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Graduate Certificate in Project Management

Program Information

The CPEE Graduate will possess knowledge and skills in managing the planning, implementation, application, conduct, delivery and evaluation of complex projects. They will have the capacity to effectively apply their learning to managing a wide range of project types and situations, and the potential to develop into highly competent project management professionals.

Our academics are recognised as leaders in their respective disciplines, bringing a wealth of both technical and practical industry experience to our programs. Project management experience, in the infrastructure industry, has found that a specialist qualification is important in raising the status of professionals in the industry.

CPEE's flexible, online Graduate Certificate in Project Management program is designed to allow Units of study to be readily offered to candidates throughout Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Our online programs come with readily available support to guide you through your study. To take the next step in your career, the CPEE Graduate Certificate in Project Management program will provide you with skills, knowledge, and an Australian accredited and trusted qualification.

CPEE is an accredited private provider of higher education programs listed on the National Register for Providers and Courses on the website of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) https://www.teqsa.gov.au/ as an 'Institute of Higher Education' (PRV12121).

Program Code
CRS1401208
Post-Nominal
GradCertProjMgt
AQF Level
8
Credit Points
4
Duration
3yrs

Part Time Study

Mode
Online

Program Structure

Core
541: Project Management Elements
This Unit introduces the context, rationale, strategy and mechanisms of project management. It commences with definitions of such as project stakeholders, project charter, project life cycles and phases, quality systems and management. Unit content includes an introduction to project management principles, techniques and processes. It investigates the specific tasks that need to be undertaken in order to initiate, plan, implement, execute and close an infrastructure project. ISO 21500:2012: Guidance on Project Management and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are introduced as source materials.
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560: Project Assessment, Delivery and Completion
This Unit outlines Project Management Frameworks and the Project Assessment Frameworks, which combine to guide project managers from the assessment and evaluation of concepts to the delivery phases of projects including post project review and evaluation. The Frameworks are nationally agreed and come with associated guidelines and processes. Students will develop an understanding of the strategic needs of the Client organisation as the asset owner and assess the project options that satisfy these strategic needs. A range of assessment tools and techniques are introduced e.g. multi-criteria and business case analyses to determine the best solution or preferred project option. The Unit reviews how to develop good project governance arrangements in an organisation and impart project planning and controls for the successful delivery of project works. The principles and processes, from the asset owner’s perspective, to ensure successful delivery of projects by the Direct Management Project Delivery Model, are considered in depth. The importance of individual clients’ own internal policies, standards and guidelines e.g. Public Works Acts, State Supply Acts, Local Participation Policies, and local regulations is stressed and emphasis is placed on review of such in conjunction with this Unit.
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Elective
619: Contracts: Principles, Management & Risks
This unit provides students with the opportunity to attain advanced knowledge for professional level work with engineering construction contracts, their management and delivery. It will help to impart cognitive skills to think critically about the administration, management, supervision, construction and delivery of engineering projects, within the context of the relevant legal, risk and conflict resolution frameworks. While the specific terms of a construction contract may change by way of revisions to standard or industry based contracts, the legal principles underlying each of the terms remain constant. This unit will help ensure the development of the specialised technical, managerial and creative skills required to successfully manage and deliver engineering contracts.
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641: Sustainable Physical Infrastructure
Sustainable infrastructure is defined for this Unit as the designing, building, operating, maintaining, rehabilitating, and decommissioning of infrastructure structural elements over their life cycles. Definitions may vary both nationally and internationally. Infrastructure includes such as transport, public health, water, sewage treatment, energy, and telecommunication that are critical to the sustainability of communities. The Unit provides a broad treatment of the many facets of sustainable infrastructure including the role of asset management, integrated design, smart structures, sensing technologies, performance monitoring, the impact of changing environments and the life-cycle approach to infrastructure planning and management. Research skills will be developed through extensive literature surveys and communication skills evaluated though a Case Study.
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660: Contractual Dispute Resolution Variations and Claims
It is rare to find a construction contract, either bespoke or in a standard form, which does not contain a dispute resolution clause. These clauses are binding on the parties and will be enforced by the courts. However contracting parties are not free to contract as they might wish. Freedom of contract is a freedom set within limits dictated by parliament from time to time which provides protections in order to prevent abuse particularly by the stronger party. As a consequence of statutory intervention by all states and territories, we now have rapid adjudication processes as part of the various security of payment regimes for the resolution of construction payment disputes. The respective legislation prohibits “contracting out” of these Acts. The first part of this unit will provide students with an understanding of the relevance and application of each of the typical alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods used in the construction industry. These include negotiation, mediation and conciliation, expert determination and appraisal, commercial arbitration and security of payment processes. An emerging ADR process for very large and complex infrastructure projects is the use of what are termed Dispute Resolution Boards (DRB). A DRB is made up from three independent experts jointly selected by the Principal and the Contractor. The Board is established at project commencement and meets regularly at site briefings dealing with progress and potential issues. This unit will also introduce some of the concepts associated with the use of DRB’s The second part of the unit will consider the legal and practical issues associated with contract variations and the issues associated with the preparation or defence of a construction claim.
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Admission Requirements

