Global Leadership Institute (GLI) academic staff are to be qualified, in a relevant field, to at least one Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) qualification level higher than the unit being taught (AQF+1) or are to demonstrate equivalent professional experience. This policy outlines the minimum requirements considered by GLI when determining whether an academic staff member has the appropriate level of academic, professional, or practice-based experience and expertise to be deemed equivalent to one qualification standard level above the course of study.

·      Unit Coordinators will always be AQF+1 to the unit they coordinate;

·      academic staff will demonstrate continuing scholarship that informs their teaching;

·      academic staff will normally have a qualification at least one Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) qualification level higher than the course being taught;

·      academic staff may be appointed to teach, even though they do not hold qualifications at least one AQF level higher than the unit being taught, providing they can demonstrate a satisfactory combination of academic knowledge and current professional experience relevant to the unit being taught;

·      Program Directors are responsible for assessing and approving academic staff qualifications and their equivalent professional experience based on demonstrable expertise;

·      in assessing professional equivalence to teach in a course, the following should be considered: (a) teaching experience, scholarship activity and range of professional experience; (b) minimum requirement for academic qualifications; and (c) any specific criteria for assessing equivalence at each AQF level.

·      the Institute will ensure fair and transparent processes and decisions will be communicated in writing to the applicant in a timely manner;

·      where academic staff are approved for professional equivalence, the relevant Program Director will appoint a supervisor to oversee the teaching and moderation of a sample of graded assessments to ensure teaching and assessment practices are at the expected academic standard;

·      the Unit Coordinator and Program Director will be available to provide advice and feedback during delivery of the unit.

·      a combination of professional development and academic oversight of teaching will ensure that the professional equivalence lecturer successfully transitions to their academic role;

·      in the case of nested qualifications, academic staff are expected to hold a qualification one AQF level above the highest qualification in the nested suite.

All academic staff

The following table will be adhered to for academic equivalence. Annual auditing will be undertaken to capture currency and equivalence of all academic staff qualifications. The professional experience will be at least three years’ duration and will include evidence within the last five years.

In determining experience relative to qualifications, regard is had to:

·      previous teaching experience in the field of expertise at a recognised Australian higher education institute or international higher education institute of equivalent standard;

GLI will maintain suitable records that include details of how each individual staff member meets ‘equivalence’ and satisfied the minimum requirements set out by these procedures; and will be maintained.

Staff seeking equivalence must complete the application form. Completed applications are to be submitted to the relevant Program Director/ Academic Dean. The Academic Dean will review the application and either ‘recommend’ or ‘not recommend’ the application and forward it onto Academic Board.  The committee will review on timely basis and consider applications. The application and accompanying documentation will be forwarded to the Human Resources Manager and retained on staff files. Equivalence, where approved, will be electronically recorded for regulatory, reporting and work planning purposes.

The appointed supervisor will oversee one semester of teaching and assessment grading to ensure teaching and assessment practices are at the expected academic standard. The supervisor will also conduct a peer review of teaching at least once during that semester. In the case where academic staff approved through professional equivalence are engaged on a continuing basis to teach specialised components of a unit, they will remain under the supervised by staff who do meet the requirements (see Standard 3.2.4). Reports on academic staff employed based on professional equivalence will be tabled to the Academic Board for review.