Glossary H - R | Glossary S - Z

 

An indication of a student’s current progress toward completion of a program. At the end of each semester an Academic Standing is assigned. This is calculated according to the proportion of load passed (undergraduate students), or cumulative number of failures (postgraduate students). Academic Standing is also calculated at the career level (i.e undergraduate/postgraduate), not at the program level.

An unofficial record of a student's academic history. It includes details of the program, enrolled courses, results, summary assessment statistics, academic standing, advanced standing and awards obtained at UNSW.

An official record of a student's full enrolment history, results, awards and official prizes obtained at UNSW.

Advanced Standing, sometimes referred to as Credit Transfer or Recognition of Prior Leearning. At undergraduate level it is recognition of prior study at a University or TAFE. At postgraduate level it is recognition of either prior postgraduate study in a university, or relevant professional experience.

A sequence of programs comprising Graduate Certificate and/or Graduate Diploma and /or Masters programs in which the requirements for completion of early programs in the sequence are embedded within the requirements for subsequent programs. This allows students to enrol initially in an early stage of the sequence (Grad Cert or Grad Dip) and subsequently ‘add on ‘ further courses to complete a higher level program without loss of credit.

The process of evaluating learning outcomes, as reflected in the quality of a student's submitted work, relative to the standard expected. Examples of types of assessment tasks include assignments and written and oral examination responses.

The level of knowledge known to facilitate understanding of the study material, but which is not a requirement for entry.

A degree, diploma or certificate obtained on graduation from a program. It recognises successful completion of that program and carries the official seal of the University.

The formal award received on successful completion of an undergraduate university degree program, ordinarily of three or more year’s duration. Bachelor degrees provide initial preparation for professional careers and postgraduate study.

The location where a program or course is taught. UNSW has several campuses including the main campus at Kensington, the College of Fine Arts (COFA) campus in Paddington, and the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra.

A core course taken toward the end of a program which is designed to draw together the various education strands. It is an opportunity for students to demonstrate that they have achieved the specified learning goals. Typically, capstone activities will incorporate a research project or examination which encourages students to consider the broader context of their discipline.
See course.

Refers to a student's academic level. UNSW has the following careers: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research and Non-award.

A component of a course available in a particular teaching period. Examples of classes include lectures, seminars, tutorials and laboratories. Students enrol in a course by selecting associated classes from the schedule.

Refers to courses in the same or related discipline or specialisation.

The concurrent study of two degrees as one program under a single set of rules leading to the award of two degrees. Two testamurs (one for each degree) are awarded at graduation. An example is the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws program.

A higher education place for which the Commonwealth makes a contribution towards the cost of a student's education. Students pay a student contribution amount which varies depending on courses undertaken.

A compulsory course within a program that must be satisfactorily completed to meet the requirements of the program. Foundation and Capstone courses are examples of core courses.
See Course.

A course which must be completed successfully before, or studied concurrently with, the course for which it is prescribed.

Otherwise known as a subject, a course is an individual study unit offered within a program with a specific unit of credit weighting (for example, MATH1131 - Mathematics 1A , 6UoC). Components of a course may include lectures, tutorials or laboratory classes.
Students enrol in many courses to make up their program of study, some of which may be core courses (compulsory) or elective courses (where students are given a choice of courses).
UNSW courses codes are made up of a four-character alphabetic prefix, identifying the School or unit administering the course, and a four-digit numeric suffix e.g. ECON1101 - Microeconomics 1.

The School (or Faculty) responsible for the planning, resourcing and delivery of a course, including teaching resources and arrangements, and administrative arrangements including publication of course information, teaching delivery, including LMS supported delivery, assessment and quality.
In practice the Course Authority may delegate some responsibilities to nominated staff, including teaching staff. In the absence of this role, authority is referred to the Head of School offering the course.

A mode of study largely, or wholly, constituted of courses involving directed learning, including face-to-face class instruction, online learning, distance learning, or combinations of these. It is a term commonly used with regard to undergraduate and postgraduate study. The other mode of postgraduate study is research.

