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Our engagement with the Australian Learning and Teaching Council

Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) Learning and Teaching Centre’s (LTC) Mission aims to:

  • promote the role of teaching in higher education, recognising and rewarding staff for their work
  • support research and development work in higher education, through grant funding of projects and networks of scholars.

ACU improves its learning and teaching through engagement with the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC).

You can benefit from this engagement through ALTC’s awards and grants programs.

Project Officer Phoebe Palmieri from ACU's LTC supports the University's work in this area. Phoebe’s work is funded (along with similar initiatives in most other universities) by ALTC, through the Promoting Excellence Initiative. Email phoebe.palmieri@acu.edu.au to find out more.

What does ALTC do?

‘The Australian Learning and Teaching Council promotes excellence in higher education by recognising, rewarding and supporting teachers and professional staff through a suite of award, fellowship and grant schemes. We aim to enhance the student learning experience by supporting quality teaching and practice.’

The ALTC website provides the broad categories of schemes organised by ALTC, as well as the latest news of Discipline Scholars, Fellows of ALTC, and reports of projects completed, plus a link to the ALTC Exchange - a databank of resources for higher education.

The ALTC, previously the Carrick Institute, changed its name in 2008.

Stop Press:

In 2011, ALTC is making some changes to its awards and grants schemes. The changes are outlined in this document (PDF, 866kb) and on the ALTC’s web site at http://www.altc.edu.au/ . Please read these in conjunction with the information below.

How does this relate to ACU’s internal awards and grants?

ACU has a system of awards that mirrors that of ALTC, as well as Teaching Development Grants. You can find the Guidelines and timetable for these on this page http://www.acu.edu.au/139029

What ALTC programs are available?

Awards

There are three categories of awards for which the University's staff can apply:

  • Citations
    Citation awards are granted to staff who have made a significant and sustained (at least 4-5 years) contribution to the quality of student learning within their institution. And whose contribution has been recognised within their institution. All staff – academic, professional/general, sessional and adjunct – are eligible for consideration for these awards. The contribution can be from a team or individual, and may include support for particular cohorts of students such as international students, or students with a disability, or the production of resources for example, information literacy skills.

    ACU has an internal process for nominating candidates, initial proposals are called for in November.

    View a list of ACU Citation and Teaching Award winners and their nomination descriptions
    Some ACU staff have kindly agreed to make their applications available as exemplars.

    Ms Laurine Hurley (PDF, 39kb)
    Dr Carolyn Broadbent (MS Word, 101kb)
    Ms Wendy Moran (MS Word, 105kb)
    Prof Peter Camilleri (MS Word, 69kb)
    Dr Judith Mulholland (MS Word, 62kb)
    Dr Robert Compton (MS Word, 59kb)
    Dr Toni Noble (MS Word, 62kb)
    Ms Maya Cranitch (MS Word, 66kb)
    Dr Kathy Robinson (MS Word, 69kb)
    Ms Jacqueline Guy (MS Word, 80kb)
    Mr Chris Sheargold (MS Word, 56kb)
    Ms Laurine Hurley (MS Word, 51kb)
    Dr Caroline Smith and Dr Lynette Carter (MS Word, 63kb)
    Dr Gill Terrett (MS Word, 55kb)

    However, please be aware that your individual ‘story’ will make all applications different!

  • Program awards
     These awards recognise excellent programs of study or activities which contribute to enhancing the student experience. It is open to teams or individuals, and includes both award and non-award programs or resources which enhance student learning. Only 14 awards each year are made in this category across Australia.
  • Awards for teaching excellence
     These are awarded to teachers who have made an outstanding contribution to teaching and learning in their fields.

Grants

Three categories of grant are available. ACU staff are invited to put forward ideas for grants six months before the closing date at ALTC. Grant submissions are almost always made in collaboration with one or more other universities; even though we are a ‘dispersed’ university, collaboration across state boundaries is usually considered ‘business as usual’ for us, so this does not qualify as ‘collaboration’.

The six month internal date for each category of grant, and the ALTC final submission date for each category will be published here when available. You must go through the internal process so we can provide maximum assistance in the preparation of applications, where ACU is the lead or principal institution. Email phoebe.palmieri@acu.edu.au, to find out more as Pheobe works with staff preparing submissions.

You must be prepared to read the guidelines of each scheme carefully:

See a list of ACU involvement as lead institution and as partner institution and the reports of each project (where completed)

  • Competitive Grants

     The Competitive Grants Program supports:
    • research and development focussing on issues of emerging and continuing importance in higher education
    • strategic approaches to learning and teaching that address the increasing diversity of the student body
    • innovation in learning and teaching, including in relation to the role of new technologies.

      Initial submissions usually close in early November.
  • Priority Projects Program

    The Priority Projects Program supports programs addressing:
    • academic standards, assessment practices and reporting
    • curriculum renewal
    • teaching and learning spaces
    • peer review.

What do I need to do?

Workshops on preparing grant and award submissions are run (face to face and by video conference) several times each year – look out for them on the LTC website! In the meantime, you can email phoebe.palmieri@acu.edu.au or telephone Pheobe to discuss on 03 9953 3374.