• Section 1 - Introduction
• Part A - Policy Objective
• Part B - Transitional Arrangements
• Section 2 - Glossary
• Articulated set of courses
• Award
• Award course
• Graduate course
• Joint Study
• Major
• Minor
• Sub-Major
• Undergraduate Specialisation
• Section 3 - Principles for Course Nomenclature
• Part C - General Principles
• Description of Critical Elements of the Course
• Effectiveness in the Marketplace
• Requirements of Professional Bodies
• Part D - Principles of Consistency
• Articulated Sets of Courses
• Other Course Relationships
• Section 4 - Components of the Nomenclature
• Part E - Award Indicator
• Part F - Generic Component
• Part G - Course-specific Component
• Part H - Specialisation Component
• Part I - Honours Designation
• Honorary Award Designation
• Part J - Inclusion in Nomenclature of Non-CSU Awards
• Part K - Elements Not Included in the Nomenclature
• Section 5 - Writing the Nomenclature
• Section 6 - Approval of the Nomenclature
• Section 7 - Wording on Testamurs
• Section 8 - Nomenclature of Double Degrees
• Section 9 - Recognition in CSU Award Nomenclature of Awards from Another Institution
• Section 10 - Specifying the Abbreviation
• Section 11 - Approval of the Abbreviation
• Section 12 - Abbreviation for Charles Sturt University
• Section 13 - Institution Abbreviations for Joint Awards

Section 1 - Introduction

Part A - Policy Objective

(1) The objective of the policy is to ensure that the determination of appropriate course nomenclature is guided by clearly identified principles and is in accordance with rules of consistency.

(2) Accordingly, recommendations for the nomenclature of any particular course shall be based on the set of principles (or significant factors) identified in this policy and on any necessary considerations of consistency. Approval of nomenclature shall be based on the rationale provided by the Faculty's. The setting out of course names and determination of the abbreviated form for each (post-nominals) shall be consistent with the rules set out in this policy.

Part B - Transitional Arrangements

(3) Any course nomenclature approved after the August 1999 meeting of Academic Senate shall conform with this Policy.

Section 2 - Glossary

Articulated set of courses

(4) A set of courses in which all subjects (core or elective) comprising each lower level course are included in each higher level course within the set such that each lower level course comprises the first component of the next higher level course.

(5) An articulated set of courses includes:

1. a diploma course which incorporates a university certificate course; or
2. a bachelor degree course which incorporates a university certificate and/or an associate degree, or a diploma, or an associate diploma course; or
3. a graduate diploma course which incorporates a graduate certificate course; or
4. a master degree course which incorporates a graduate diploma and/or graduate certificate course; or
5. a professional doctorate course which incorporates a master degree course.

Award

(6) An award is conferred by the University upon completion of a course, and represents a particular set of learning outcomes and objectives, at a level described by the title of the award (Bachelor, Graduate Certificate, Master etc.). Awards are based on and comply with those described in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Award course

(7) An award course is:

1. an approved sequence of subjects (usually structured as components, such as core subjects, elective sequences (i.e., specialisations, majors, minors and/or (for the Bachelor of Business) joint studies), restricted electives and/or unrestricted electives); or
2. an approved sequence of subjects, usually structured as in a) above but also including industrial, practical or clinical experience, and/or co-operative study arrangements, and/or an investigation of an approved topic the results of which are presented in a dissertation or project; or
3. an approved program of research, the results of which are presented in a thesis or other examinable work,

Graduate course

(8) A graduate course is one in which 'new' knowledge is acquired by the student, or more precisely where the knowledge acquired in the course does not specifically build upon that acquired by the student in their undergraduate qualification(s) and/or professional or other experience or which builds upon undergraduate study (that is, the knowledge acquired by the student builds directly upon the undergraduate qualification(s) and/or their professional or other experience). The most common types of graduate course are graduate certificates and graduate diplomas, masters and doctors.

Joint Study

(9) A joint study is an approved sequence of subjects in a discipline, comprising 40 points. Joint studies are offered only in the Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Accounting courses and are included in the nomenclature of the award.

(10) For the purposes of this Policy on Nomenclature of Awards a joint study as specified in the Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Accounting regulations is regarded as an undergraduate specialisation.

Major

(11) A major is a part of an undergraduate course comprising an approved sequence of subjects of 64 points or more. A major is not included in the nomenclature of the award.

Minor

(12) A minor is an approved sequence of subjects of 32-63 points. A minor is not included in the nomenclature of the award.

Sub-Major

(13) Sub-major is a superseded term equivalent to a minor.

