(1) The coding system: (2) In designing subject codes the following principles or guidelines were adopted: (3) The subjects of the University will be assigned to particular discipline areas for the purposes of coding. Each discipline area will be represented by a three letter code (e.g. ACC for Accountancy, LAW for Law). These discipline areas need not relate directly to those used for other purposes e.g. government reporting. (4) A particular discipline code, LAW for example, need not be Faculty specific. For example subjects coded LAW could be offered by any faculty. (5) The level of a subject is an indication of the intensity or depth of treatment of a discipline, defined as follows: (6) This will be a number from 1 to 99 for each subject within each level within each discipline group. (7) Where the distinguishing numbers for a particular prefix have been exhausted, the faculty will need to apply to the University Course Planning Committee (UCPC) for an additional prefix in that discipline area. (8) A Charles Sturt University subject is defined for academic policy purposes as a subject for which Charles Sturt University (the University) has governance responsibility, and which may be awarded a Charles Sturt University substantive grade. Governance responsibility in this context means that Academic Senate both approves the subject and revisions to the subject, and that it quality assures its delivery, including but not limited to: subject evaluation; subject outlines; subject assessment; and subject delivery mechanisms. (9) A Charles Sturt University subject must be designed so that a student's engagement in the specified learning and assessment activities of 140-160 hours is clearly articulated. Subjects that do not conform to this range are required to provide an indication of the workload expectation and reasons for the variation from the standard, (10) A Charles Sturt University subject may therefore contain content developed by third parties, and the subject delivery may also be undertaken by third parties, provided in every case that governance of the subject is by the Academic Senate, via its own or equivalent quality assurance and approval processes. Equivalence of such processes must be demonstrated in each case, and may be audited by the Academic Senate. (11) A subject that is not a Charles Sturt University subject may have a Charles Sturt University code. However Charles Sturt University grades, apart from credit grades, shall only be awarded for Charles Sturt University subjects. (12) Subjects undergoing approval may be either new or revised. New subjects receive a new and unique code, while revised subjects retain their existing code. The subject title may be changed in a subject revision. (13) Award subjects are those which are normally a component of an award course, leading to an award of the University. Non award subjects cannot be credited towards an award of the University, and are normally enabling subjects. (14) Administrative subjects are developed to assist in the administration of Charles Sturt University offerings. They have a Charles Sturt University code, but contain no content or assessable work, and therefore receive no Charles Sturt University grades. They are sometimes called 'dummy' subjects. (15) A multi-session subject is any subject with duration of more than one official teaching session or term. A multi-session subject typically has duration of two or four sessions or terms for a coursework-based subject. A research-based multi-session subject can be much longer (refer to Section 7). (16) Subject profiles define a subject's core academic characteristics, and are approved by Academic Senate. The subject profile is not altered except when the subject is revised. (17) Academic Senate policy on subject outlines may be found in the Subject Outlines Policy. Most generally subject outlines act as an enabling document for the delivery of a subject on a session by session basis. (18) The information in this section defines the core academic elements of a subject as approved in the subject profile. There are also additional administrative fields in the profile that are not described here. All subject outlines should also include the appropriate acknowledgement of country statement. (19) Subjects are allocated a point value, where the number of points represents the relative contribution of the subject to the total content of the course. Each subject also has a specified duration, in sessions. Points and durations have no direct relationship i.e. an 8-point subject, for example, could be offered over one or multiple sessions. (20) The subject abstract is a clear and concise statement of the purpose and scope of a subject. It is not intended as a marketing statement about the subject. (21) Objectives identify outcomes in terms of the skills, attributes and knowledge that a student who has successfully completed a subject should possess. While outcomes should clearly relate to the syllabus and assessment, they should not be simply a list of activities either undertaken in the subject or able to be undertaken by the graduate. (22) The syllabus lists the major topics to be covered by the subject. (23) As part of the teaching and support strategies for online learning students, residential schools need to be planned and organised in advance. The inclusion of a residential school is seen as an integral component of the subject and is not to be varied session by session. (24) Prerequisites are subjects that must be passed before a student may commence a subject. (25) From 2011, prerequisites as a formal bar to enrolment are used only where there is a risk to students or the public which cannot be managed in any other way. For example, prerequisites would be appropriate for practicum or clinical practice