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Course and Subject Procedure - Information and Representation

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This procedure supports the Course and Subject Policy by setting detailed requirements for ensuring that information about courses and subjects provided to prospective and current students is:

complete, accurate and of a consistently high standard, so it will form a sound basis for the enrolment contract with students
published in good time for prospective and current students to make decisions about their applications, enrolment and to prepare for study
consistently and correctly recorded on University systems, so it will meet the requirements of regulators and funders and be a sufficient record of the University’s curriculum.

Scope

(2) This procedure applies to all award courses and subjects.

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Section 2 - Policy

(3) This procedure supports the Course and Subject Policy.

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Section 3 - Procedure

Part A - Course and subject information requirements

Authoritative information sources

(4) The following table sets out the authoritative sources of course and subject information:

Curriculum management system	The authoritative source of information about courses and subjects. All course and subject information in the University handbook, online course brochures and subject outlines must be consistent with the approved curriculum management system course or subject profile at the time they are published.
University handbook	The University handbook is the authoritative, public-facing source of information about courses and subjects. Information about all active courses and subjects must be published in the University Handbook unless otherwise approved by the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). Handbook entries will include: the requirements for a student to complete a course and gain the resulting award applicable for the year in which the student is ﬁrst enrolled in the course course-specific academic progress requirements if relevant ( e.g. variations to the standard maximum completion period, including implications a longer period may have on credit) for subject entries, an overview of assessment tasks in each subject.
Online course brochure	The online course brochure provides prospective students with information about the course and its requirements, so they can make an informed decision whether to apply for the course. The online course brochure must not be inconsistent with the University Handbook entry for a course in such a way that students who rely on the online course brochure will ﬁnd themselves disadvantaged by the actual course requirements stated in the University Handbook.
Subject outline	The requirements for a student to complete a subject are stated in the subject outline for the oﬀering of the subject in which the student enrols. Subject outline requirements are set out at Part B of this procedure.
Course fee information	The online Fees page is the primary and authoritative source of official fee information for University courses. The online Fees page must be used whenever course fee information is published. This also applies where the University provides fee information to a third party. The delegated approval authority (under Delegation Schedule C - Finance) must approve the publication of tuition (and other/related fees) in any other form (including elsewhere on the University website).

Publishing and promoting award course information

(5) In accordance with the University’s legislative and regulatory requirements, courses and subjects that are offered or intended to be offered:

will not be described as accredited, whether by Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) or by a professional accreditation body for registration to practise, until such accreditation has been obtained
will not provide false or misleading information about outcomes associated with undertaking a course, eligibility for acceptance into another course, employment outcomes or possible migration outcomes
will provide information to assist in decisions about courses or units of study, including the course design, prerequisites, assumed knowledge, inherent requirements where applicable, when and where courses/units are offered, application dates, arrangements for recognition of prior learning, standing credit transfer arrangements, pathways to employment and eligibility for registration to practise where applicable
will not admit students until the course or subject is approved and active.

(6) The Admissions Policy, Enrolment and Fees Policy and Communications and Marketing Policy provide further information about the information that will be provided to prospective and current students and how courses and subjects will be marketed.

(7) The University award course information comprises of the curriculum management systems’ high-level curriculum data and Course Availability Listing data. The data in these systems must be used when publishing course information (for example, in the University Handbook, online course brochure for prospective students, subject outlines) and where the University provides information to a third party (for example, Universities Admissions Centre).

(8) The following table sets out the level of promotion allowed for new courses based on the course approval stage (as per the Course and Subject Policy and Course and Subject Procedure – Lifecycle Approvals)

Approval Stage	System status	Promotion to domestic students	Promotion to international students
Stage 1-2: Authority to proceed, business case and course name (including award title) approved, with accreditation pending	TBC – Draft	Limited to domestic UAC and VTAC publications	Not permitted
Stage 3: Accreditation approved, but no CRICOS code	TBC – Planned	Limited to: Domestic UAC and VTAC publications Information sessions for domestic applicants	Not permitted
Stage 4: CRICOS code issued and commencement approval pending	TBC – Planned	Permitted, subject to restrictions set by the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), where applicable	Permitted, subject to restrictions set by the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), where applicable
Stage 4: CRICOS code issued and course commencement approved	TBC – Active	Publication/promotion without restrictions	Publication/promotion without restrictions

(9) A new course or changed version of a course may only be included in other promotional material with a ‘draft’ or ‘planned’ status note once the faculty has provided all the information for promotion required by Brand and Performance Marketing.

(10) A new double degree will be an exception to the promotion restrictions above where it comprises two existing degrees, neither of which will have its structure changed to create the new double degree.