Admission is based on meeting the equivalent of AQF Level 7 in a cognate discipline and meeting the minimum English language requirements, as per PR006 and PR007. Examples of meeting the equivalent AQF Level 7 in a cognate discipline are provided in (a) to (c) below.

a) A three (3) year undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline at AQF Level 7; or
b) A two (2) year undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline at AQF Level 6, plus at least three (3) years of documented and verified relevant work experience that equates to AQF Level 7; or
c) Demonstrated relevant formal, non-formal and informal prior learning deemed equivalent to items a) or b) above that equates to AQF Level 7.

PR006: Procedure for Standard Entry to Programs and Units
PR007: Procedure for nonstandard entry to programs and units

Award Requirements

To successfully complete the Graduate Certificate in Project Management a candidate must complete all core units plus any two (2) elective units.
Units can only be attempted following successful completion of the required prerequisites or by concurrent enrolment in corequisites.

Enrolment Pattern

The default and minimum enrolment pattern for the Graduate Certificate in Project Management is one (1) unit per semester. A maximum enrolment of two (2) units per semester is normally permitted. Elective units will normally be offered every 2 to 3 semesters. For the current schedule refer to the Units of Study & Availability

Maximum Completion Time

The standard maximum time for completion of the Graduate Certificate in Project Management is 3 calendar years dated from the time of initial enrolment. Refer to PO028 Policy on Program Duration regarding program completion times, Leave of Absence and Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances.

Awarding of Credit

Credit for previous equivalent formal, non-formal or informal prior learning or cross institutional study undertaken is awarded in line with PR042: Procedure for Awarding of Academic Credit.
To apply for credit you will need to submit the following form: FM002: Application for Academic Credit

Articulation

Applicants who have completed the Graduate Certificate in Project Management can apply to enter the Master of Project Management with credit for the units successfully completed. Apply for a New Program 

Study Load

We estimate that students devote approximately 10 study hours per week, per unit. These study hours are inclusive of teaching time (e.g. lectures, online teaching), independent study, assessment tasks and/or examination time. Our semesters are broken down into study and exam periods. The study period is 15 weeks duration per semester. We state that the student study workload for each unit is calculated as per below:

15 study period weeks x 10 hours study per week Resulting in the average unit requiring 150 hours over the study period

Credit Points
Each CPEE unit is worth one (1) credit point unless otherwise specified. One credit point involves a student workload of approximately 10 hours per week over a semester.

Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL)
Each of our units has an equivalent full time student load (EFTSL) of 0.125 (12.5%). The study of one unit in a semester would be an ETFSL of 12.5%. A standard full-time load is eight units in the academic year (8*12.5%= 100% or 1 EFTSL). For our programs a full time study load would be 4 units per semester.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

CPEE has determined that one CPEE Postgraduate Unit of academic study, that has been successfully completed with a passing grade, is equivalent to 150 CPD hours.