Terminology in plain English

A

Academic record:

an official record of all units or subjects and results gained from secondary postsecondary or tertiary studies.

Academic transcript:

A chronological record of enrolment and official assessment results in units studied at UNE.

Admission:

Admission to the University permits you to enrol. You must satisfy certain selection criteria set out in the University Handbook to be formally admitted. The criteria are based on your prospects for success at university.

Application form/enrolment form:

Formal application to study particular units (subjects) in the course to which you have been admitted at the University.

Advanced standing:

a collective term including credit transfer and credit for prior learning. It means credit granted towards a course at the University for relevant approved study, experience or work satisfactorily completed at the University or elsewhere.

Articulation:

The mechanism which enables students to proceed from one course (eg TAFE) to another sometimes, but not necessarily, with credit.

Assumed knowledge:

An expectation of knowledge of a specified HSC course or equivalent, prior to beginning your course.

Award:

A formal academic qualification acquired after successful completion of a course.

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B

Bachelor degree:

An award requiring three or four years full time or equivalent part time study at a university.

Board of Examiners:

The Board of Examiners is a committee that is constituted for each award course to ensure that the assessment and determination of performance is conducted in a fair and equitable manner for each student enrolled in that course .

Bridging course/unit:

A bridging course is a program of study taken before beginning a formal award course. It is designed to assist potential students, who have otherwise met matriculation requirements, to satisfy course selection requirements. A bridging unit is a unit of study designed to provide students with the required level of skills and knowledge necessary to undertake further studies.

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C

Certified copy:

a photocopy of an original document that has been signed by a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations, the issuing authority or other approved person stating that the photocopy is a true copy of the original.

Combined/double degrees:

For a combined degree a student takes an equal weight of units from two chosen courses resulting in a single award on completion. For double degrees students take the full workload of units for each degree and receive a separate award for each degree. Refer to the relevant Faculty rules for further details.

Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSEN):

allocated to students to facilitate and monitor Commonwealth assistance.

Commonwealth Supported Place:

Commonwealth supported courses which attract a student contribution fee, previously known as HECS. The student contribution is variable depending on the course chosen.

Contact time:

The weekly timetabled lecture, tutorial, workshop, or practical work sessions approved for each unit or component of a course.

Co-requisite:

One or more units specified by the Degree rules that a student must complete prior to, or simultaneously with, a particular unit before the student's enrolment in that unit will be regarded as effective. Co-requisites are normally specified in the Handbook.

Correspondence study:

See external study and distance education.

Credit point (cp):

Credit points are the values given to individual units within course programs. Most UNE units have a credit point value of six. A six credit point unit is equivalent to 150 student workload hours of lectures, practicals, assessment tasks, reading, etc. Credit point values are used for a variety of purposes including the determination of your liability for your Student Contribution Charge. Details of credit point values for units are given in the course and unit descriptions.

Credit transfer:

The transfer of credit to a UNE award for completed or partially completed studies in other accredited programs.

Course/award:

A program of study of a set of units comprising credit points to a particular value, and approved by the Academic Board, which when satisfactorily completed by the student, normally entitles that student to the award of the appropriate degree.

Course coordinator vs unit coordinator:

The former is responsible for the administration of the course as a whole. The latter is responsible for the administration of a single unit within a course.

CRICOS code:

The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) Code indicates a registered program offered to international students studying in Australia on student visas.

Cross-institutional:

A cross-institutional student undertakes study at one institution while formally enrolled at another. UQ students who wish to take a course at another university and have credit transferred to the UQ program must obtain permission in advance from their faculty.

Cut-Off:

The minimum OP, Rank, or grade point average required for entry to a program in a particular year. Cut-offs are not predetermined and vary from year to year.

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D

Deferment:

The approved postponement of study for a specified period prior to the first enrolment in a course.

Distance education:

Study in the off-campus mode which normally does not require attendance at the University. Unit materials are mailed out and, where necessary, arrangements are made for students to sit for examinations at specified centres accessible from where they live. Also known as external study or off-campus study.

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E

Elective unit:

A unit that is not prescribed as a core part of a course, but which may be undertaken and credited towards the course. The number of electives a student may include in a course is prescribed by the rules of the course in which the student is enrolled.

Enrolment:

When you have been admitted to the University, you may enrol in the units you wish to study in the forthcoming year. You receive an offer of enrolment after you have been admitted. Alternatively, a kit containing an Application Form and a Student Enrolment Form will be sent to you on request. Student Enrolment Forms must usually be submitted by the end of November for commencement in Semester One, or the end of May 2006 for commencement in Semester Two, or as indicated in your offer letter.

