NEWS

The 35th Australian International Education Conference was held on the Gold Coast and online on 18 to 21 October 2022. Excited to reunite in person, the event reconnected over 1,750 colleagues in the international education sector from Australia and around the world. AIEC featured captivating learning sessions, innovative networking opportunities, incredible keynote speakers, a buzzing exhibition and fun social events, providing a unique convergence of networking, learning and fun.

NEAS was an exhibitor at the event and was pleased to meet with hundreds of professionals including education agents, ELT centre managers and products and services providers.

NEAS CEO, Dr Patrick Pheasant, conducted a workshop at the event titled ‘Online and Transnational Delivery of English Language Teaching – Global Perspectives’. Presenting with him were Dr Alexander Nanni (Mahidol University International College), Dr Pamela Humphreys (Macquarie University) and Mr Jake Heinrich (RMIT Training). The session was well attended and highlighted the teaching and learning innovations of High Schools, Vocational Colleges, Universities, and English Language Centres in online delivery, English as a Medium of Instruction and Transnational ELT Delivery. Through a lens of quality management, the workshop also addressed how the impact of Australia’s closed borders has affected social, cultural and economic barriers to international education. 

NEAS congratulates The Australian Centre for Education (ACE) Cambodia on completing a successful Quality Review activity. ACE is an initiative of IDP Education and currently runs six NEAS-accredited campuses across Cambodia. Five campuses are located in Phnom Penh -Santhor Mok (SM), Samdech Pan (SP), Tuol Tom Poung (TTP), Chak Angre (CA) and Tuol Kork (TK)- and a campus in Siem Reap.

ACE Cambodia delivers courses catering to a diverse range of students, including courses designed specifically for younger students such as English for Children and English for Young Learners, and courses designed for students from various age groups including General English, Academic English, Business English and IELTS Preparation Courses.

The students’ face-to-face feedback and survey responses indicate a strong satisfaction with the quality of teacher delivery and materials. Students spoke of ‘great’ courses and advised that “The teachers always explain what we don’t know” and that lessons are engaging and planned well – “It’s fun but very educational”.

The Centres provide a functional online platform that supports appropriate course delivery and provides students with a wide range of self-study material. Opportunities are available for students to access additional resources, both online and face to face, to practise with and/or visit the Guided Individual Learning (GIL) centres on each campus. Teachers, professional staff, and students all agreed that the opportunities that are available for students to improve their language learning are extensive. The Google Classroom additional resources and the Guided Individual Learning centres were all spoken about favourably. In addition, each centre operates a “Book Club” where students, of any age, can borrow books on a regular basis.

Teachers were keen to express their views on the quality delivery at the centres, advising that the centres were well known in Cambodia for “good quality teaching”, as was their ability to adapt their delivery from face to face, to hybrid and to completely online and back to a blended model over the past few years. As the sponsor for the Cambodia TESOL (CAMTESOL) conference, each year staff are all encouraged to attend and deliver papers where possible. This is an excellent opportunity for staff to contribute to professional development for themselves and for the ASEAN region.

October 2022

The College at Western Sydney University (WSU) is the official pathway provider for the University and delivers a wide range of quality TEQSA accredited English language and academic preparation courses. Congratulations to WSU The College on successfully completing the NEAS Quality Review exercise for 2022! This involved structured meetings and focus group discussions with management, students, teachers and professional staff.

Anonymised Health Check surveys were used to develop areas of focus for the conduct of the Quality Review, and comprehensive stakeholder feedback was triangulated and mapped to key Principles and Drivers of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework.

Located in Sydney Olympic Park, a major urban centre with strong transport connectivity and retail and community amenities, WSU The College is welcoming a growing number of enrolments from a wide range of countries that include China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, India, and Pakistan. Currently, classes are being delivered face-to-face, as well as in blended modes and hybrid modes. The College offers English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses across five levels from Elementary to Intermediate. Also on offer are the following courses: Advanced Academic English Skills: Reading and Writing; Advanced Academic English Skills: Listening and Speaking; Master of Teaching Direct Entry English Program (MTDEEP); and Bachelor of Nursing Direct Entry English Program (BNDEEP).

