Viewpoint: Understanding criteria changes of effective teaching in Australian higher education

Introduction
The Australian higher education sector is highly internationalised and has enjoyed a global reputation for quality, innovation and performance. According to the Times Higher Education (2023) ranking, there are 37 Australian universities within the top 1,000 universities worldwide. Significantly, seven of these Australian universities are in the top 100 universities worldwide (The Times Higher Education, 2023). Teaching is one of the five categories judged in a university’s ranking, which is worth 30% of a university’s total score (The Student, 2022). The other four categories include research (30%), citations (30%), international outlook (7.5%) and industry income (2.5%). Thus, the quality of teaching and learning is a key factor in how a university is perceived, which in turn drives recruitment of both domestic and international students. The pressure to ensure effective teaching in universities and to demonstrate that effectiveness is also rising (Devlin and Samarawickrema, 2010). Effective teaching impacts students’ academic, physical, social-emotional and behavioural well-being. Effective teaching occurs best when all education stakeholders (e.g. educators, students, future employers, policymakers, community members) share responsibility for continuous improvement and student achievement (Killion and Hirsh, 2011). Therefore, the role of effective teaching is critical in the enhancement of higher education. The concept of effective teaching in higher education can have resonance and meaning within a changed and changing context.

This paper draws on relevant higher education literature and topical contextual developments to examine the notion of effective teaching. With a focus on the Australian context, the paper examines a national understanding of effective teaching as developed in the Australian University Teaching Criteria and Standards (AUTCAS) framework. The AUTCAS framework of effective teaching is then analysed against the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) excellence in university teaching criteria.