Glossary: P - Z
|
This glossary provides a general definition of terms commonly used at UNSW and is intended as a guide only.
Students are considered to be part-time if their student load is less than 0.75 EFTSL for an academic year or less than 0.375 for a half year.
See Doctorate/Doctoral Program.
Refers to the identification of a sequence of study (Stream) within a program in University’s student administration system. Plans include majors, minors, and some postgraduate coursework ‘specialisations’. Plans are identified by a five-digit alphabetical prefix and a five-digit numeric suffix eg SENGA13648 refers to the full-time Software Engineering plan.
See Stream, Major, Minor.
See Stream, Major, Minor.
Postgraduate coursework programs are intended for graduates and practising professionals who wish to develop advanced knowledge and competency in their area of expertise or to gain advanced knowledge in a new area. Completion of a postgraduate coursework program requires students to undertake a sequence of courses, rather than research (although a research component may also be involved).
A program of study that leads to the award of a graduate certificate, graduate diploma, masters degree or doctorate.
Completion of a postgraduate research program requires students to undertake supervised individual research rather than postgraduate coursework, although in some circumstances a coursework component may be involved.
A student who is close to fulfilling the minimum units of credit required to complete their program and whose eligibility to graduate is under review by their Program Authority. A student’s eligibility to graduate is dependent on the outcome of final results and the satisfaction of all program requirements.
A course that must have been successfully completed prior to a student undertaking another course, usually due to the need for a student to have particular knowledge in order to successfully engage with the curriculum in the latter course.
Designated study requirement.
See Core Course.
See Elective.
Refers to the student’s previous enrolment stage within a Program.
See Program, Stage.
See Program, Stage.
Prizes are presented to students for meritorious academic achievement. Prizes are usually in the form of medals, books, book vouchers, cash amounts and certificates and are awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of School. Official University prizes appear on a student’s academic transcript and AHEGS.
See AHEGS.
See AHEGS.
An approved set of requirements, courses and/or supervised research into which a student is admitted. In some cases, this will lead to an award of UNSW.
See Dual Award, Combined Degree Program, Course, Major, Minor.
See Dual Award, Combined Degree Program, Course, Major, Minor.
The program authority is responsible for the planning, resourcing and delivery of a program, including teaching resources and arrangements, and administrative arrangements including publication of program information, marketing and recruitment, teaching delivery, including technology enabled learning and teaching, assessment and quality. The program authority is responsible for all matters that affect students in an award program – including admission, enrolment, progression, and graduation.
For Dual Award Programs one of the contributing Faculties is identified as the Program Authority (when the program is proposed). For these programs the Program Authority has responsibility for matters such as enrolment and leave from the program, although both Faculties are separately responsible for certifying that students have satisfied requirements for their particular degree.
See Program, Course Authority.
For Dual Award Programs one of the contributing Faculties is identified as the Program Authority (when the program is proposed). For these programs the Program Authority has responsibility for matters such as enrolment and leave from the program, although both Faculties are separately responsible for certifying that students have satisfied requirements for their particular degree.
See Program, Course Authority.
The knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices that students are expected to acquire and demonstrate in completing a program of study.
The formally approved program requirements that students must follow in order to successfully progress through and graduate from a program.
Specifies the academic rules and requirements for a program. The Program Structure may be revised periodically. Students are required to complete the requirements that applied at the time the student commenced the program, unless a specific transition program is approved for the student.
See Program, Core Courses, Electives, Prescribed Electives, Free Electives, Pre-requisites.
See Program, Core Courses, Electives, Prescribed Electives, Free Electives, Pre-requisites.
The process of assessing an individual’s relevant prior learning (including formal, non-formal learning and informal / workplace learning) for equivalence to:
- the learning outcomes of the qualification specified as a requirement for admission to the program, or
- courses in the program to which a student has been admitted to determine the credit value to be granted as advanced standing or exemptions.
See Advanced Standing, Credit Transfer, Block Credit, Specified Credit, Unspecified Credit, Substitution.
The person nominated by the Course Authority to be available to answer any questions during an examination. The Referee is normally the Course Convenor.