(11) All published information on a double degree course must state clearly whether graduates will receive a testamur for each component single degree, or where one or a single testamur with the double degree award title.

(12) Enrolment numbers are provided to prospective students as an indication of the scale of the Charles Sturt University course and the learning environment. This information is to be based on recent actual enrolments in the case of an existing course, or realistic projections in the case of a new course. A range may be used (for example, ‘we expect to enrol between x and y students’). In the case of nested courses, the enrolment numbers should be for the whole course.

Representation of professionally accredited courses

(13) Only courses that are professionally accredited will be described as being professionally accredited:

Courses that are yet to be accredited, or courses that have conditions relating to their professional accreditation status, must be clearly represented in the University Handbook and online course brochure (via the professional accreditation website) including, where necessary, any discipline specific information to provide context to the condition status.
The Associate Dean (Academic) is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and currency of information included in the University Handbook and online course brochure (or the professional accreditation website).

(14) If required, the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) or nominee can provide clarity on appropriateness of professional accreditation representation information to ensure it is not false or misleading.

(15) If the professional accreditation status of a course changes:

the Associate Dean (Academic) must:
1. ensure current and prospective students are provided with accurate, relevant and timely information about any adverse impacts, expressed or implied, on the student outcomes associated with undertaking the course
2. notify the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of any material changes to the professional accreditation status of a course, and
the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) is responsible for initiating a material change notification to TEQSA.

Course and subject availability

(16) The course availability listings (CAL) and subject availability listing (SAL) state the courses and subjects that are available for student admission or enrolment.

(17) Subject availability is routinely reviewed and published via the SAL and graduation planning system.

(18) Enrolment patterns are provided to students. These are intended as a guide only, given the flexibility and options offered to students to vary their study mode or load, and changes to subject availability.

(19) Any recommendation to change the subject offering is to be authorised by the Executive Dean and follow student communication protocols and processes to minimise the potential negative impact on the individual student.

Information on intensive schools

(20) Intensive school dates, once approved, will be published by Student Administration in the web student portal. The Course and Subject Procedure - Delivery Management states the process and requirements for scheduling intensive schools.

(21) Where an intensive school is for a course as a whole rather than for a specific subject, the University Handbook entry for the course will explain why the intensive school is necessary.

Recording Indigenous Australian content

(22) The Indigenous Australian Content in Courses and Subjects Policy specifies the data that must be recorded for courses and subjects with Indigenous Australian content, in the curriculum management system.

Offensive, confronting and objectional content in courses or subjects

(23) The University is not required to preclude content from a course or subject solely on the grounds that it may offend, shock or confront any student or class of students.

(24) Reasonable and proportionate steps may be taken to inform prospective students in any of its courses of the content of those courses. Current and prospective students should review handbook information and course and subject outlines where available before applying or enrolling.

Courses and subjects involving animal use

(25) Academic staff will include information about animal use for learning activities in the relevant university systems for providing curriculum information, as follows:

In the curriculum management system course profile of a course in which animals are used, a sentence alerting readers to the use of animals in the course and its nature, and referring them to current subject outlines of the relevant subjects in the course for details.
In the subject profile of a subject in which animals are used, a sentence alerting readers to the use of animals in the subject and its nature, and referring them to current subject outlines for details.
In the subject outlines of a subject in which animals are used, in the subject contents field, details as stated in the ‘Content requirements for subject outlines’ heading below.

Part B - Subject outlines

Preparation and checking of subject outlines

(26) Subject outlines will be published in the University's learning management system for each subject offering (by delivery mode) in each teaching period, no later than 14 calendar days before the teaching period start date.

(27) Administrative subjects and higher degree by research thesis subjects do not require subject outlines.

(28) The Subject Coordinator will prepare the subject outline. Where a subject has a Subject Convenor, they will prepare the master subject outline and then Subject Coordinators will use the master subject outline as a template for each subject offering for which they are responsible, in consultation with the Subject Convenor.

(29) Each delivery of a subject in a location or via a delivery mode must be consistent with the currently approved version of the subject. It will offer students the same learning experiences and learning outcomes, and will, as far as possible, require the same assessment tasks.

(30) See also the Course and Subject Life Cycle Approvals Procedure regarding approvals and changes to subject outlines.

