy.

(25) Dispute resolution processes must be identified in the agreement  and follow existing processes set out in templates approved by the Legal Office wherever possible.

(26) Government requirements relating to international students and institutional responsibilities are applicable if the joint or dual award course is offered to international students, whether studying in Australia or at an international institution. These requirements are outlined in the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018.

Testamurs, transcripts and AHEGS

(27) The host institution is responsible for producing testamurs and arranging conferral.

(28) The University has standard templates that must be used for joint and dual award testamurs and transcripts, unless otherwise specified in the agreement  for the joint award course.

(29) Testamurs for dual award courses and collaborative testamurs are issued in accordance with the Academic Certification Policy and Academic Certification Procedure. The collaboration with other institutions in the teaching of an award course is acknowledged at the foot of the testamur in the following manner:

(30) Reference to the education institutions logos and/or full names and signatures of competent authorities are limited to the awarding institutions/authorities that award the joint degree.

(31) The testamur must include all the elements in the University of Canberra (Conferring of Awards) Rules 2022, including without limitation, the qualification’s full name(s) as recognised in all the relevant legal frameworks. Refer to the University’s Academic Certification Policy and Academic Certification Procedure for more information.

(32) An academic transcript will be provided by each of the accrediting institutions which details the units and credit points or equivalent the student has undertaken in their institution.

(33) Academic transcripts from each participating institution should contain the comparable information in the applicable format. Transcripts can refer to the host institution.

(34) The Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS) is issued in accordance with the Academic Certification Policy and Academic Certification Procedure.

Section 5 - Roles and Responsibilities

Section 6 -  Definitions