Postgraduate programs of study which involve a student independently researching a specific topic under the guidance of a supervisor and producing a thesis or report. Some research programs do involve a coursework component.
See Elective.
Refers to the standard of academic performance of a student in a course or a program in which they are enrolled . The Program Authority must be satisfied in the student’s ability to progress to the next stage of their program.
Also see Academic Standing.
Also see Academic Standing.
The requirements to be met to determine eligibility (and to enable ranking of applicants where necessary) for entry to an award program.
The administrative time period in which Teaching Periods are defined, students enrol and for which students are charged fees or student contributions. UNSW has two main semesters per year, as well as the eight-week Summer Term in December/January. The two main semesters are structured around 12 weeks of classes in 13 weeks. Each semester also includes a one week mid-semester break. Semester 1 is, approximately from February to June and Semester 2 is, approximately from July to November. Exceptions to this pattern are the Faculty of Medicine and the Australian Graduate School of Management whose academic years are divided into multiple teaching periods within the semester structure.
See Teaching Period.
See Teaching Period.
An Award with Honours program is an additional, distinct year of study that follows the completion of an undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline, whether at UNSW or elsewhere. All components of the Honours program contribute to the Honours level qualification. These Honours programs require completion of 48 UoC of study typically undertaken over one calendar year (or part-time equivalent).
See Honours, Embedded Honours Programs.
See Honours, Embedded Honours Programs.
See Major.
An academic area or organisational unit which is responsible for teaching in disciplines or subject areas and which forms part of a Faculty.
The range of discipline-relevant abilities that a student acquires as part of their studies. They can include cognitive skills, technical skills, communication skills, creative skills, interpersonal skills and generic skills. They may be related to how a student uses or discovers the discipline knowledge acquired in their study, or they may be related to the professional practice of those who work in the discipline.
A focussed area of academic study in a postgraduate program.
See Major, Stream.
See Major, Stream.
Credit granted when an exact or near exact equivalence to one or more courses studied either at UNSW or at another higher education provider, or through non-formal or informal / workplace prior learning, can be demonstrated. Once agreed, this recognition becomes a precedent for other students.
See Unspecified Credit, Block Credit, Advanced Standing, Substitution, Recognition of Prior Learning, Credit Transfer.
See Unspecified Credit, Block Credit, Advanced Standing, Substitution, Recognition of Prior Learning, Credit Transfer.
Programs are generally structured in a number of ‘Stages’ of study, requiring students to complete a specified number of units of credit and/or a particular sequence of courses at each stage. Generally, students are identified with a particular program stage, depending on how far they have progressed. For a full-time student, stages correspond with their year of enrolment (e.g. Stage 1 is the first year of study, Stage 2 is the second year, etc).
Stream is a sequence of study. This is the umbrella term for majors, minors and postgraduate program specialisations. At UNSW, streams are identified by a six-digit code that consists of a four-character subject area, a single alphabetical character strand code, and a single character stream type code. For example, SENGA1 refers to the full-time Software Engineering stream.
See Plan, Major, Minor, Specialisation.
See Plan, Major, Minor, Specialisation.
A person who has accepted an offer to a program of UNSW (award or non-award), has enrolled in at least one course in that program and retains an active status in that program.
The commonwealth government groups different areas of study into one of four bands. Student contribution bands are used to determine the maximum student contribution amount per EFSTL.
See EFTSL, Student Contribution Charge, Student Contributions.
See EFTSL, Student Contribution Charge, Student Contributions.
(Previously known as HECS liability). The financial amount a University sets that a Commonwealth supported student pays for courses (units of study) in that university for a given year.
Contributions that Commonwealth supported students make towards the cost of their education.
An international student studying on campus at UNSW for one or two semesters as a non-award full-time student who is paying tuition fees or is sponsored by their home government to study at UNSW and receives credit at their home university from which they will graduate.
The total number of units of credit (UoC) taken in a semester. A full-time load at UNSW is 18 or more UoC per semester (a standard full-time load is 24).
See Course.
