Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement
Background to the project
On 10 January 2007, the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, announced that a consortium of universities had been commissioned to develop a single agreed template for an Australian Diploma Supplement. The successful consortium represented 14 universities led by the University of New England, the University of Melbourne, and the Australian National University. The project was jointly lead by Professor Richard James, Director of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Melbourne and Professor Lynn Meek (previously of the University of New England's Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy [CHEMP]) and now Director of LH Martin Institute, University of Melbourne.
Final Report (embargoed to 21 May 2008)
Proposal for an Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement, Final Report to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Development of a National Diploma Supplement Project, 02 May 2008 - The key recommendation from the Project is for the introduction of an Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement that will take the form of documentation provided to graduates by awarding institutions in addition to the degree or diploma certificate or testamur. Its purpose will be to make qualifications more portable and their value more transparent by providing descriptions of the nature, level, context and status of the studies that were pursued and completed by graduates, as well as information about the education system to which the qualification belongs.
Model for an Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement - Chapter Two of the Final Report is presented here as a separate document to facilitate circulation of the proposed model.
Commissioned Studies - The project commissionied 6 special projects in order to inform the development of the model, the reports for which are included in this download. These were:
1. The Diploma Supplement: An Analysis of the Current European Situation by Leo Goedegebuure and Peter Corrigan
2. Recommendations of the UK 'Burgess Group' by Grant Harman
3. Survey of Documentation Provided to Graduates and European Comparisons by Grant Harman, Jeannet van der Lee, Lynn Meek and Leo Goedegebuure
4. Diploma Supplement Pilot Projects 2002-2005 by Kerri-Lee Harris
5. The National Diploma Supplement and E-portfolios by Claire Brooks and Richard James
6. Preliminary Consultations with Employers, Recruiting Agencies and Professional Associations by Grant Harman