ADTL (Governance) Report
Associate Professor Tristan S. Taylor
Load, Census and Atrium
Trimester 3 load across the faculty is up on last year, though down on budget – Education is at 468 EFTSL (+49 EFTSL on 2024) and HASS is 494 EFTSL (-17 on last year). The good news is T3 commencing EFTSL is up on 2024 in both Schools(263 commencing EFTSL in HASS up on 235 in 2024; Education 206 up on 178), in HASS for the first time on record commencing load in T3 is in fact greater than continuing load – a curious pattern replicated in many Schools. With load down a bit on budget, it is important to engage with Atrium as much as possible to try to improve retention and student success, in particular in the lead up to census, which for T3 this year is Monday, 17 November.
Upcoming Learning and Teaching Communities of Practice
As has been the pattern throughout the year, there will be a series of Communities of Practice running this trimester, with links to the relevant Teams. Note the first one is this Friday, 7 November.
o When: Friday, 7th November, 10:00 (Week 3)
o Let’s talk: Preparing students for using AI – how can we best equip our students for assessments where AI is permitted? How can we ensure students are on a level playing field?
Student Retention & Engagement (SRE) CoP
o When: Friday, 14th November, 10:00 (Week 4)
o Let’s talk: Prof Jennifer Chateris and Julie-Ann Barker (both from Education) would like to share a package developed for their Inclusive Pedagogy project. Following that, Tim Bartlett-Taylor introduces a new program to prepare out students before the start of trimester. Please come and join the discussion.
Unit and Course Design (UCD) CoP
o When: Friday, 21st November, 10:00 (Week 5)
o Let’s talk: Tristan will dive into the TEQSA regulatory context behind our new Assessment Architecture and explore innovative assessment approaches.
o When: Friday, 21st November, 09:00 (Week 5)
- Let’s talk:Ideas welcome! At this stage an open forum for you to discuss issues of concern or to get collegial advice.
Assessment Architecture and AI and Assessment Training
Both Schools are progressing well with the implementation of the Assessment Architecture, due for completion by December 22. For those interested in finding out more about the capacities of AI and assessment design, there are modules now available (adopted from the University of Sydney) in the MyLearn AI in Action: Transforming Teaching and Assessment training modules. Again, for those interested in TEQSA’s documentation on Enacting Assessment Reform in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, released in September 2025, it can be found here.
ADTL (Strategy and Quality) Report
Associate Professor Sarah Lawrence
Assessment Design for Assurance
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Drop In session on the 15th of October to share questions and ideas about designing assurance tasks which are compliant with the new assessment architecture and also reflect discipline needs. It was a rich discussion which demonstrated just how much thought academics are putting into this issue. To further support this work, I’ll be organizing a workshop on rubric writing, particularly in terms of writing rubrics for assessment tasks containing both written and oral components. I’ll also be running a session on assessing oral tasks. Both sessions will be as practical and focused as I can make them. Dates TBA.
If there are any other sessions you would like to be provided, please contact me on ADTLSQHASSE@une.edu.au.
Assessment Design for Inclusivity
A reminder as you rethink your assessment in response to the Architecture: small changes and additions can have large benefits for students. Please consider providing a recorded version of your assessment instructions, for example, together with the written information. If you are using images in assessment tasks, include a description of the content, and, where you are using powerpoint slides or word documents, use the tools provided in the software for headings and sections to make these resources as transparent as possible for screen readers. Remember too that students who have SAPs may require a different form of assessment task to the one you are using in your unit overall for assurance: if you would like to speak about the possibilities for alternative assessment, or share ideas, drop me a line.
International Students
I’ve participated in a number of meetings recently focused on attracting international students. One interesting new development under discussion is the offering of a number of courses as online only for international students with a competitive pricing model. We will keep you updated as this progresses, but there are early signs of interest from international students across a range of countries, including countries where tertiary education might be theoretically readily available but has become increasingly expensive.
Oorala Experience Programme
Many thanks to the staff who volunteered to be part of the Oorala Experience programme, which sees Aboriginal school students from across the region spend a week on campus experiencing different disciplines and getting a taste of university life. I strongly encourage you to look out for the invitation to participate in 2026 and to get involved. This is a fantastic initiative, an opportunity to reach kids and educators across the region, and a great way to build your teaching muscles by working with groups of teenagers!
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