Undergraduate Specialisation

(14) An undergraduate specialisation is that part of an undergraduate course which prepares students for employment in a particular profession or vocational area. It consists of an approved sequence of subjects of 64 points or more. A specialisation is included in the nomenclature of the award.

(15) For the purpose of this Policy on Nomenclature of Awards a joint study as specified in the Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Accounting regulations is regarded as an undergraduate specialisation.

Section 3 - Principles for Course Nomenclature

Part C - General Principles

(16) The primary principle in the selection of the nomenclature of a course is accurate description of critical elements of the course. Other significant factors, or subsidiary principles, which may also influence the selection of a course nomenclature are effectiveness in the marketplace and/or the meeting of any professional requirements. A further consideration which may occasionally come into play is the necessity to distinguish between two courses for structural reasons rather than reasons of difference in course content.

(17) As a general rule, course nomenclature should also be of a length manageable for publication and transcription and should avoid being unduly cumbersome.

Description of Critical Elements of the Course

(18) The primary principle is that there should be a direct and meaningful relationship between the nomenclature of a course and its structure and content. Thus, it would be expected that, as a rule, each of the elements comprising the nomenclature of a given course would serve the function of identifying critical elements of the course structure and content.

(19) For example, a master degree course which is composed entirely of subjects specific to, say, strategic marketing would have the nomenclature Master of Strategic Marketing, whilst a bachelor degree course comprising a component of mixed subjects in the social sciences and a large component of subjects in one social science area, psychology, would have the nomenclature Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology).

Effectiveness in the Marketplace

(20) In the majority of instances the primary principle of accurate description is not incompatible with the factor of effectiveness in the marketplace. However, there may be instances where, say, the structure and content of a course do not warrant the inclusion of a "generic" component in the nomenclature but where such a component gives credibility to awards in the discipline area.

(21) Similarly, the descriptive term preferred for a course's nomenclature as being the most accurate descriptor may not be the one recognised by the industry. In these instances, the Faculty must identify the factor to which it intends giving the most weight in proposing course nomenclature.

Requirements of Professional Bodies

(22) As with the factor of effectiveness in the marketplace, the requirements of professional bodies may sometimes conflict with the primary principle of accurate description or with other aspects of the policy on course nomenclature. In proposing course nomenclature, the Faculty must take into account the role of the professional body in recognising or accrediting the course in question.

Part D - Principles of Consistency

Articulated Sets of Courses

(23) The nomenclature (and the components comprising it) should be the same for each course in an articulated set of courses, unless variation is warranted in order to reflect a significant difference in content covered in one course in the articulated sequence or to accommodate market or professional expectations about one of the courses in the articulated set. For example, it may be necessary to include a generic component in the nomenclature of a master level course but not in that of the articulated graduate diploma course.

Other Course Relationships

(24) The use of a term as a particular component of a course nomenclature (e.g. the course-specific component) should be consistent across course levels and between courses at the same level. See also clauses 28-31.

Section 4 - Components of the Nomenclature

(25) The nomenclature of an award has five possible components: an award indicator, a generic component, a course-specific component, a specialisation component and an honours designation (or an honorary award designation).

Part E - Award Indicator

(26) This is the term which indicates the level of the award. Note that the preposition used is "of" except in the case of graduate certificate or associate degree, when "in" is used:

(27) The above list of award indicators is in accordance with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), by which the University is bound. The award indicator "University Certificate" is a local Charles Sturt University award.

Part F - Generic Component

(28) This refers to any term which is used for a discipline area or area of study and is sufficiently broad to have been identified as applying to more than one course at the same level, e.g. Arts, Policing. This component will appear as the generic component in the nomenclature of several courses and may, at the same time, also (with the award indicator) be the award name for a broadly structured course, e.g., Bachelor of Arts, Master of Education. It would not normally be expected that a term used as a generic component in a number of courses could also be appropriate as a course-specific component in an award name (or, to translate this into course content terms, that a broad area of study encompassing several courses can at the same time be a narrower area of study in a particular course).

Part G - Course-specific Component

(29) This describes the course content specific to a particular course at a given level. This component (together with the award indicator) may comprise the name of the award where all subjects in the course contribute to the specific area of study, e.g., Master of Marketing, or it may be used in conjunction with a generic component where the course-specific component refers to a significant area of study in the course, e.g., Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology).

(30) The use of a term as a course-specific component does not preclude the use of the same term to designate a specialisation in another course at the same or another level, where the area of study in question forms one of a number of specialised areas of study included in the course, e.g. Master of Business Administration (Marketing).

