Short Courses and Non Award UnitsPREAMBLE This policy outlines the principles and procedures under which the University can offer single units, or groups of units badged as a short course, to students on a fee-paying basis. These units may provide transferable credit. Any single unit or short course may be offered to fee-paying students as long as they satisfy entry and prerequisite requirements and there are no enrolment restrictions in place. Any course of study offered to non-Murdoch University participants and which utilises University facilities and or staff expertise must be approved as a unit and attendees registered on the student record system (Callista) regardless of its length or whether credit against further study is applicable. Schools are encouraged to offer fee-paying non award units or short courses in their area of professional knowledge as they
External consultants who wish to offer or have offered a short course must contact MurdochLink who will provide a facilatory service. MurdochLink will market the short course to potential students, with fees to be determined in consultation with the external consultant. The short course must not be based on a Murdoch University unit and will never be for credit towards a Murdoch University award course. This policy incorporates and supersedes the policy on ‘Credit for Fee Paying Short Courses’ as approved by Academic Council, Sept 18th 2002 . DEFINITION
PRINCIPLES/OBJECTIVES To provide policy and regulation on the development and implementation of non award units and of award units when undertaken by students enrolled on a non award basis. In particular to provide the policy framework for the development and provision of individual units and short courses so as to ensure they comply with University policy and quality standards. In addition to ensure they meet Government and management equity requirements in order to attract transferable credit where appropriate. POLICY Approval of Units and Short Courses Any form of study or professional development which can be undertaken by non-Murdoch participants and which uses the facilities and/or expertise of staff employed by Murdoch University must offer this study as part of an approved unit. This is regardless of its length or whether credit, advanced standing or exemptions against further study is applicable. Exceptions to this would be in-house training courses where there are no non-Murdoch employees or where such training courses are offered to other University staff on a reciprocal basis. Approval of all units to be offered must be sought by the School from which the unit is developed and by the Divisional Board. Divisions are responsible for advising Academic Policy Committee, (APC) of such approvals and for identifying any policy issues which may require approval. APC is to confirm any policy issues and note these approvals and advise Academic Council and the Office of Central Student Administration. Short course proposals which will provide credit towards an award course should be submitted and have their dates and fees approved by the deadlines shown below so that the appropriate DEST requirements can be met. Any proposal submitted outside of these dates will need to seek special DEST approval and there may be a delay before they can be offered. No course should be publicised until the Director of Central Student Administration has confirmed that DEST approval, if necessary, has been obtained.
Short courses which are offered on a not for credit basis to ALL participants do not require DEST approval. Such courses should be submitted and have their dates and fees approved at least one month prior to being offered. A proforma, which details the information required, should be completed for all non award units and short courses, is available on the Web as part of the academic planning documentation. All units will be entered on the University central record system (Callista) and have an assigned code. All those who undertake this study will be recorded as enrolled in this unit on Callista. A list of currently available non award units should be maintained on the University Web pages by the Office of Central Student Administration. 1.1 Short Courses A short course can consist of a combination of award units and non award units. Any person undertaking a short course must be enrolled in the appropriate units on Callista. Any credit and exemption to be determined for a short course shall be calculated from the individual units. The proponent of any short course for which 12 points or more of transferable credit at the postgraduate level is to be awarded, should refer to the Australian Qualifications Framework when determining the title of the short course. All short course titles must be submitted to APC for approval. Where a School has identified that there is demand for a single unit or group of units to be packaged and marketed to satisfy a particular need, then this can be requested for approval as a short course. 1.2 Non Award Units for Credit All non award units offered for credit must comply with the University’s Academic Planning Policies and Regulations All non award units offered for credit must comply with the University’s Assessment Policy or seek formal exemption before the unit is offered. Non award units offered for credit must have the level of credit and any advanced standing approved through APC in line with normal academic planning policy. Non award units offered for credit can be available either on a one off basis to satisfy a particular market demand, or on a semi regular basis. Non award units offered for credit which are in demand on a regular basis should be considered for offering as part of an award course. 1.3 Units and Short Courses where not transferable credit is awarded Units may be offered by a School for a particular purpose or demand but for which no transferable credit against an award course is applicable. This may apply when a unit or group of units serves a particular purpose, eg the University may offer a unit of interest to the general community such as in studying native plants on campus. While a fee may be applicable for such a course, completion would not provide any transferable credit against an award course. Prior approval for a not for credit unit or short course must be given by the responsible School Committee and Divisional Board. Divisions are responsible for advising APC of these approved units. The School is responsible for the marketing of the not for credit units and may use the University logo, subject to normal University Policy and approval processes. Publicity material for not for credit units and short courses must make clear that no credit will be received towards an award course regardless of the number of not for credit units undertaken. Not for credit units are recorded on Callista and students enrolled as Murdoch students. Fees notices will be issued by the University Fees and Enrolments Officer. If the School has determined that the not for credit unit(s) form a short course which should have it own title, this should be submitted as part of the approval process. A not for credit unit may be based upon an existing award unit but must be offered as a differently coded unit on Callista. This will allow identification of the students by the co-ordinator and enable a different fee to be set if appropriate. Academic Council and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) will initiate a quality audit review of all not for credit units and short courses as per the University’s review policy. 