Content requirements for subject outlines

(31) Subject outlines must include the content set out in the following table:

Standard information	Acknowledgement of Country Academic integrity Policies relevant to students Availability of special consideration and grade review Subject evaluation The requirement that students keep a copy of the subject outline
Subject specific information	Subject Coordinator's phone number, email address and office room number (if they have an office) Consultation arrangements for students, including details for other teaching staff (e.g. consultation hours, availability). If the other staff are not yet known, these can be provided via the online subject site once known A link to SX Service Centre will be included as an alternative contact for when students are unable to contact the staff member Subject content and outcomes, and any assumed knowledge for the subject, as described in the current subject profile A schedule of topics and study activities Textbooks, learning materials and how to find them, and any other required resources How the subject will be taught, including (where applicable) details of classes per week, learning technologies and online learning spaces and how these will be used in learning, and how students are expected to engage in learning activities Whether analytics are used, and how these are used to monitor students’ learning and adapt teaching and/or support practices Whether there is an intensive school and, if there is, whether this is compulsory, its location and duration, purpose and program of activities Where relevant, additional expenses, time, or travel requirements, and an explanation for these Subject workload requirements as per the Guidelines for Calibrating Student Workload and, if this varies from the standard subject workload, an explanation of why Assessment, work-integrated learning requirements and/or animal use as specified below All information about what a student must do to pass the subject. This may include attending compulsory intensive school, engaging in work-integrated learning, and/or any hurdle assessment items
Assessment information (details)	Task description Task rationale in relation to the subject learning outcomes The marking criteria and standards (rubric unless exempted under the Assessment - Conduct of Coursework Assessment and Examinations Procedure) that will be used in marking, and that must be met to achieve each passing grade or (where relevant) a satisfactory (SY) grade For exams and tests, which learning activities and materials are to be tested Whether the task is a hurdle task and must be passed to pass the subject and, if so, what the pass requirements are and any resubmission or second attempt process (where available) The marking schema used (e.g. numerical or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory), an explanation of its relationship with the subject grading system, and what mark for the task equates to a pass Where group work is required, the expected amount and type of collaboration and how marks will be distributed among the group The due date, return date and return arrangements Resubmission arrangements (if permitted) For exams or tests: the duration and either the sitting date or a statement that the exam timetable will be published by the Examinations and Results the format including, at a minimum, the type of answers required (multiple choice, short answer, essay), materials to be provided by the University and by the student Where the task involves referring to sources, the required reference style and a link to details of this style
For honours subjects (all subjects in a one-year bachelor (honours) degree or honours stream)	Whether the grade for the subject will contribute to the level of honours of the award and, if so, how
For work-integrated learning placements	The duration and timing of placements Placement allocation processes Pre-placement requirements Advice that students must cover the costs of attending their placement including, where relevant, travel to the placement site, accommodation while there, food and living expenses Information about how students experiencing financial hardship can apply for financial support from the University Information about special consideration that may be available (for placement allocation at a different location or timing) where a student is prevented from attending a placement at a certain distance from their home because of unavoidable carer responsibilities or unexpected, unavoidable employment commitments
For subjects involving animal use	Advice that animals are used in teaching and/or assessment activities, subject to relevant University policies (for subject outlines created after this version of the procedure takes effect)

Providing students with past subject outlines

(32) Students are expected to retain a copy of the subject outline of subjects they have passed, so they can produce these to meet professional accreditation requirements or when applying for credit towards subsequent courses of study.

(33) A student who has not retained a copy of a subject outline, and later requires one, may request a copy of the subject outline from the office of the teaching faculty, which may charge an administration fee to cover the cost of this service.

Subject outline availability to prospective students

(34) Prospective students should have timely access to publicly available information about the subjects taught in each degree offering. The information:

should be accurate, comprehensive and relevant
must include how the subjects are taught and list the expenses associated with subjects
contains details about access for students living with disability or health condition(s), or who have ongoing carer responsibilities impacting their studies, to enable informed decision-making.

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Section 4 - Guidelines and other supporting documents

(35) Detailed work instructions are maintained in the Knowledge Base (in Confluence, under Faculty Admin) by the functional area supporting the specific task.

Staff who require access to the Confluence pages above should log an IT Service Desk Request to request access to the Faculty Administration Confluence page.

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Section 5 - Glossary

(36) This procedure uses terms defined in the Course and Subject Policy, as well as the following:

Administrative subject – a subject with no credit points value, and for which students receive no grade, created for an administrative purpose in relation to a course or courses.
Assessment - the process of attributing value to the examined outcomes of any task that a student is required to undertake and complete in order to satisfy the requirements of their studies.
Assessment tasks - a broad term that refers to all types of tasks used to assess student learning. It includes but is not limited to essays, tests, examinations, laboratory, work-integrated learning tasks, projects, productions, portfolios, presentations, performances and online activities.
Indigenous Australian content – see the Indigenous Australian Content in Courses and Subjects Policy for the University’s definition of this type of content.
Rubric – an evaluation tool or set of guidelines to ensure consistent marking of an assessment task; communicates expectations of learning outcomes and the criteria for assessing students’ levels of achievement of these.