Refers to courses a student may take in a different Faculty to the one in which their program is based. Program Authorities may limit the number or type of cross-Faculty courses a student may take.

Where a student undertakes study at one institution while formally enrolled at another. For example, a UNSW student enrols at another Australian tertiary institution for credit towards his/her award at UNSW, or a student enrolled at another university completes a UNSW course for credit towards his/her award at the home institution.

An official agreement which allows successful applicants to delay commencement of a tertiary program, usually for the period of one year.

A formal award or qualification awarded on completion of a Bachelor, Masters or Doctoral program of study (eg Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Arts, or PhD).
See Award.

Related courses offered by a School or Department which form part of the same study area. Many programs require students to specialise in a particular study area, for example, Accounting, Civil Engineering or English.
Also see specialisation.

A postgraduate research program where students independently research a specific topic under the guidance of a supervisor to produce a thesis. For a doctorate, considerably more original work is required than for a Masters by Research program. Students should note that in some Faculties, coursework may also be prescribed.

A student who is an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or holder of an Australian permanent visa. Domestic students may be offered a place as either a Commonwealth supported student or a fee paying student.

The concurrent study of two (or more) disciplines as a single award. One testamur is awarded on graduation, e.g. the Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education BABEd. Unlike combined degree programs, double degree program rules do not allow for the award of a single degree for each discipline area studied.

A major studied in conjunction with another major in a Program. The two majors can be from two Faculties, provided they are approved,
In combined degree programs students typically undertake a major in each program.

A measure of the study load for a year, of a student undertaking a program on a full-time basis.

Coursework degree programs have three main categories of elective: General Education elective courses that are taken to satisfy the University’s General Education requirement; Free Elective courses are an elective requirement that does not place any restriction on the courses that a student may take to complete the requirement (subject to meeting individual course requisites) and; Restricted Elective courses where the program specifies that a student must select electives from a specified list of courses.
General Education and Free electives in part satisfy the breadth requirement of programs. Restricted electives typically form part of or complement the depth requirement.
Restricted electives are typically specified as lists of courses that students select from to complete the requirement. All categories of elective may be specified in terms of general rules (eg 24UoC; 12UoC at Level 2) rather than individual courses.
Note that any individual course may be specified as a core course in one program and as an elective in another.
See Core Course, Course, Program.

A specific time to enrol, within the enrolment period, allocated to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Enrolment Appointments are sometimes used to give prioritised and equitable enrolment access to particular groups, usually later year students.

The person responsible to the Course Authority for determining a provisional mark for students enrolled in a course or courses. A Course Convenor is always an Examiner.

Exclusions are courses students are excluded from taking, generally because they have content in common with courses for which the student has previously been granted credit.

Faculties are the large academic organisational units of the University, generally comprised of several Schools or Departments. UNSW has nine Faculties; Arts and Social Sciences, Australian School of Business, Built Environment, College of Fine Arts (COFA), Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and University College (ADFA).

UNSW offers several ‘fast-track’ or ‘Masters track’ programs. These give students the opportunity on completion of an undergraduate program (and subject to progression requirements), to progress directly to a particular Masters program with exemptions/credit transfer for some courses completed as part of their undergraduate study, e.g. the Bachelor of Engineering/Master of Commerce.

A core course, usually taken in Stage 1 that must be satisfactorily completed in order to complete the requirements of the program. It lays the foundations for higher level courses.
See Core Course.

A Gateway Course is the entry-level course for a major or program. It is a foundation course that introduces students to the scholarly conventions, concepts and skills/techniques of the discipline community/field of study that are necessary to complete the major or program.

UNSW requires undergraduate students in single degree programs to complete some courses outside their study area from any Faculty other than the one in which their program is based. This contributes to the breadth of learning requirement in programs. The Handbook indicates which courses are available as General Education.

Students receive a final assessment grade for each course in their program. Examples include; High Distinction (HD), Pass (PS), Fail (FL) and result not finalised (WD).

A student who has completed all the requirements for his/her program, but has not yet had the degree formally conferred.

A student who has completed all the requirements for his/her program, and has had the degree formally conferred.