En Route to an

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En Route to an Australian Diploma
Supplement Lois Sparkes
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The Australian Diploma Supplement A journey.
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A journey that began with questions
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What is the Diploma Supplement?

• an attachment to an academic or vocational award
• understandable outside the home education system
• enhances understanding of the award
• issued to all students or on request

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What does a Diploma Supplement Describe?

• the award, its level, duration, mode of study
  subjects completed
• the standing of the qualification in employment
  or professional terms
• the status of the award and the awarding
  institution
• the national education system at the time of the
  award

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Does Australia need a Diploma Supplement?

• The Pilot Project
• 2002 undertaken by a small sample of Australian
  higher education institutions
• The Consultancy
• 2005 building on the outcomes of the pilot
  project, a consultancy study was commissioned to
  identify good practice in developing and
  implementing the Diploma Supplement in Australia

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Outcomes of the pilot projects

• The projects identified awareness and interest
  and a number of issues for further consideration
• possible overlap with testamurs and transcripts
• processes and costs of developing software
• privacy considerations
• achieving reasonable costs-per-graduate of
  issuing a Supplement

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DESTs Consultation Process

• To identify if/where Government leadership
• could help the sector to navigate these issues
• April 2006 Discussion Paper
• The Bologna Process and Australia Next Steps
• July August 2006
• National Round Table consultations
• September 2006
• The Bologna Process National Seminar

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The Consultation Outcomes

• Indicated considerable support
• could enhance mobility and maintain flexibility
  and diversity
• could be expected to deliver benefits for both
  domestic and international students
• a means of maintaining both autonomy and
  diversity within Australia and the region

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Suggestions included

• undertaking analysis of costs of introduction and
  in particular the software requirements
• investigating issues relating to data integrity
• developing a consistent national template
• incorporating a statement about quality and
  accreditation.

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And took us via the road to Brisbane

• in April 2006
• where 27 Ministers and senior officials
  representing Education and Training portfolios
  from across the region met

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And around the streets of Canberra

• to the Bologna Process National Seminar in
  September 2006
• where the Diploma Supplement was specifically
  discussedand

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Onto The Super Highway to Lisbon
With the Ministerial announcement of 400,000 to
fund a Diploma Supplement Development Project
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With the Diploma Supplement Consortium
Project

• A consortium of universities was selected to
• develop an agreed template for an Australian
  Diploma Supplement
• to make recommendations on detailed
  implementation and management strategies

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And the Consortium is

• A consortium of 14 Australian universities led
  by
• The University of New England
• The University of Melbourne
• The Australian National University
• Consulting with
• an international reference group of experts

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The project time frame

• Interim report due 6 August 2007
• Final report due
• 2 November 2007

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Destination Australiano Bolognese