Quality and Accreditation

Higher Education

The Australian College of Applied Psychology is a registered Higher Education Provider under the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA), enabling it to operate and deliver higher education courses. The College’s Higher Education courses have been accredited by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, and by mutual recognition by the Office of Higher Education of the Department of Education, Queensland and Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.

Registration and accreditation are quality assurance processes that protect the standard of higher education in Australia and the high quality reputation of the Australian higher education qualifications. These processes ensure that the College has appropriate governance structures, management processes, policies and infrastructure to support its higher education and vocational and education and training activities. They also ensure that the College’s higher education courses are equivalent in standard to courses leading to a qualification of that level in a similar field in other Australian higher education institutions.

The College is also approved to include its accredited higher education courses on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), enabling the College to deliver its courses to overseas students studying in NSW, QLD or VIC, where the College has attained approval to list the course on CRICOS. (CRICOS Provider Codes: 01328A (NSW), 02565B (QLD), 02829E (VIC)).

Vocational Education and Training

The College is also registered by the Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board, NSW (VETAB) as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). As a VETAB registered College, students and clients are assured that the College meets the nationally agreed standards set out in the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) and that the vocational education and training qualifications, and units of competency delivered by the College are nationally recognised.

Commonwealth Assistance

As a Registered Higher Education Provider offering accredited courses, students enrolled in the College’s higher education courses, or one of the College’s vocational education and training courses that articulates into a higher education course can access, if eligible, the Commonwealth Government’s FEE-HELP Assistance Scheme to pay part or all of their tuition fees.

Professional Registration of Courses

The College seeks accreditation of its programs with relevant professional bodies as a mechanism of external quality assurance and to enable ACAP graduates of applicable courses to attain professional registration. This ensures that those programs also meet educational and training standards that allow graduates to seek recognition and practice as a professional.

Counselling courses

Currently, the College’s Master of Applied Social Science (Counselling), Graduate Diploma of Counselling, and Bachelor of Applied Science (Counselling) courses have been accredited by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). This provides graduates of these courses with a certainty that they meet the training standards of PACFA.

Psychology courses

The College’s Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science, and Graduate Diploma of Psychology courses, which will be first offered from 2011, have been conditionally accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). This provides graduates of these courses with certainty that they meet the training standards of APAC. In Australasia, APAC sets the standards for psychology training and accredits courses of study and the organisation delivering the accredited courses, and accredits all new courses with ‘conditional accreditation’. For further details visit http://www.apac.psychology.org.au/Content.aspx?ID=1193#CondAcc.

Industry Association Membership

The College is a Member of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) and adheres to ACPET’s Code of Ethics.

Tuition Assurance Information

Tuition Assurance protects the interests of current and intending students of ACAP courses that lead to an accredited award in that it ensures students are given a suitable alternative course or have their course money refunded if the provider cannot provide the course for which the student has paid.

ACAP in a member of the ASTAS – VET ( Australian Tuition Assurance Scheme – VET), ASTAS - HE (Australian Tuition Assurance Scheme – Higher Education), and OSTAS (Overseas Student Tuition Assurance Scheme) which is part of the ESOS (Education Service for Overseas Students) Assurance Fund established under section 45 of the ESOS Act 2000. The Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) is ACAP’s Tuition Assurance Provider. For further information on the role of ACPET go to http://www.acpet.edu.au/about-acpet/tuition-assurance.

For further information on ACAP’s tuition assurance schemes refer to our Statement of Higher Education Tuition Assurance (ASTAS), Statement of Higher Education Tuition Assurance (OSTAS) and Statement of VET Tuition Assurance.

Compliance with Commonwealth, State/Territory Legislation and Regulatory Requirements

The College ensures that its policies and procedures meet the requirements of Commonwealth or State/Territory legislation which are relevant to the College’s operations, including the:

Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA);
National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes and National Guidelines for Higher Education Approval Processes (MCEETYA);
Vocational Education and Training Act 2005 (the VET Act) and the Vocational Education and Training Act 2005 Guidelines, issued by VETAB under Section 32 and 40 of the ACT; including the AQTF Standards for Accredited Courses;
ESOS Act (2000), ESOS Act Regulations (2000) and National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2007;
Queensland's Education (Overseas Students) Act 1996 and Queensland's Education (Overseas Students) Regulation 1998; and
Various other Commonwealth and State legislation, including that concerning Information Privacy; Personal Privacy; Occupational Health and Safety; Access and Equity; Workplace Harassment; Victimisation and Bullying; Anti-discrimination; Equal Opportunity; and Human Rights.

College staff and educators are provided with information about legislation that affects their duties, through College policy, guidelines, briefing sessions, and via information published on the my.acap web portal under Faculty Resources.

Students are provided with information about legislation that affects their participation in their studies through College policy, the Student Handbook, at orientation, on administrative forms, and via the College’s website at www.acap.edu.au.

The College is an equal opportunity employer and expects academic and general staff to have an understanding of workplace diversity, workplace participation, a safe working environment and access and equity principles. Academic and general staff promote these principles in their interactions with students and clients and in the development and implementation of policies, procedures and practices.