Students who lodged anonymised Health Check feedback expressed that they were delighted with their course and considered it appropriate for their chosen pathway. Staff also communicated a profound pride in working for WSU The College, with one respondent remarking that “staff and students at the College get the support needed to create an ideal teaching and learning environment”.

October 2022.

NEAS congratulates the Whitsundays College of English in Sydney (WCE) for becoming the latest Quality Endorsed Member! Situated in the inner Sydney suburb of Ultimo, WCE is seeing enrolments grow at a steady pace with the reopening of Australia’s international borders. WCE’s mission is to help learners achieve their English language goals in a positive and nurturing environment.

The Centre benefits from a diverse nationality mix, with students hailing from Thailand, Korea, Japan, China and South American countries. Courses offered include General English (Elementary to Advance), IELTS preparation, English for tertiary study, and Cambridge exam preparation. The College is also preparing for the launch of its School bridging program. Delivery of courses is 100% face-to-face and daily contact comprises of four hours of tuition during daytime or evening sessions. WCE enjoys close relationships with agents and most students come to WCE through their offshore and onshore agent networks.

WCE fosters a strong culture of friendliness, professionalism and familial support. Open communication is also highly valued; staff, students and teachers were observed to engage comfortably with each other and with management. The sense of community among students and teachers is enhanced by excursions and other extracurricular activities. The wellbeing of students is maintained with the provision of a dedicated Student Welfare Officer and an externally appointed counsellor. Students are happy and feel cared for; this is reflected in the feedback from anonymised Health Check surveys and in the Focus Group interviews.

NEAS is delighted to welcome back WCE, which first achieved NEAS Accreditation in 2006, when it was then located in Airlie Beach, Queensland! The Centre is now under new ownership and management.

October 2022.

We take this opportunity to thank Western Sydney University The College (The College) for engaging NEAS to conduct a Quality Assurance exercise covering its RTO operations. The official pathway provider for the University, The College delivers a wide range of accredited English language and academic preparation courses.

The purpose of the initiative was to support the RTO in demonstrating quality in its programs and services and to provide guidance in its continuous improvement processes. The Quality Review of the RTO was aligned with the ASQA Self-Assessment Tool and performed in two phases:

• Phase 1: Virtual Self-Assessment – consisting of online meetings, preparation of files, and audits; and
• Phase 2: In-person Self-Assessment – involving a two-day onsite visit with meetings, discussions, and review activities.

Key areas of the Standards for RTOs 2015 and additional areas of significance for The College were reviewed, and notable areas of best practice, non-compliances, and recommendations for rectification and improvement were identified. A completed Self-assessment Tool, with input from the NEAS Quality Assessor, was also lodged as part of the exercise.

NEAS congratulates the team at The College on the successful completion of this Quality Assurance initiative.

September 2022

NEAS congratulates RMIT Training’s RMIT English Worldwide (REW) for becoming the latest Quality Endorsed Member! Owned by RMIT University and based in Melbourne, REW delivers pathway courses that enable students to articulate into university programs. REW also provides a range of specialist English and teacher training programs to service learners and professionals from around the globe. As international students start returning to Australia, enrolments have grown rapidly and REW is again taking its place as a vibrant hub in the centre of Melbourne. Currently, most of REW’s English for Academic Purposes classes are delivered face-to-face, alongside a smaller number of classes that are conducted online or in hybrid mode. The classes benefit from diversity; students come from China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, South America, and other countries and regions. REW draws on a dynamic marketing team to source eligible learners through a tight-knit cohort of partner education agents.

REW exhibits a strong culture of care and shares its values with RMIT University. These values are: inclusion, imagination, agility, courage, passion and impact. Staff, students and teachers were observed to engage comfortably with each other and with management. The sense of community among students, teachers and support staff is enhanced further by excursions and extracurricular activities, which are arranged by the Wellbeing and Student Experience team. REW students are being empowered to become rounded citizens of the future through the exciting initiative known as Superpower’d. This program offers a series of workshops facilitated by a Strengths Coach to build confidence and resilience in students.

