Grants of up to $8000 will be provided for up to 5 projects
University English Centres Australia (UECA) is committed to supporting members in the provision of valid and reliable assessment of their students’ language learning outcomes.
With this end in mind, UECA is offering up to five (5) grants to support projects that further our understanding of integrated assessments and/or support Centres’ capacity to deliver quality-integrated assessments.
While the initial impact might be at the level of the institution, there should be clear potential value to the broader UECA membership or sector as a whole.
If you have any questions about this Grant Opportunity and the bidding process, please contact Simon Winetroube – simon.winetroube@curtin.edu.au
The UECA Innovation and Leadership Award
University English Centres Australia is committed to facilitating exceptional student experience through excellence in teaching, ongoing professional development and also building research capacity in the global TESOL community. The UECA Leadership and Innovation award generously funded by Education Solutions Australasia. The topic and focus of the award are decided annually by the UECA Committee.
2022 award details coming soon.
This year’s focus is Innovation in the development of Academic Integrity values(honesty, respect, trust, responsibility and support).
The award is for evidence-based developments in areas such as:
classroom resources to develop students’ Academic Integrity values
student training and interventions
technological innovations that educate students about Academic Integrity values
tools and techniques to assist teachers in identifying breaches in Academic Integrity
professional development which supports teachers in developing students’ Academic Integrity values
Scope
The award is open to employees of UECA member colleges, and is targeted at a broad range of roles, including but not limited to:
Teachers
Student Services
Management
Curriculum/ assessment writers
Anyone working for a UECA language centre can nominate an individual or a team within their centre for their work. Individuals can also self-nominate.
A centre may submit only one nomination per year and this must be approved by the Director of the UECA language centre.
Award
The winner will be announced at the annual Director’s Forum. It is expected that the award winner will present on their area of innovation at one of the UECA PD Fests in the following 12 months. At the end of the relevant UECA PD Fest, the winner will be formally presented with an award and a cheque for $1500 by the UECA Award Coordinator.
Judging criteria
Nominations will be judged by two members of the UECA committee. The winner will demonstrate Innovation in the development of Academic Integrity values(honesty, respect, trust, responsibility and support). The judges will consider:
A clear statement of the problem and solution
The originality and usefulness of the concept
Evidence of the benefit to the stakeholders, e.g. students, teachers, team members (one cohort’s data set would be sufficient)
How the concept can be scaled up (as numbers increase) or scaled across to other programs (if applicable)
On reflection, how the concept could be refined and developed
Specific and practical ideas of how the concept can be shared across the sector
Nominations
The nominator must complete the nomination form with the required details and forward the form to UECA on, or before, the submission date. The nomination from must be signed by the Centre Director, or representative.
Award establishment for the year UECA Committee selects topic for the year’s award, nominates award coordinator, nominates judges and establishes timeline.
UECA Committee
13 November
Launch of Award at UECA PD Fest
PD Fest Manager
15 November
Publication of topic, submission dates and details Topic and submission dates communicated to member colleges along with calls for nominations. Promotional poster, advice on how to promote award and benefits of being nominated/ winning provided.
UECA Award Coordinator and Zoubakin
17 December
Submission date Nominations checked and sent to judges.
UECA Award Coordinator
10-21 January
Judging Nominations considered and selection made individually, using rubric to score.
UECA Judges
21 January
Judging conference Conference/video call set up by UECA Award Coordinator for judges to discuss shortlist / final selection.
UECA Award Coordinator & UECA Judges
28 January
Confirmation of winner Finalist’s details sent to UECA President and David Larbalestier for endorsement.
UECA Award Coordinator
31 January
Announcement of award to winner Director of winning college and winner of award informed.
UECA Award Coordinator
31 January
Publication of winner’s details Winner announced via UECA website / newsletter and social media.
UECA Award Coordinator & UECA Communication Coordinator
Post publication
Communication to PD fest organisers Local organisers of relevant PD fest informed that winner will present on their topic.
UECA Award Coordinator
Post publication
Travel costs considered Travel arrangements to PD fest considered and subsidised if there is no annual PD fest in the winner’s state or territory.
UECA Award Coordinator UECA Treasurer
Date depends on winner’s location
Presentation at UECA PD fest Winner presents at UECA PD fest and formally presented with award and prize.
UECA Committee Member
Winner – 2019 UECA Innovation and Leadership Award
UECA is excited to announce that the winners of the 2019 Education Solutions Australasia Innovation and Leadership Award are Simon Messner and Dr Nadezhda Kurukulasuriya from CET, Sydney University.
Simon and Dr Nadezhdas’ outstanding work has involved creating an intervention program, the Wellbeing Ambassador Program, which provides students with the skills to support their peers’ mental health and well-being. The program has had an incredibly positive impact on Direct Entry Students, CET Wellbeing Ambassadors and the CET Counsellors themselves.
Many of our members may have had the chance to hear about Simon and Dr Nadezhdas’ work through the English Australia SIG for Academic Advisers and we look forward to meeting them both to celebrate their outstanding contribution and deserved accolade at next year’s Sydney PDFest.
A big thank you to those that took time to nominate their colleagues. It was very uplifting to read about the great work that is happening across the industry to facilitate an exceptional student experience.
UECA Benchmarking Project
UECA has supported its members through a range of benchmarking projects where Centres shared and compared data on a range of operational aspects, such as, enrolment details, staffing profiles and marketing practices.
In 2018, it was agreed to focus benchmarking activities on Centre policies, processes and assessment standards.
With this in mind, UECA commissioned the External Referencing of the ELICOS Standards and International Education [ERESIE] Project with Dr Sara Booth and Associate Professor Thomas Roche appointed as project leads.
Members agreed that the primary focus of the initial national benchmarking project would be the newly updated ELICOS (2018) Standard P4: Assessment of ELICOS students with a specific focus on written assessment.
The project was designed with a view to seeking peer feedback on Centres’ ELICOS Direct Entry program learning outcomes, giving peers a mechanism to provide an assessment of program standards, confirmation of good practice and suggested areas for improvement.
The Benchmarking report, available for download below, reiterates and consolidates findings from the extensive UECA National External Referencing Project Assessment Policies and Processes Report. The current document includes additional discussion of those findings for a wider audience.
UECA would like to formally acknowledge and thank the author of that original, comprehensive report, Dr Sara Booth.
The UECA Committee would like to acknowledge the good faith with which participating Centres have engaged in this project as they reviewed the ELICOS Direct Entry programs of other Centres and responded to the feedback they received on their own.
The project involved time commitment not only from Centre managers, but also program coordinators, lecturers, and teachers. We would like to thank them for their contribution to this project, the results of which are truly shared by all members.
Finally, the Committee would like to acknowledge the leadership of Thomas Roche and Sara Booth who through the benchmarking project have lead innovation in the ELICOS and higher education pathway sectors in Australia, in creating a robust mechanism and rigorous processes for ensuring the comparability of the standards of our programs.
You can download the UECA Benchmarking Project Report here.