1.4 Using existing award unit(s) to create non award units An existing award unit may be used to form a number of non award component units which can be offered on a fee-paying basis only. For example an existing 4 point award course unit may be separated into three component non award units of 1 or 2 points and completed individually. Alternatively a non award component unit may be formed by taking parts from a number of existing units. This may be combined with other similar non award or award units to create a short course offered on a fee-paying basis to meet a particular market. Determination of any credit and advanced standing which may be applicable for a component unit needs to be clearly stated by the School at the time of approval. Any non award component unit which forms part of a sequence of units, must clearly identify the combination of units to be completed before any exemptions can be awarded. Where exemptions or advanced standing against an award unit is only available on completion of a sequence of units, any marketing should clearly indicate how many times these units will be available for this credit to be obtained. Enrolment, Confirmation and Completion of Study 2.1 Non award students in award units Any person wishing to enrol in an award unit on a non award basis will be deemed a non award student. Their unit enrolment will be entered on Callista and their results recorded on that system. A non award student wishing to enrol in an award unit must apply through the University’s Prospective Students and Admissions Centre. They must meet the University’s minimum entrance requirements or satisfy the Director of Admissions that they have the necessary background to study that particular unit. They must also satisfy the prerequisite requirements for that unit. Enrolment in units subject to a quota will need the approval of the Program Chair. Students will not be permitted to enrol in an award unit which is part of a Restricted Course, as approved by Academic Council, without the approval of the Program Chair. Non award students cannot undertake an award unit on a not for credit basis. They will be required to pay the full fees applicable for the unit and undertake the requirements of the unit. Non award students will be registered as Murdoch students for the length of the unit only. If they wish to complete further units they will need to make a new application. As students enrolled on a non award basis gain no academic or financial advantage under this policy, and as the numbers of students in such cases is small, there is no limit on the number of units which a non award student can undertake. However, the Director of Admissions should ensure that admissions advice is given to such students and enrolment in a recognised award course undertaken if appropriate. Academic and administrative oversight of non award students will be consistent with existing policy relating to Appeals and Boards of Examiners. The responsible Division and School is that in which the oversight for that unit normally lies. Students who are undertaking units of study at Murdoch, but whose enrolment remains with a ‘home institution’ must still be recorded on Callista. This would apply to cross-institutional enrolling students, to students enrolled in Open Universities Australia and to students undertaking units through collaborative award arrangements where Murdoch is a contributing partner. Such students will have their credit and fee liability determined according to individual Agreements or requirements. On completion of an award unit, a non award student will be sent one free Statement of Academic Record by the Office of Central Student Administration. Academic Council and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) must initiate a quality audit of enrolments and results of all students enrolled on a non award basis as per the University’s review policy. 2.2 Short Courses The AOU or academic area running the short course will be responsible for determining the eligibility of students admitted. Information on students undertaking a short course will be collected by the AOU or academic area and provided to the Divisional Office who will be responsible for ensuring that the necessary details are recorded on Callista. On completion of the short course, the AOU or academic area is responsible for advising the Divisional Office of the completion status in each unit for all participants. This will be in line with the grading schema approved for the course The grading schema to be used is;
A Certificate of Completion will be issued by the University Graduations Office based upon the information within Callista. Academic Council and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) will initiate a quality audit of short courses as per the University’s review policy 3. Credit, exemptions and advanced standing. Policy relating to the awarding of credit, exemptions and advanced standing is detailed throughout this document and reference should be made to specific sections. The following in particular should be noted. Any credit, exemptions or advanced standing which may be applicable for a single non award unit or short course must to be clearly stated. All non award units offered for credit must comply with the University’s Academic Planning Policies and Regulations All non award units offered for credit must comply with the University’s Assessment Policy or seek formal exemption. Non award students who successfully complete an award unit will obtain the same transferable credit and advanced standing awarded to students enrolled in it on an award basis. There is no provision for a non award student to undertake an award unit on a not for credit basis. The proponents of a short course, for which more than 12 points of transferable credit is to be awarded, should refer to the Australian Qualifications Framework when determining the title of the short course. This is particularly relevant if the short course is offered at the postgraduate level. All short course titles must be submitted to APC for approval. Fees for Short Courses and Non Award Units. 4.1 Fee rates Any student who is not enrolled in an award course, and who is therefore a ‘non award student’, who undertakes a single unit or group of units, must undertake these units on a fee-paying basis. Non award units are only available on a fee-paying basis. Any student who is enrolled in an award course, but who undertakes a non award unit, must pay for this unit on a fee-paying basis regardless of their fee status in the award course. Fees for award units, undertaken by both award and ‘non award students’, will be set annually as part of the University’s annual fee planning process. Fees for a group of award units formed into a short course will be the sum of the single award unit fees. Fees for Component Units will need to be established in consultation with the Director – Central Student Administration prior to submission to APC. Approval to offer Component Units may require specific approval from DEST which must be sought, via the Director – Central Student Administration, prior to submission to APC. In certain circumstances it may be possible for a different fee to be charged to employer funded students enrolled in the same award units, as part of their short course. If this differentiation is appropriate the proponent of the short course must consult with the Director – Central Student Administration, prior to submission to APC. Fees for non award units can be determined by the proponent of the course and must be established prior to submission to APC. Policy relating to fees for all domestic fee-paying students is determined by DEST. See Table 1 for Fee and Reporting requirements 4.2 Collection and distribution of fees. Fees for all units and short courses will be collected and recorded through the University Fees and Enrolments Office. Fees for non award students and for short courses will be distributed in line with current University policy. The percentage of funds to be distributed to the Division/AOU will be in accordance with the rate as determined by the University.
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