Topic outline
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Benchmarking
Benchmarking at the University of South Australia occurs in the context of course evaluation.
The requirements for, and reporting of, course evaluations are administered through the Evaluation and Reaccreditation Review (ERR) report. This requires considered comparisons of key aspects of course performance to inform improvement strategies or affirm excellence.
The process of benchmarking at UniSA involves:
- identifying areas for improvement
- choosing benchmark indicators (quantitative measures of achievement)
- and collecting information to enable comparisons (in order to improve performance).
Comparisons are made against:
- individual benchmarking partners or benchmarking groups
- other courses within the university
- sets of accepted standards (sector, professional, industry), which may or may not result in certification/accreditation,
- and data on past performance.
An evaluation report for our courses has been made available in the form of IMSO IGSO ERR report and ICBR ERR report as evidence for Criterion 1.7.
Demonstration of Best Practice teaching and learning approaches.
One of the key elements of the University's Teaching and Learning framework is a commitment to student engagement through experiential learning.
The UniSA framework emphasises:
- Student engagement through experiential learning (including practice-based learning, service learning and the teaching-research nexus)
- Graduate qualities (discipline knowledge, skills, and personal attributes)
- Flexible learning environments (formal and informal; face-to-face, online and print)
The three main mechanisms for student engagement at UniSA are:
- Teaching-research nexus - the linking of teaching and research in our programs and courses.
- Practice-based learning - authentic and active learning in workplaces and in the classroom
- Service learning - students use their developing professional knowledge in practical settings.
In addition, there are the staff development resources discussed in Criteria 4.6 and 4.7.
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