Errata:

errors in information or content since first publication.

External study:

Full-time or part-time study that takes place off-campus, ie outside the university by correspondence. In some courses periodic attendance may be required at some on-campus sessions. Also known as distance education.

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G

Graduate:

a person who has studied and received their university award.

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H

Higher degrees by research (HDR):

Masters or doctoral courses in which at least two-thirds of the program are research-based.

Honours:

An additional period of advanced study (usually one year full time) following completion of all requirements of a bachelor degree in which a given number of specified units were passed at distinction standard.

Level of a unit:

For accurate identification each unit at the University has a unique alpha-numeric code eg ENGL101. Introductory units in a subject area will be indicated by codes in the 100 range with more advanced units indicated in the 200 or 300, etc range. 100 level units are often taken in the first year of study, 200 level units in the second year of study and so on, although this is not the case in all faculties.

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M

Major:

A specified combination of units within a discipline or area of study.

Mode:

the way a course or unit is delivered, either full-time, part-time or external.

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O

Offers:

the allocation of available tertiary places to eligible applicants. Offers are made in several rounds.

Online:

Refers to the level at which the unit is offered online via the Internet.

OP:

overall position/rank amongst year 12 students. Changes yearly.

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P

PIN:

Personal Identification Number.

Postgraduate courses:

Courses of study beyond bachelor level, including graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and higher degrees. Eligibility for entry to a postgraduate course normally requires the applicant to have completed an approved undergraduate degree.

Pre-requisite:

One or more units of the University, which are specified by the degree rules that must have been successfully completed before a student may enrol in a particular unit.

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R

Recognition of prior learning/RPL:

see advanced standing.

Residential Colleges:

These refer to on-campus accommodation for students where students are provided with their own serviced room, meals in the college dining room, live-in tutors, pastoral care and resources to facilitate learning. A self-catering option is also available.

Residential school:

Residential schools are intense periods of study undertaken at the campus (or other agreed site) for students studying in external mode. Usually lasting from two to five days, residential schools are specified as optional or mandatory.

Restriction:

This refers to units in which you may not enrol if you have already completed another unit with equivalent content.

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S

Schedule of Units:

a list of all units/subjects offered in the forthcoming semester.

Semester:

The teaching year is organized into three 17 week periods including the examination periods. Semester 1 runs from early March to mid July, Semester 2 from late July to late November and Summer Semester runs from December to February. Unit descriptions will indicate the semester in which the unit is available (sometimes written as S1 and S2). 'Year' indicates a unit which runs over two semesters.

SRAS (School Recommendation Admission Scheme) /principal's recommendation/early entry scheme:

This is an alternative method of entry for internal courses, open to all year 12 students eligible to receive a UAf or OP. Applications are through the student's school or college.

Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT):

The STAT is a two-hour, multiple choice test administered by University admission centres that enables Australian mature-age applicants to demonstrate aptitude for tertiary study.

Subject:

The academic definition is 'a branch of knowledge studied within a faculty (eg Economics, History)'. A branch of knowledge can be further subdivided into many sub-components (eg Ancient History, Medieval History, Modern History, etc). At UNE these sub-components are referred to as units. For ease of initial understanding, units are referred to as subjects in some UNE publications for prospective students.

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T

Term:

Each semester is divided into two terms with a break between terms (mid-semester break) for on campus students. Residential schools are held for external students during the mid-semester breaks.

Tertiary preparation course:

Some institutions offer tertiary preparation courses that are usually designed for applicants who have not completed Year 12 or who are not attempting Year 12 in this year. Minimum age requirements usually apply. The length of courses differs.

TRACKS:

A program to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students an opportunity to access and explore tertiary education and to make informed choices about the direction of their education. Contact the Oorala Centre for more information,

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U

UAI:

rank for selection to tertiary education — aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units of UAI courses (equivalent to TER in SA, NT, WA and TAS and ENTER in VIC).

Undergraduate courses:

Undergraduate courses are courses that are open to all eligible applicants and which generally result in the awarding of an associate degree, bachelor degree, combined degree or double degree award.

Unit:

A unit is a subject or component to be studied as part of a course, and which has its own code and name. Units mostly have a value of six credit points. Units may be core (compulsory) or elective (non-compulsory), and are mostly of one semester duration.

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W

Withdrawal:

A withdrawl is the formal termination by a student of enrolment in a unit.

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