A type of exemption from a core course or other requirement. Students are still required to complete an equivalent, or near equivalent, course to the same unit of credit value.
See Credit Transfer, Exemption, Advanced Standing, Recognition of Prior Learning, Unspecified Credit, Block Credit.
See Credit Transfer, Exemption, Advanced Standing, Recognition of Prior Learning, Unspecified Credit, Block Credit.
Each Program may define rules that allow individual students to substitute core or elective courses with other courses that meet their special abilities or needs. Often such substitution must have prior approval of the Program Authority.
See also Credit Transfer.
See also Credit Transfer.
Supplementary Transcripts were issued to eligible UNSW students who graduated prior to Semester 1, 2010 for approved activities and awards from Semester 1 2007. From S1 2010, all UNSW students completing program requirements receive an AHEGS on graduation.
Combined with an academic transcript, the Supplementary Transcript recognised student achievement outside formal study, such as volunteer contributions, international exchange and scholarships and provided official recognition to those leadership activities promoted under the UNSW banner that could be seen to enhance the development of graduate attributes.
See AHEGS.
Combined with an academic transcript, the Supplementary Transcript recognised student achievement outside formal study, such as volunteer contributions, international exchange and scholarships and provided official recognition to those leadership activities promoted under the UNSW banner that could be seen to enhance the development of graduate attributes.
See AHEGS.
Each Semester is composed of several Teaching Periods, for example Teaching Period 1A (T1A) and Teaching Period 1B (T1B) in Semester 1. A course in Semester 1 or 2 may run over 13 weeks, or in one of 2 shorter 6 week periods. Summer Term is composed of three Teaching Periods, Teaching Period U1 (8 weeks over December and January), U1B (4 weeks from early January) and U1C (6 weeks over late December and January).
See Semester.
See Semester.
Completion of at least one full-time year (or equivalent period part-time) of a recognised degree, or a completed Associate Diploma, Diploma or Certificate IV course.
A testamur is the official certification of a student's completion of a degree, diploma or certificate obtained at the University of New South Wales. It contains the signatures of the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, and bears the official seal of the University. It also contains the name of the graduate, award title and date of award conferral.
Refers to a commencing student who hasn’t yet selected a major for their program. Students are required to declare a Major by the start of Stage 2 of their program.
See Major.
See Major.
A program of study that leads to the award of a diploma, advanced diploma, associate degree or a bachelor degree (pass or honours).
Please see http://www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/unipass/.
A value attached to UNSW courses and programs which indicates the study load relative to a standard full-time load of 48 UOC. Each UOC has a normal workload expectation of approximately 25 hours per semester, including class contact hours, other learning activities, preparation and time spent on all assessable work.
The central office that receives and processes applications for admission to most undergraduate degrees, Advanced Diploma and Diploma programs at participating institutions. UAC also notifies students of their ATAR and, on behalf of the participating institutions, makes offers to programs.
Credit granted when an exact or near exact course equivalence cannot be demonstrated.
Refers to courses offered at Levels 2 - 6 that are usually taken in later years of the degree and sometimes require completion of lower Level courses as pre-requisites. In practice, each course is associated with a specific level.
See Course.
See Course.
The notional duration of all activities required for the achievement of the learning outcomes specified for a program, expressed in units of credit.
It is calculated by multiplying the mark obtained for each relevant result by the units of credit of the particular course, adding up the products and dividing by the total number of units of credit for the relevant courses. Only results that produce a mark are considered to be relevant, apart from DF prior to Session 1, 2002 and AF from Session 1, 2003, which are equivalent to a mark of zero. A 'Term WAM' is calculated for relevant results in a semester, and a separate cumulative WAM is calculated for relevant results over the student's entire program.
Normal workload expectations for each program are a minimum of 25 hours per semester per unit of credit, including class contact hours, preparation and time spent on all assessable work. For a full-time enrolled student, the average workload across the 16 weeks of teaching, study, and exam periods equates to approximately 37.5 hours per week. Workload is also sometimes referred to as ‘Assessable Hours’.
Please see http://www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/zpass/.
Study Levels
UNSW Quick Links
