What is the GCHE?

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The Graduate Certificate in Higher Education is designed to help you develop your career as a tertiary educator and contribute to fostering a culture of excellence in learning and teaching at ACU. The entirely online course aims to enable you to enhance your capabilities in learning and teaching in Higher Education.

The course is work-integrated so that you undertake learning activities that are of direct relevance and benefit to you. Because the learning and assessment tasks relate directly to activities you undertake in your daily work, your study time will be efficient and productive. The sequence of eight micro-credentials is designed to scaffold your learning towards an integrated, scholarly project.

In these ways, the course aims to model and illustrate good practice and ensure your learning experience is transparently relevant and strategically beneficial.

Who can enrol in the GCHE?

This course is designed for people who:

  • have a bachelor degree (or higher)
  • hold an appointment within a tertiary education institution, and
  • are employed in a role that directly involves teaching (i.e. a teaching-focused or teaching-research role).

Students of the GCHE who are teaching academics and professional staff who have a role leading teaching and learning at either the School or Faculty level are eligible to have their fees waived. Full-time, part-time and casual staff are equally welcome to apply.

What you will learn?

In undertaking the GCHE, you can expect to:

  • establish a strong theoretical and scholarly foundation to reflective practice that informs your teaching
  • undertake curriculum and assessment design in ways that reflect an understanding of adult learning principles
  • design and implement course and unit evaluation and improvement plans
  • integrate the use of digital technology into your learning, teaching and assessment strategy in ways informed by educational theory
  • undertake a high-quality scholarly project in higher education

Course structure and time commitment

Delivery mode: Online

Duration: 2 years minimum (4 years maximum)

The GCHE comprises eight micro-credentials, six specified micro-credentials and two elective micro-credentials. These are each 5 credit points in value, each taking nominally 75 hours of study time.

The eight micro-credentials must be completed in sequence, one at a time, with each one building on the previous one. Each micro-credential is offered in an 8-week block during ACU's professional terms 2, 4, 5, and 8. The micro-credentials run concurrently within each of these terms, offering staff more flexible study options and improving the efficiency of course progression.

The micro-credentials are equivalent to half a standard unit, but have only one summative assessment task each, scaffolded by formative assessment tasks. You should plan on committing approximately 10 hours a week to study.

Read the 2025 Course Guide

How to apply

Complete the GCHE Application process on the ACU website.

For enquiries, please email the Course Coordinator, Dr Joe Campana at Joe.Campana@acu.edu.au.

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Page last updated on 28/11/2024

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