ASQA | Spotlight On Student support, Chapter 3
Support during enrolment
Chapter 3 aims to help training providers develop support during enrolment to help students get the best out of their course. This includes monitoring progress and providing support to students during the enrolment process.
Monitoring progress and providing support
When a student starts training, it is important to monitor their progress throughout the course. This allows early intervention and provides the best opportunity to remedy issues.
Your student may need to have access to both education and welfare support services. This can help:
- provide students with the best opportunities to succeed
- demonstrate compliance with clause 1.7 of the Standards.
These required services are listed in the glossary for the Standards for RTOs 2015.
You do not need to host these services internally, but there needs to be a process for students to easily access these support services.
Ideally, these services can be accessed by the student for no or little cost, and be genuinely able to provide assistance – not just referrals to other services.
Any limitations or costs of the support services available to students should be made clear in pre-enrolment information. This allows the student to make an informed choice.
Education services
Setting support measures
You need to have measures in place to identify a student who may not meet the academic requirements of their course and to intervene when required.
If a student is not meeting their course requirements, check if there are any adjustments that can be made to your training or assessment practices. These adjustments cannot compromise the training package or be at odds with your training and assessment strategies.
You need to consider if a student can be given:
- more time to complete assessments
- additional support from trainers
- adjusted resources e.g. books with different print types, reworded instructions or the use of supporting tools.
Measures for identifying a student who is struggling to comprehend or complete course material could include:
- regular trainer/assessor check-ins with students
- assessment task results
- additional time for submitting assessment tasks
- requiring extra time or support to practice skills or demonstrate knowledge.
Health and Well-being Services
A student may be impacted by a personal event or interpersonal issue, which can make them feel disengaged or unsafe.
You have the responsibility to ensure your students are in a safe and secure environment where they can seek assistance without fear.
It is good practice to have a nominated support officer that students can approach for support, if they do not feel comfortable discussing with their trainer. Your trainers, assessors and any nominated support officers can implement internal solutions, such as adjusting training and assessment practices to support the student.
When required, refer students to local and accessible support services, such as:
- mental health
- physical health
- family and relationship issues
- housing and homelessness
- balancing work and other external commitments
- bullying and sexual harassment.
Processes for a safe training environment
Providers need to have processes for dealing with internal issues, such as reports from students regarding bullying, harassment, or unsafe conditions. To ensure a positive training environment for students, all allegations must be investigated and appropriately resolved.
Following a national inquiry in 2020, the Respect@Work report was released by the Australian Government in response to sexual harassment and discrimination concerns across education and work places across Australia. Education providers should pay particular attention to Recommendations 8-12 within the report
The Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) has been funded by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) to undertake three new projects, which will build RTO capability to support students with disability undertaking VET. Read more
Download resources
Download the checklist of considerations which will guide you, your trainers, assessors and other support staff as you develop student strategies. These considerations will help you comply with regulatory and legislative requirements, along with encouraging best practice.