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Credit Procedure

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This procedure supports and should be read in conjunction with the Credit Policy. This procedure provides detailed requirements for:

  1. applicant, student and staff responsibilities in relation to credit;
  2. limits and restrictions on granting credit;
  3. credit applications, supporting documents and assessment of credit;
  4. forward credit;
  5. review of and appeals against credit decisions; and
  6. withdrawal of credit.

(2) In addition to meeting the objectives of the policy, this procedure is intended to ensure that decisions on credit are:

  1. prompt, so that they do not delay admissions, enrolment or course progression;
  2. communicated to the student in writing and, where credit is not granted, giving the reason; and
  3. regularly reviewed.

Scope

(3) This procedure applies to students, prospective students, staff, and decision-making bodies of the University, agents and partners of the University, in matters of credit towards courses offered by the University.

References

(4) Where a supporting document is referenced in this procedure, it will be listed on the associated information tab.

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Section 2 - Glossary 

(5) Most of the terms in this procedure are defined in the glossary section of the Credit Policy. For the purposes of this procedure, the following additional terms have the definitions stated:

  1. Central credit management system – an online tool staff use to create and manage credit precedents and pathways.
  2. Online credit application tool – an online tool students use to apply for credit towards a course.
  3. Session – includes any session, term or other teaching period in which subjects are delivered.
  4. University credit database – the online tool that prospective students and students use to find credit precedents and pathways that may apply to them.
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Section 3 - Policy

(6) This procedure supports the Credit Policy and should be read alongside it.

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Section 4 - Procedure

Responsibilities in relation to credit 

(7) Students are responsible for:

  1. demonstrating how their prior learning meets the learning outcomes of the subject(s) or course component(s) for which they are seeking credit – in particular, by providing the required supporting documents; and
  2. completing and submitting all documents required for their applications, and following any instructions in those documents.

(8) Faculty staff are responsible for:

  1. promptly assessing credit applications, deciding the outcome and recording the decision and supporting evidence in the central credit management system;
  2. promptly notifying the Division of Student Administration (DSA) of credit application outcomes so DSA can notify the student;
  3. reviewing and advising the associate dean academic on credit arrangements and agreements; or for higher degree by research decisions, the sub-dean (graduate studies);
  4. notifying relevant stakeholders of new articulation and credit agreements and changes to existing agreements;
  5. ensuring that partner institutions who are parties to articulation and credit agreements comply with the terms of these; 
  6. updating the Course and Subject Information Management System (CASIMS) with relevant articulation arrangements and agreements, and credit arrangements and agreements; and
  7. annual monitoring of the academic progress of students granted credit under articulation and credit agreements and making recommendations to change these agreements if students do not make satisfactory progress.

(9) The Division of Student Administration is responsible for: 

  1. maintaining on the University’s public website, information on credit including an up-to-date list of approved credit arrangements; 
  2. providing clear information to students and prospective students about credit;
  3. promptly notifying students of credit application outcomes;
  4. recording credit granted and the documents used in making this decision on the individual student record;
  5. maintaining a central register of articulation and credit transfer agreements;
  6. maintaining a credit precedents database; and
  7. where a grant of credit shortens the duration of a course for a student studying on an Australian student visa, Division of Student Administration must issue a new confirmation of enrolment and report the change via the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS).

Limits on credit

(10) The Credit Policy states:

  1. limits on credit towards Charles Sturt University courses; and
  2. circumstances under which students can be granted more than the normal maximum credit without approval of an exception.

Published credit information

(11) Credit information published to students and prospective students on the University’s website, including information published via the University credit database, is indicative only.

(12) The Credit Policy clause 6h. provides definitions of the types of credit.

(13) Published credit precedents and arrangements may no longer apply where:

  1. either the source or target course or subject has changed; or
  2. the University’s agreement with the relevant pathway program partner has changed.

(14) If a student believes that they are eligible for credit via precedent or arrangement they must apply for credit to have their previous learning assessed.

(15) On the basis of that assessment, the credit granted is at the University’s discretion and may be more or less than the published information indicates, or no credit may be granted.

Applications for credit

(16) The following rules apply to ensure that:

  1. students avoid enrolling in subjects for which they are granted credit; and
  2. students studying on an Australian student visa receive a letter of offer and confirmation of enrolment with a course duration that is reduced in length due to credit.

(17) Applicants for admission should, where possible, apply for credit at the same time as they submit their admission application to avoid delays in assessment.

(18) Higher degree by research coursework credit will be approved by the Dean, Graduate Studies on recommendation from the applicant’s primary supervisor and the sub-dean (graduate studies) as part of the admissions process. For further details please refer to Admissions - Entry Requirements (Higher Degrees by Research) Procedure.

