Sub sections:
Trimesters
From 2012, UNE provides its units of study throughout the year using a trimester structure. Link to general information about UNE's shift to trimesters.
The previous semester structure involved 2 x 13 teaching weeks. Trimesters 1 and 2 will each involve 12 teaching weeks. UNE stipulates 150 as the requirement for the average student to successfully complete a unit. This, then, involves a little more than 12 hours study per week per unit.
In connection to trimester 3, the School of Law has offered for many years units in summer school, so the difference for law students will not be as substantial as for some other areas of the university. However, the shift from offering a summer school to offering a third trimester may enable some students to study more units over the summer period than they could previously. First, summer school units were subject to quotas, which were often filled. By contrast, there will be no general quotas attached to trimester 3 by virtue of those units being offered over the summer period. Second, summer schools occurred over an eight-week period. Trimester 3 will occur over 11 weeks, with a two-week non-teaching period. This additional time may enable some students to study three units in trimester 3, depending, of course, on the units offered. The units on offer are predominantly electives, and these have a prerequisite of 48 credit points.
The School of Law regards three units as a full-time load for the third trimester. Given that this is a shorter trimester and Christmas occurs in the non-teaching period, students should allocate close to 14 hours for each unit each week. Students are therefore strongly advised against undertaking four units in the third trimester but they are not administratively barred from doing so.
The number of units offered in the third trimester is likely to be less than the number of units that have been offered in some summer schools. The reason is that summer school offerings were ad hoc, based on the number of academics who volunteered to teach in that period, in effect, over-time. The subjects on offer were announced only a few months before the summer-school. Trimester 3 offerings, on the other hand, are expected to be relatively stable, to enable greater planning by students. This imposes sharper constraints upon the School, for it must be accommodated within the normal teaching load of staff.
Students can find the offerings for each trimester from the course and unit catalogue. We hope that the shift to trimesters will assist students wishing to accelerate their degree. The desire to accelerate is demonstrated most strongly by students towards the end of their degree. We will aim to have a minimum of four electives available in T3. We recognise that there are limited units available for those early in the degree. With appropriate planning, students should find two units available in T3 that they are able to undertake. In relation to course progression, enquiries through AskUNE will be directed to an enrolment and progression officer.
Naturally, those students who wish to only study in trimesters 1 and 2 will be able to do so.
There will be little change to the units on offer in the first two teaching periods of each year.