Associate Degree Guideline

1.   Purpose
To assist employers, professional associations, curriculum developers, accrediting bodies and the wider public, including students, parents, and education and training bodies, to understand factors determining the level of the qualification.

2.   Context
These Guidelines are intended to support the inclusion in the Australian Qualifications Framework of the new award of Associate Degree, as endorsed by MCEETYA in July 2003.

3.   Learning Outcomes
3.1 Authority
Objectives and academic requirements of courses are set by universities and authorised accreditation authorities having regard for requirements set by peer review and the requirements of relevant professional bodies and employer groups. Universities and authorised accreditation authorities may establish course advisory committees comprising a range of interested parties including practitioners, employers, community representatives and academic staff from a number of institutions to facilitate ongoing review of content and relevance.

3.2 Characteristics
Characteristics of learning outcomes include:

• acquisition of the foundational underpinnings of one or more disciplines, including understanding and interpretation of key concepts and theories and how they are evolving within the relevant scientific, technical, social and cultural contexts;
• development of the academic skills and attributes necessary to access, comprehend and evaluate information from a range of sources;
• development of generic employment-related skills relevant to a range of employment contexts;
• a capacity for self-directed and lifelong learning.

A course leading to the Associate Degree is generally but not exclusively articulated with relevant Bachelor Degree programs. A course leading to an Associate Degree will vary in breadth and depth according to whether it is a single or multi-disciplinary program but will be taken to sufficient depth to provide a basis for full articulation with relevant Bachelor Degree programs.

An Associate Degree qualification provides a broad-based point of entry to employment, in particular in a range of associate professional occupations, and an introduction to the foundations of a discipline or across several disciplines.

4. Responsibility for Assessment
Responsibility for assessment lies with the institution that issues the Associate Degree.

5.   Pathways to, through and from the Qualification
Candidates on entry typically hold the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or its equivalent, including mature age or other special provisions for entry or bridging or foundation programs, or an appropriate vocational education and training qualification including Certificate III or IV. Entry to an Associate Degree would not normally presume significant work experience or employment prior to or concurrent with study.

The Associate Degree is a qualification of two years duration post-year 12. An Associate Degree program may be developed around a single discipline or may be multi-disciplinary in scope, and integrate generic employment-related skills as appropriate to its particular orientation. Specialist vocational preparation to meet the practitioner requirements of the professional associations or industry would be expected to occur through subsequent completion of a professional Bachelor Degree or a vocational Advanced Diploma.

There are a number of different pathways from an Associate Degree into other qualifications.

The primary pathway is through a fully articulated arrangement into a Bachelor Degree program in a directly related area of study, with a maximum of two years advanced standing, with specified credit. There is also scope for an articulated arrangement with a Bachelor Degree in an adjacent or different discipline, with correspondingly less credit where appropriate. An articulated pathway to an Advanced Diploma* is another alternative, subject to requirements for employment or work experience. With additional relevant employment experience to satisfy 'graduate equivalence', an Associate Degree pathway into a Graduate Certificate is a further option.

* For example, a generalist Associate Degree program may be structured to articulate with an Advanced Diploma program delivering specialist industry competencies, to enhance employment opportunities or credit into a specialist Bachelor Degree. The reverse pathway is also encouraged, where a program delivering an Advanced Diploma is articulated with a generalist Associate Degree program to enhance credit into a Bachelor Degree or broaden employment opportunities.

6.   Authority to Issue the Qualification
Universities are empowered by governments to accredit their own courses and issue qualifications. Additionally, States and Territories have established processes to facilitate the accreditation of courses and issuance of qualifications by other recognised higher education providers.

7.   Certification Issued
A qualification is:

formal certification, issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved learning outcomes relevant to identified individual, professional, industry or community needs.

Individuals will be able to obtain a Statement of Attainment where they have partially completed the requirements of the qualification.

The issuing body will be responsible for providing and maintaining records in relation to the above.

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