Part H - Specialisation Component

(31) This describes a specialisation within a specific course. A course with specialisations may either have a generic structure and one or more specialisations which each replace an identified component of the generic course, as in;

1. Bachelor of Social Science (Social Welfare);
2. Bachelor of Social Science (Social Welfare - Juvenile Justice);
3. or it may comprise a common component (consisting of core subjects and possibly electives) and a set of specialisations, e.g.
   1. Master of Health Science (Leisure and Health);
   2. Master of Health Science (Gerontology).

Part I - Honours Designation

(32) This is used for honours courses at bachelor level and for research master courses where the Faculty has decided to use the designation Honours.

Honorary Award Designation

(33) This is used to designate an award of the University which has been conferred as an honorary degree. (Refer to the Governance (Honorary Awards) Rule 2012 No.1)

Part J - Inclusion in Nomenclature of Non-CSU Awards

(34) Where a non-CSU award is represented in the nomenclature of a specific CSU award, the part of the nomenclature that is represented by the other award shall not be part of the first component of the nomenclature of the CSU award (see also section 9 of this Policy).For example:

1. Bachelor of Health Science (Complementary Medicine) where a non-CSU advanced diploma of complementary medicine comprises the first component of the course structure of this award;
2. Bachelor of Business (Marketing/Hospitality) where a non-CSU Certificate IV TAFE award comprises the joint study in the Bachelor of Business course.

Part K - Elements Not Included in the Nomenclature

(35) The following elements do not form part of the nomenclature of an award:

1. the name of a major (as a course component);
2. the name of a minor (as a course component);
3. Graduation with distinction;
4. the word "conversion", for those awards which are conversion courses;
5. designations for location (for offshore offerings of a course).

Section 5 - Writing the Nomenclature

(36) Where both a generic and a course specific component are used, the course specific component is shown in brackets after the generic component. Where a specialisation or specialisations are also used, the name of the specialisation is also shown in the brackets, separated from the course-specific component by a dash. Where a graduand has satisfied requirements for two specialisations, these are separated by an oblique stroke.

(37) Where there is no generic component but both a course-specific component and a specialisation are used, the name of the specialisation is shown in brackets after the course-specific component.

(38) For an honours award, the word "Honours" is shown alone in brackets as the last word in the nomenclature. An honours award and an honorary award are the only two instances where two sets of brackets may be used in the nomenclature.

(39) For an honorary award, the words "honoris causa" are shown in brackets in italics as the last words of the nomenclature. An honorary award and an honours award are the only two instances where two sets of brackets may be used in the nomenclature.

(40) NOTE: on testamurs, the words "honoris causa" are represented in normal text, not in italics as they are elsewhere.

(41) Abbreviations (including acronyms or the abbreviation for the word "and") are not used in the full course nomenclature, even where an acronym is the commonly recognised form of a term. The single exception is that a numeral may be represented by either the word or the figure for the numeral (as appropriate), e.g., Birth to 5 Years.

(42) NOTE: any course name containing an acronym which was approved prior to the August 1999 meeting of Academic Senate must (for the Autumn 2000 intake onwards) use either the acronym or the words set out in full, but not both.

(43) The following examples show the possible ways of writing the nomenclature. It is assumed that in each instance the award indicator (e.g. Bachelor of ...) precedes the other elements. Note that "(Honours)" or "(honoris causa)" may be added as appropriate;

1. Generic:
   1. Bachelor of Arts:
   2. Graduate Certificate in Applied Science;
2. Generic (Course):
   1. Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology);
   2. Graduate Diploma of Applied Science (Agricultural Studies);
3. Generic (Course - Specialisation):
   1. Bachelor of Social Science (Social Welfare - Juvenile Justice);
4. Generic (Course - Specialisation/Specialisation):
   1. Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Systems - Corporate Systems/Computer Science);
5. Course:
   1. Master of Marketing;
   2. Bachelor of Theology;
6. Course (Specialisation):
   1. Graduate Diploma of Counselling (School Counsellors);
7. Course (Specialisation/Specialisation):
   1. Bachelor of Business (Accounting/Psychology);
8. Generic (Specialisation):
   1. Master of Business Administration (Finance);
9. Generic (Specialisation/Specialisation):
   1. there are no current examples.

Section 6 - Approval of the Nomenclature

(44) The approved nomenclature for an award is that approved by the Faculty Courses Committee or, for all research higher degrees and research professional doctorates, by the Academic Senate (via the Research Committee), with the exception of a group of honorary doctoral awards which have been approved by the University Council and which are set out in Appendix A - Approved Award Nomenclatures.

(45) For any proposed name or change of name, course documentation should specify in the relevant section the rationale for the proposed choice of name, with reference to the principles of course nomenclature (see clauses 16-22). If there is a conflict between the primary principle and subsidiary principles, then the rationale statement should also give reasons for the principle selected in determining choice of nomenclature.

