Academic standards and professional accreditation

Abstract

In 2011 a working group chaired by Mark Buntine from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) developed an agreed set of Chemistry Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs), partly in response to TEQSA. The development of the Chemistry TLOs was also a recognition amongst academics and chemical educators that we need to focus more of our thinking on what we expect the complete graduate to look like. What skills and understanding do we think it is important for a chemistry graduate from our Australian universities to have? In addition to their use in curriculum renewal within universities, the TLOs have the potential to be used in other ways. On a regular basis, the RACI accredits undergraduate degree programs with a major in chemistry. How can the Chemistry TLOs be used to define standards against which a degree can be measured? Is it possible for the Chemistry TLOs to be used in a formal accreditation process? This presentation will address these questions.