subjects. (26) Enrolment in subjects is the responsibility of students. The University will advise of any assumed knowledge in a subject. (27) The use of co-requisites was discontinued by Academic Senate in September 2009. (28) From 2011 incompatible subjects will no longer be listed in subject outlines. (29) Incompatible subjects are those subjects that cover much of the material covered in a given subject. For this reason it is not acceptable for students to count both subjects towards the one award. Generally if a student has already passed or is currently enrolled in an incompatible subject, enrolment restrictions for the other subject are set so that those students are not permitted to enrol. (30) There are three categories of incompatible subjects: (31) Enrolment restrictions are conditions which restrict enrolment in a subject to students having particular characteristics. (32) Restrictions may be of the following types: (33) Any student in the University may enrol in a subject that has no enrolment restrictions as a unrestricted elective, provided he/she has the required prerequisite(s). (34) All new and revised subjects should include an indication of the prior knowledge assumed in the design of the subject and an estimation of how many hours of student workload is involved. (35) All new and revised subjects should have a development panel to advise on their construction. Where the subject is part of a double degree program, or serves a course of another Faculty, the second Faculty should be represented on the development panel. (36) Subject profiles for new subjects require identification of a body of literature which informs the subject, some indication of teaching strategies to be employed, and an indication of assessment strategies to be employed. This indicative information assists in assuring the approving bodies that the subject is well constructed, but for ongoing delivery of the subject this information is either not required to be updated, or is updated in the subject outline. (37) 'Paired' subjects are those which have substantially the same content, but differ in their teaching, delivery and/or administration in some way. For example, an undergraduate subject may be paired with a postgraduate subject, with the same content but with a higher level of assessment in the postgraduate offering of the subject. Or subjects offered to students undertaking a transition program may be paired with existing subjects, but with modifications to teaching, support and assessment. (38) Paired subjects are also called 'related' subjects in the Course and Subject Information Management System (CASIMS). They may have different names and subject codes. (39) There are two types of paired subjects: horizontally-paired, and vertically-paired . A horizontally-paired subject is one paired with another subject of the same Charles Sturt University subject level (for example, both subjects may be level 5 subjects). Vertically-paired subjects are at different Charles Sturt University subject levels, for example a level 3 subject paired with a level 5 subject. (40) In paired subjects, the subject name and abbreviation and the syllabus may be the same. Assessment and learning experiences would generally be different. (41) In the delivery of paired subjects the student experiences should be clearly differentiated, to reflect the different levels of difficulty of study being undertaken by cohorts within the subjects. For example assessment tasks should differ (and align with the respective objectives), and the cohorts should have different forums and forum questions, blogs etc. (42) The commonalities and differences described in the above clause should be clearly described in the Course and Subject Information Management System (CASIMS) subject profiles for each of the subjects. (43) Under subject relationships, the pairing relationship should be described and the 'paired subject' indicator selected. (44) Under enrolment restrictions for both of the subjects in the pair should be a clear statement of the pairing relationship with each other (as otherwise students may enrol in these subjects without being aware of the close link between them). (45) Similarly paired subjects should be listed as 'incompatible subjects' in that field, so that students do not enrol in both subjects in a pair and then potentially not be able to have both credited towards a degree. (46) The assessment criteria for the different cohorts in a paired subject relationship should be clearly set out in the subject outline. Moderation of paired subjects should explicitly examine the operation of the pairing arrangement. (47) The subject delivery models that are applied within Charles Sturt University are detailed in the document: Subject Delivery Models. (48) The business rules that apply to multi-session subject delivery are detailed in the document: Subject Delivery Models.Subject Policy
Section 1 - Subject Coding
Principles
Top of PageSection 2 - Format of Codes
Discipline Areas
Subject Level
Distinguishing Numbers
Section 3 - Subject Types
Charles Sturt University Subject
New and Revised
Award and Non Award
Administrative Subjects
Multi-Session Subjects
Section 4 - Subject Profiles and Subject Outlines
Subject Profiles
Subject Outlines
Section 5 - Subject Profile Information
Point Value and Duration
Abstract
Objectives
Syllabus
Residential School
Prerequisites
Co-requisites
Incompatible Subjects
Enrolment Restrictions
Student Workload
Development Panel
Appendices
Section 6 - Paired Subjects
Types of Paired Subjects
Commonalities and Differences
CASIMS and Paired Subjects
Assessment and Moderation
Section 7 - Subject Delivery Models
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This is not a current document. It has been repealed and is no longer in force.