Offshore Teaching and Learning Activities in Modern Standard Chinese Policy

1. Purpose

1.1 The Offshore Teaching and Learning Activities in Modern Standard Chinese Policy (the policy) supplements the Offshore Activities Policy and the Offshore Teaching and Learning Activities Policy by providing specific requirements for offshore courses taught in Modern Standard Chinese.

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to all UTS offshore courses taught in Modern Standard Chinese and any person involved in their delivery or management. 

2.2 References to offshore students in this policy refer specifically to students taught in Modern Standard Chinese.

3. Principles

3.1 Information about courses and educational support must be provided in the language of instruction.

3.2 The principles outlined in the Offshore Activities Policy and the Offshore Teaching and Learning Activities Policy also apply for this policy.

4. Policy statements

Course content and teaching materials

4.1 Offshore courses offered in Modern Standard Chinese must draw on materials written in Modern Standard Chinese.

4.2 Subjects with highly specific Australian content should not be taught in Modern Standard Chinese as there may be the need to use local Australian teaching and supporting materials. In such circumstances, appropriate translation of the teaching and supporting materials should be provided.

4.3 The relevant UTS owner or the international partner is responsible for the translation of course materials as outlined in the partner agreement. Ownership of the translated course materials belongs to UTS unless otherwise outlined in the partner agreement (refer Intellectual Property Policy).

Appointment of translators or interpreters

4.4 UTS International or the international partner (as per the partner agreement) must be assured of the standard of the translators/interpreters. To ensure a high standard of translation and interpretation services, translators/interpreters must be:

1. at least at level 3 on the scale of the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)
2. native speakers of the language, or
3. appointed from a list maintained by UTS International (included in the annual reports of offshore courses and whose standard of services is confirmed satisfactory).

4.5 Translation and interpretation costs must be outlined in the partner agreement.

Teaching qualifications

4.6 Offshore courses taught in Modern Standard Chinese must be taught by staff who are both competent to teach in Modern Standard Chinese and who are qualified to teach the course from a professional and disciplinary perspective. This must be included in the annual report to Academic Board (refer Quality assurance and annual reports).

4.7 Courses may be delivered through a process of interpretation if teaching is not available from staff members who are competent to teach in Modern Standard Chinese. The interpretation may be simultaneous or sequential but, in all cases, must be carried out by qualified interpreters. The annual report to Academic Board (refer Quality assurance and annual reports) should list all interpreters employed and their qualifications (refer Appointment of translators and interpreters).

Learning support

4.8 Appropriate student information must be provided to offshore students in the language of instruction.

4.9 Where relevant, faculties must ensure that relevant parts of the faculty handbook, including study guides and advice on plagiarism, are translated into Modern Standard Chinese and available to students.

4.10 Offshore students must have access to offshore student email where possible and, where this is provided, instructions on the appropriate use of email.

4.11 Access to appropriate teaching and learning resources in Modern Standard Chinese must be provided to offshore students. In addition, relevant UTS rules, policies or equivalent information in Modern Standard Chinese will be made available to offshore students in consultation with the Governance Support Unit.

4.12 The UTS owner must ensure that adequate and appropriate educational and learning resources in Modern Standard Chinese are made available. UTS Library must be consulted on any inter-library arrangements with international partners. Arrangements must be outlined in the partner agreement.

4.13 The UTS owner, in consultation with the international partner, must arrange for the provision of academic language support. This provision must be provided for in the agreement and/or operations manual for the delivery of the relevant course.

Role of the moderator in assessing learning outcomes

4.14 To ensure that the same standards are applied in assessing learning outcomes, a moderator who is an academic and bilingual (English and Modern Standard Chinese) must be appointed.

4.15 The primary role of the moderator is to: 

1. ensure that the course outcomes are of an appropriate quality and standard to lead to the UTS award
2. confirm that the outcomes are equivalent to and compatible with those of the course being taught in English
3. ensure that the content of each subject (particularly the study guide and reference material) and the teaching of the subject is comparable with that of the subject being taught in English, noting that some subjects may be unique to offshore
4. approve the translation of subject examinations and assignments, and marking plans and/or grading templates
5. review samples of student work for each subject to see that the work submitted is to a standard appropriate to the course and that the marking is fair to ensure the validity and quality of locally assessed work.

4.16 The moderator will ensure that information given to students and teaching staff about the nature of the course, the academic standards and the directions about appropriate channels for concerns, complaints and appeals is comparable with that provided to onshore students.

4.17 The moderator is responsible for maintaining and overseeing changes to the English or Modern Standard Chinese subject support material on the advice of the course coordinator where relevant. The English and Modern Standard Chinese study guides and texts must be reviewed on a continuing basis to align with UTS’s online sites for the relevant course subjects and other information.

4.18 UTS retains responsibility for setting examinations and assignments and for providing the moderator with:

1. UTS marking plans and/or grading templates to accompany assignments and exams, and
2. UTS assessed samples from the English version of the course.

4.19 Where marks awarded in the subjects appear different by comparison the moderator must report this to the course coordinator who will discuss the matter with the subject coordinator and/or lecturer.

