First OHS university program accredited

RMIT has the first university-level OHS professional education program to receive the new Australian OHS education accreditation.

As one of 15 Australian universities that provide such programs, RMIT is the first as part of a pilot program for the accreditation of OHS professional education programs.
Under the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board the accreditation is now offered nationally, with Latrobe University currently being assessed and other universities lining up.

Pam Pryor, registrar of the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board, acknowledged the contribution of RMIT as the first university to be assessed in the development and streamlining of the application process.

“It required a new way of thinking about the program to bring their own educational commitments into line with three critical contextual elements: the OHS Body of Knowledge, the specification of Graduate Attributes in the Australian Qualification Framework, and Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency commitment to student achievement of prescribed learning outcomes,” said Pryor.

As universities progress through the accreditation process, Pryor said employers and recruiters will have confidence that OHS professional education programs adequately prepare graduates to enter the workplace as entry-level OHS professionals and potential students will have a point of reference when selecting a program of study.