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Graduation Policy

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This policy sets requirements for:

  1. the awards and award levels of Charles Sturt University (the University), ensuring they are conferred:
    1. only on students who have met the requirements of the course that leads to the award
    2. with proper recognition and celebration of students’ achievement
  2. the award documentation issued to graduates, ensuring that is consistent with:
    1. the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
    2. the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021
  3. the conduct of graduation ceremonies.

Scope

(2) This policy applies to all awards issued by the University, all graduands and graduates, and to all staff involved in the work of confirming students’ completions, graduation ceremonies and issuing award documentation.

(3) This policy does not apply to courses or subjects that do not lead to an award of the University (see the Course and Subject Policy).

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Section 2 - Policy

Part A - Conferral of awards

Eligibility to graduate

(4) A student will be eligible to graduate with an award from this University when all requirements of the course in which they are enrolled have been fulfilled and any other conditions for graduation under the Graduation Procedure – Conferral and Ceremony are met.

Conferral of awards

(5) Awards are conferred throughout the year, separately to the graduation ceremonies. As students become eligible for conferral, they are added to the list of graduands as stated in the Graduation Procedure - Conferral and Ceremony.

(6) The Chancellor, acting on behalf of the Council, approves the conferral of the awards on the approved list of graduands.

(7) All testamurs and other award documents are provided as per the Graduation Procedure – Documents for Completion of Study.

(8) All graduates will be invited to attend a graduation ceremony.

Conferral of aegrotat and posthumous awards

(9) A student who has died or sustained an incapacitating illness or injury when they were close to completing the requirements of an award may be conferred a posthumous award (if the student has died) or an aegrotat award (if a permanently incapacitating illness or injury prevents them from completing their course) under the conditions stated in the Graduation Procedure - Conferral and Ceremony.

Honorary awards

(10) The Governance (Honorary Awards and Titles) Rule details the authorisations to confer honorary awards.

Relinquishment or revoking of awards

(11) The Governance (Relinquishment and Revocation of Awards) Rule 2023 details the authorisations to relinquish or revoke awards.

Award Documentation

(12) The University provides graduates with the following documentation of awards:

  1. a digital and a printed testamur
  2. a digital Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS), and
  3. access to an official online transcript of their academic results.

(13) The University Secretary approves the form of the:

  1. testamur, and
  2. the AHEGS content in accordance with the Guidelines for the presentation of Australian Higher Education Graduation Statements.

(14) Only one testamur will be issued to a graduate per award unless, in extraordinary circumstances, the University Secretary authorises more than one copy to be issued.

(15) The Graduation Procedure – Documents for Completion of Study states the relevant requirements for:

  1. student names and course titles on testamurs
  2. replacement testamurs, and
  3. management and content of the AHEGS.

(16) The University implements measures to prevent fraudulent activity in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Control Policy and may request information such as proof of identification or address, prior to issuing a testamur or replacement testamur.

Part B - Award levels

(17) The awards granted by the University are, from highest to lowest:

  1. Doctorate
  2. Master by research
  3. Master by coursework
  4. Graduate diploma
  5. Graduate certificate
  6. Bachelor (Honours)
  7. Bachelor
  8. Associate Degree
  9. Diploma
  10. University Certificate
  11. Certificate IV

Bachelor (honours) award classes

(18) Bachelor (honours) degrees (both one-year courses and integrated four-year courses) will be awarded with one of the following classes of honours, as set out in the Assessment Policy:

  1. Class 1
  2. Class 2, Division 1
  3. Class 2, Division 2
  4. Class 3

(19) The faculty will state the criteria to be used for determining graduates’ level of honours in each bachelor (honours) course, as part of the course approval. The criteria may be:

  1. the student’s grade in the research component alone
  2. the student’s grades in the research component and specified coursework subjects, or
  3. the student’s grades in all subjects required for the course.

Awards with distinction

(20) Coursework awards with a volume of learning of 64 credit points or more, other than bachelor (honours) degrees, will be conferred with distinction where the graduand has completed at least 64 credit points for the award at Charles Sturt University and achieved a grade point average (GPA) of 6.0 or higher.

Awards with a third party

(21) A joint award may be offered where Charles Sturt University and another university or equivalent award-conferring educational institution offer a program accredited by both the University and the other body.

(22) An award of the University can only be offered jointly where the third party is accredited to offer such an award in its own right and:

  1. Charles Sturt University has accredited the joint award through its normal course accreditation processes, before the course leading to the joint award can be delivered, and
  2. the third party has accredited the award through its own and/or the relevant national accreditation processes.

(23) Third parties involved in a joint award or in the delivery of a Charles Sturt University award documentation will be acknowledged on award documents as per the Graduation Procedure – Documents for Completion of Study.

Part C - Graduation ceremonies

Responsibilities for graduation ceremonies

(24) The Division of Customer Experience – University Events manages and conducts graduation ceremonies in collaboration with the University Secretary, the Manager, Student Initiatives, Student Administration and other relevant divisions and offices of the University.

(25) The Graduation Procedure - Conferral and Ceremony states:

  1. responsibilities for managing and conducting graduation ceremonies
  2. detailed requirements for graduation ceremonies, including their timing and location
  3. approval and endorsement of a graduation ceremony schedule inclusive of postponement or cancellation
  4. the order of the academic procession and seating arrangements
  5. the conduct of proceedings
  6. detailed inclusions of ceremony, and
  7. the presentation of graduates.
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Section 3 - Procedure

(26) The Graduation Procedure - Conferral and Ceremony and Graduation Procedure - Documents for Completion of Study support this policy and should be read alongside it.

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Section 4 - Guidelines

(27) Nil.

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Section 5 - Glossary

(28) For the purposes of this policy, the following terms have the definitions stated:

  1. Award – as defined in the policy library glossary.
  2. Confer – means to admit a student to an award of the University, certified through the provision of a testamur.
  3. Coursework course – as defined in the policy library glossary.
  4. Coursework subject – as defined in the policy library glossary.
  5. Graduand – means a student who has been confirmed as meeting the requirements for completion of their course but has not yet been conferred with their award.
  6. Graduate – means a student having met all course requirements and approval steps to graduate and having been conferred the award by the Chancellor.
  7. Higher degree by research (HDR) course – as defined in the policy library glossary.
  8. Research component – as defined in the policy library glossary.
  9. Teaching faculty – means the faculty to which the teaching school belongs or that manages the course in question. 
  10. Testamur – means the legal certification of a graduate’s award, containing the graduate’s name, the course completed, the date it was conferred, signatures of the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor, and the University Seal.