4.20 The moderator should, from time to time, observe (though not participate in) teaching sessions delivered in both English and Modern Standard Chinese.

4.21 UTS will provide the moderator with the consolidated results of the feedback survey for subjects delivered in both English and Modern Standard Chinese (refer Quality assurance and annual reports and the Feedback Survey Policy).

4.22 The moderator must support the course coordinator (where required) to review appeals lodged by students about assignments or examination results and provide translation to students on UTS academic matters if required by the course coordinator.

4.23 At the end of each teaching period, the moderator should provide a comprehensive written report to the dean or nominee within the agreed timeline. This report should cover the general situation for each subject and highlight the exceptional, whether examples of good practice or indications of problems. It should also notify any procedural difficulties or inconsistencies. Reports are confidential to the course coordinator.

Course administration

4.24 Administration processes for UTS courses delivered in Modern Standard Chinese must be aligned with normal UTS processes where possible. Where additional and/or special administrative processes are required these will be outlined in the partner agreement.

Student administration

4.25 Students will apply and be enrolled as offshore students. 

4.26 Offshore students pay fees according to the agreement between UTS and the international partner. 

4.27 Where offshore student ID cards are provided, these will have a pinyin transliteration of the student's name. 

4.28 Academic progression and appeals will be managed via the relevant course coordinator and/or the moderator as outlined in the partner agreement. 

4.29 There is no IELTS minimum score required for offshore courses delivered in Modern Standard Chinese. Offshore students wishing to transfer to another UTS course taught in English must be made aware of the English language requirements that apply. 

4.30 Incidents of academic misconduct are managed via the moderator in consultation with the relevant course coordinator. 

4.31 UTS provides a testamur and academic record (transcript) for offshore students who have satisfactorily met the requirements for a UTS award (refer Academic Records Policy). 

4.32 Courses delivered in Modern Standard Chinese will have one single testamur, which will normally be produced bilingually in Modern Standard Chinese and English, unless otherwise specified in the partner agreement. The award title will not include the medium of teaching (refer Award Course Nomenclature and Issuance Policy). 

4.33 The final official academic record (transcript) (refer Academic Records Policy) for offshore students enrolled in courses taught in Modern Standard Chinese will normally have, unless otherwise specified in the partner agreement:

1. a descriptor 'Taught in Modern Standard Chinese', and
2. explanatory notes (on the table of grades and results) in both English and Modern Standard Chinese. 

4.34 Offshore graduands will be given the option to attend graduation ceremonies and receive their awards either in Sydney or at an offshore location if available (as outlined in the partner agreement). The arrangements for attendance of graduation ceremonies will normally be made via the international partner. Services required shall be outlined in the operations manual between UTS and the international partner. 

4.35 Where offshore graduands attend ceremonies in Sydney and need special language support and/or arrangements to attend the ceremony, the UTS owner will work with the Lifetime Learner Experience Unit to ensure that such support and/or arrangements are provided.

Quality assurance and annual reports

4.36 The quality and academic integrity of all UTS courses, including offshore courses, is managed and ensured through the UTS course approval and review processes (refer Course Approval Policy). Equivalent courses offered in either English or Modern Standard Chinese follow the same accreditation and reaccreditation principles and processes. 

4.37 Faculties must conduct feedback surveys for all subjects delivered offshore in Modern Standard Chinese (refer Feedback Survey Policy). 

4.38 An annual report to Academic Board is coordinated by UTS International and submitted to Academic Board via the Courses Accreditation Committee. The annual report must list all teaching staff involved in the delivery of the course, together with their linguistic, professional and disciplinary qualifications, as well as the qualifications of translators and interpreters. 

4.39 UTS International must develop a checklist to ensure that all necessary quality assurance mechanisms are in place and that evidence to demonstrate that the university policies on offshore Modern Standard Chinese courses is provided in the annual report to Academic Board.

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Policy owner: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) is responsible for the implementation of this policy, and for ensuring that all UTS offshore activities in Modern Standard Chinese are conducted in line with this policy and meet legislative and other compliance requirements.

5.2 Policy contact: The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) is responsible for coordinating all UTS offshore activities and for ensuring that they are conducted in line with this policy.

5.3 Implementation and governance roles: Other responsibilities listed in the Offshore Teaching and Learning Activities Policy also apply for this policy.

Table 5.3: Roles and responsibilities for offshore courses delivered in Modern Standard Chinese

6. Definitions

The following definitions apply for this policy and all associated procedures. These are in addition to definitions outlined in the Offshore Activities Policy, the Offshore Teaching and Learning Activities Policy and Schedule 1, Student Rules. Definitions in the singular include the plural meaning of the word.

Moderator means the staff member with responsibility for ensuring that the course outcomes of any course being taught in Modern Standard Chinese are equivalent to, and comparable with, those of the course being taught in English, and therefore of an appropriate quality and standard to result in a UTS award. The moderator may have a title determined in consultation with the international partner and outlined in the partner agreement.