NEAS is delighted to welcome back REW, which first achieved NEAS Accreditation way back in 1994! REW joins the Vietnamese branch of the University (RMIT University Vietnam) in celebrating its designation as a NEAS Quality Endorsed Centre.

September 2022

The English Language Centre of the University of New England (UNE) provides pathways into university courses across all levels of study. Focusing on the learning needs of international students, the Centre’s English language courses are taught by highly qualified and experienced instructors. In October 2021, NEAS and UNE worked together to conduct a quality assessment of the Centre’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program (Levels 1 to 5). As a result of the initiative, a dedicated NEAS Report was produced, noting areas of best practice alongside specific recommendations for ongoing improvement.

One year later, a special Management Meeting was held, which served as a review mechanism to assess the updates and revisions that were applied, in alignment with the recommendations made in the earlier report. As with the Quality Assurance exercise in 2021, the recent review of 2022 measured the course enhancements against the Quality Principles in Area H: Online Delivery. These Quality Principles focus on: ensuring the design of the online environment supports a positive and engaging user experience; the appropriateness of learning and assessment strategies for virtual delivery; provision of learning resources and technology to facilitate learning; and the presence of an integrated reporting system to support the online courses. Please refer to this section of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework for further information: https://neas.org.au/resources/neas-quality-framework/#area-h. 

NEAS acknowledges and commends the Centre on the demonstrable improvements that have been implemented to its Learning Management System (LMS) and interactive resources. The English Language Centre has integrated the recommendations from the NEAS Online Delivery Endorsement Report of 2021 into its 2022 Professional Development Plan. The Centre has consulted and cooperated with the University’s Library staff and Learning Design teams to ensure that online materials are accessible. One-to-one engagement and interactivity with learners have been further enhanced. The Centre has implemented a systematic approach to building on the previous review, showing a full cycle of continuous improvement.

September 2022

NEAS commends Ms Snezhana Chernova for successfully completing the NEAS Master Practitioner in ELT Capstone Course.  The Master Practitioner in ELT Capstone Course is for ELT professionals who are working, teaching or studying in the ELT field and have gained considerable experience in applying NEAS Quality Assurance Principles in their professional practice.

Snezhana’s project was based on a web resource ‘Vidtionary’ that she developed to enhance the English Language skills of students at an upper intermediate level studying at TAFE Queensland. In her Capstone Project, Snezhana demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the NEAS Quality Assurance framework by presenting an in-depth alignment of her product ‘Vidtionary’ with the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework, in particular, Drivers in Quality Areas K: Products and Services and Quality Area H: Online Delivery.

Well done Snezhana!

September 2022.

NEAS Congratulates Southern Cross University (SCU) – Lismore and Gold Coast – on its recent Quality Review activity. NEAS conducted a recent Site visit to SCU, Lismore campus. The premises of the Southern Cross University College at Lismore has been assessed against the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework; Area C. Major changes have been forced on the Lismore Southern Cross University campus by the shocking floods in early 2022. The College now has a more central and coordinated area within the university and is ready to start welcoming students.

Careful attention has been applied to both the services that can be offered and the local community’s capacity for receiving and catering to the students in the town. The work done by the entire team has been thorough and caring. Support and provision for the campus from throughout the university is clearly ongoing and the campus has been equipped with the resources and facilities that foster a welcoming and supportive learning environment for students.

NEAS also conducted a Quality Review of SCU Gold Coast during which Management Meetings and Focus Groups were conducted onsite. The College provides a positive atmosphere of collegiality and support. Teachers are well qualified and relate well to the management team. The support given to them during the adjustments of the past two years was clear from the Staff Health Check and the Focus Group meeting. Comments such as they feel “part of an amazing team” and have “strong and fair leadership” were common.

The digitalisation of the program for delivery over the past two years has meant an ongoing review of all modules. The SCU LMS is updated each Friday and provides clear and relevant information to students. Students are also provided with dedicated online areas for self-study tasks, recommendations, worksheets and daily activities.

The Gold Coast campus offers a large foyer space with a self-study area and relaxation space that encourages students to visit and be part of the community. The University has several catering outlets on site and space for students to gather. Students were very positive about the “quiet, clean study areas and classrooms”.

September 2022