Changes to student policies for 2021

The following changes to several student policies were approved by Academic Board which take effect in 2021.

2021 Academic Regulations

• The recency of learning requirement for credit (10 years) is now inclusive of non-formal and informal learning. These are now also recognised for credit into a postgraduate course to the normal maximum of one-half.
• Changes to enrolment regulations include: an explicit requirement to enrol in units in accordance with the course rules, cross-institutional enrolment is now permitted as a substitute for a failed unit where it is necessary for completion of a student’s program, and an interruption of studies is now limited to two standard study periods (automatic) with a further two standard study periods on application for exceptional circumstances. Only the initial (automatic) period is excluded from the maximum time to complete.
• Units credited during ACU internal transfers between an incomplete award to another ACU program are now applied with the result recorded and included in the calculation of the GPA (rather than a ‘CG’ grade).
• A new administrative grade, ‘Fail absent (NL)’ is available to apply for students who did not attempt any assessment and did not withdraw from their unit(s).

2021 Academic Regulations

Student Conduct Policy and Managing Misconduct Procedures

• Where alleged misconduct might constitute a criminal offence and is subject to police and/or court involvement, the matter can now be referred to OGC to determine whether the university’s misconduct proceedings can be continued without compromising any external process.
• The number of handlers has been reduced and the AVC/CD is now responsible for both the preliminary inquiry and the decision to dismiss, redirect to remedial, or proceed/investigate.
• The penalty options have been updated to include options for the student residences and clarity on the definition and use of exclusion vs suspension and to recommend the revocation of an award that has been improperly obtained.
• Minor consequential changes were made to the Rescission or Revocation of an Award Procedure, the Student Appeals Policy and the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.

Student Conduct Policy and Managing Misconduct Procedures

Scholarships and Awards Policy and Administration of Scholarships and Awards Procedures

• New/amended principles to guide scholarship stewardship at ACU align scholarships and awards with ACU’s Mission, the Strategic Plan priorities and the student lifecycle. The Provost now has responsibility for scholarship oversight and strategy, and the coordination of a periodic review of offerings and annual reporting.
• Responsibilities of the key stakeholders, the Provost, Advancement and Alumni, the Scholarships Office and MER, and have been realigned as necessary for recent organisational changes.
• The minimum requirements for establishing scholarships including their value, rules, and donor involvement in selection have been articulated and/or clarified.

Scholarships and Awards Policy and Administration of Scholarships and Awards Procedures

Student Results Procedures

• The allocation and finalisation of the new administrative Fail Absent (NL) grade and the interim Result Pending (RP) grade have been articulated.
• Examinations and Results are introducing a new web-based application to manage changes to results along with the current form. The web-based application may be used by schools to request changes to final results up to two years after the original allocation of the final result.

Student Results Procedures

Defence Reserves and Emergency Services Personnel Support Policy

• There are now adjusted timeframes and processes for unit offering in line with current systems processes and changes to external reporting requirements.
• Sections which overlap with existing policies have now been removed.
• There has been an addition of a section on variations to unit offerings in order to add clarity around the circumstances for submission after set deadline.
• There is now a reference to the relevant Government Act.

Defence Reserves and Emergency Services Personnel Support Policy

Examinations Policy and Procedures

• The policy now defines online and in person examinations for clarity.
• The policy and procedures now adopts inclusive terminology throughout that work for both in-person and online examinations.
• An additional section on examination conditions for online examinations has been included in policy.
• There is now a section on interruptions to online examinations.
• The policy and procedures have had minor amendments to terminology in line with current processes and stakeholder feedback.

Examinations Policy and Procedures

Conferral and Graduation Policy; Procedures for Conferral of Award; and Procedures for Graduation Ceremonies

• There have been changes to approval and governing authority for the policy and procedures.
• Consequential changes have been added throughout the policy suite, following a Senate resolution to amend Statute 6, which separates conferral from the graduation ceremony and delegates the authority to confer awards to the Vice-Chancellor, on recommendation of the Chair of Academic Board.
• Course completion has now been added as a step in the Conferral and Graduations Policy and Procedures for Conferral of Award.
• There are amendments throughout the policy and procedures to bring them into line with current processes.

Conferral and Graduation Policy; Procedures for Conferral of Award and Procedures for Graduation Ceremonies

Academic Dress and Regalia Policy

• There has been a change to the approval and governing authority.
• Details around use of gowns and patterns have been updated in line with current processes.

Academic Dress and Regalia Policy

Detailed briefing notes on the changes to the above policies were sent to stakeholders by email. Any interested staff who have not received them and would like to receive more detailed information on the changes to any or all of the policies below should contact Kerry Blair or Catherine McKiver.