(46) The Faculty Courses Committee or Academic Senate will base its decision on the rationale provided by the Faculty and on any necessary considerations of consistency (clauses 23-24).

Section 7 - Wording on Testamurs

(47) The approved nomenclature (including a second specialisation in appropriate cases) is what will appear on testamurs. Graduation with distinction is recorded on testamurs where appropriate, but does not form part of the nomenclature. For example:

(48) Bachelor of Arts
With distinction.

(49) In the case of a bachelor (honours) award, the class and division of the award are recorded on testamurs. For example:

(50) Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Class 1.

(51) Levels of honours do not apply to master (honours) awards.

Section 8 - Nomenclature of Double Degrees

(52) The policy on double degrees states that a student who completes a course leading to a double degree will have met the requirements for each of those degrees.
For a Type 1 double degree the student will graduate with two degrees and receive two testamurs, each specifying a single award, which shall be set out on the testamur according to this policy on Nomenclature of Awards. Type 1 double degrees shall not be referred to with an oblique stroke separating the two award names. For example, a Type 1 Bachelor double degree in Science and Teaching would be written as:

(53) Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Teaching

or;

Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Teaching

(not Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Teaching).

(54) For a Type 2 double degree the student will graduate with only one award, which will meet the requirements of two degree areas. In this case the nomenclature is written using an oblique stoke i.e. Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Teaching.

Section 9 - Recognition in CSU Award Nomenclature of Awards from Another Institution

(55) Where an award from another institution comprises a component of the course structure of a CSU award, in a discipline area in which the University has no subject offerings, then the other award may be recognised in the nomenclature of the CSU award provided that:

1. the award from the institution constitutes studies undertaken as part of an approved articulation arrangement for the CSU course in question and in the context of an established partnership or collaborative agreement; and
2. the student transcript for the CSU course clearly indicates the other award upon which credit is based.

Section 10 - Specifying the Abbreviation

(56) When specifying the abbreviation of an award, it is expected that the approved abbreviations for the words listed in Appendix B - Approved Abbreviations of Words.

(57) A single letter abbreviation is used for a word where that letter is widely known as the abbreviation in that context, e.g., A for Arts (as in BA), or H for Human, as in (HRM). In instances where the single letter is not appropriate, a longer abbreviation (or, in some instances, the whole word) is used, e.g., Arts, as in BFineArts, or Human, as in HumanServ (Human Services).

(58) The abbreviation for a numeral is the figure (not an abbreviation of the word) for the numeral, and where this is followed by the word "Years", the abbreviation for "Years" is written entirely in lower case letters, e.g. 5 yrs.

(59) Where a word has not previously been used in course nomenclature, the Faculty should nominate its preferred abbreviation in the appropriate field in the course document.

(60) It is expected that, in most cases, an appropriate abbreviation will be able to be determined rather than the whole word being used, particularly in the case of long words. Where possible, some meaning should be retained and it is preferable to have different abbreviations for variants on the same word, e.g. for Corrective and Correctional, or for Child, Children and Children's.

(61) Where an abbreviation other than that already approved is preferred, this should be noted and a rationale given for the new preference.

(62) An abbreviation appears as a single set of letters without spaces or punctuation (with the exception of an honorary award). For example:

(63) GradDipHumanServ(Child&AdolesWelf)
BBus(Mkt/Fin)

(64) For an honorary award, the abbreviation for the words "honoris causa" precedes the main part of the abbreviation and is not represented in italics as it is in the full nomenclature. For example:

(65) The following words are not included in an abbreviation:

(66) NOTE: Where the word "to" is used to express a range (as in Birth to 5 Years), in the abbreviation "to" is represented by a dash, e.g., Bth-5yrs.

Section 11 - Approval of the Abbreviation

(67) The approved abbreviation for an award is that approved by the Faculty Courses Committee or, for all research higher degrees and research professional doctorates, by the Academic Senate (via the Research Committee). The abbreviation will be specified in the course profile.

Section 12 - Abbreviation for Charles Sturt University

(68) The accepted abbreviation for Charles Sturt University is CSturt. For example:

(69) Note: The abbreviation CSturt is to be in italics.

Section 13 - Institution Abbreviations for Joint Awards

(70) Where the University offers an award jointly with another accredited institution, the abbreviations for the two institutions shall be set out, in italics, as follows:

(71) abbreviation of awarding institution/abbreviation of awarding institution

(72) The order of the institutions' abbreviations shall be determined in each instance by agreement between the University and the other awarding institution.