(19) If a student is enrolled in the subject that they are seeking credit for, they must apply for credit prior to census date. If the credit decision is made after census has passed, the Division of Student Administration will:

  1. remove the enrolment; and 
  2. provide an automatic remission of tuition fees. This will ensure that the student is not liable for HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP debt for the subject.

(20) If a student is enrolled in the subject that they are seeking credit for and applies for credit after census date, and the credit application is successful, the student must contact the Division of Student Administration to apply for a remission of HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP debt via the Student Portal.

(21) Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF) cannot be refunded for credit sought after census date has passed, as per the Enrolment Procedure.

Application process 

(22) Students can apply for credit upon admission, when enrolled or when seeking course transfer. The Division of Student Administration (DSA) manages this process as outlined in the ‘Application process’ section(s) of this procedure.

(23) DSA receives all applications and checks them for completeness, before forwarding them to the faculty for assessment.

(24) DSA will provide all credit applications to the relevant course director for assessment within three working days of receipt from the student.

(25) Applications will not be assessed until the student has provided the supporting documents and information needed for assessment.

(26) The Credit Policy provides definitions of the types of credit available.

Application process – applicants for admission

(27) Applicants for admission apply for credit as part of their admission application. They must follow the instructions in the credit application section.

(28) Where, however, an articulation or credit agreement applies to the source course and target course, an articulating student does not need to apply for the credit: DSA will create the credit application for the student.

(29) For the first student who enters under a new articulation or credit agreement, the course director must approve the credit as a precedent. Where the credit application is submitted as part of the admissions process, a credit precedent will need to be manually added to the central credit management system by the course director.

(30) Students who do not provide the required documents for credit assessment upon admission will be required to apply for credit via the online credit application tool after accepting their offer.

(31) If a student does not wish to have credit applied as part of a credit articulation, credit arrangement or credit agreement, then the student must contact the Admissions team via admissions@csu.edu.au.

Application process – enrolled students

(32) Enrolled students apply for credit using the online credit application tool, via the Student Portal. They must follow the online instructions for credit applications.

(33) If a student does not wish to have credit applied as part of a credit articulation, credit arrangement or credit agreement, then the student must contact their course director.

Application process – transferring students

(34) Where a student applies to transfer from one Charles Sturt University course to another, they will have an opportunity to request credit as part of their transfer application.

Application process – students readmitted after termination of enrolment

(35) Where a student is readmitted to a course after termination of enrolment, credit will be reassessed.

(36) A course director may decline to reinstate credit which was previously awarded where they consider the student needs to update their knowledge or skills. This may include subject substitution. Please refer to the Enrolment Procedure for more information on subject substitution.

(37) The decision-maker must notify the credit team in the Division of Student Administration, as soon as the decision has been made so the student can be notified and their student record updated.

(38) For higher degree by research students, candidature and coursework credit will be reassessed as per the Admissions Policy and Admissions - Entry Requirements (Higher Degrees by Research) Procedure.

Supporting documents – formal learning (transfer credit)

(39) Students may receive unspecified credit upon admission by making a credit application and providing their official transcript(s) as supporting documentation.

(40) Applications for credit for previous formal learning must include:

  1. a copy of the student’s official transcript of subjects and grades;
  2. an explanation of the grading system(s) used on the transcript if the transcript does not include this;
  3. document(s) from the institution, such as a subject outline, which outlines and describes the learning outcomes in the year(s) in which the student completed the subject(s), that include:
    1. details of topics covered in the subject such as a syllabus or schedule of weekly topics;
    2. the size and duration of the subject with a breakdown of class types (e.g., three hours of lectures and one one-hour tutorial per week, three hours of practical sessions fortnightly, for 12 weeks) and a breakdown of any workplace learning activities the student undertook for the subject;
    3. the list of prescribed textbook(s) and recommended readings; and
    4. assessment details including types of assessment tasks (e.g., essay, quiz, lab report, exam), word limits, content and weighting towards the final mark.

(41) If the University requests other supporting documents, the applicant must provide them.

(42) Where the applicant seeks credit on the basis of a research component subject, they must provide the thesis, dissertation, portfolio or record of the project.

(43) Where an applicant is seeking admission after an exclusion, official documents identifying the reason for the exclusion and the period of exclusion must be provided with the credit application. This is to ensure that credit granted was not obtained during an exclusion period.

Verification and translation of supporting documents

(44) The Division of Student Administration (DSA) publishes detailed instructions as to which types of document must be verified as a true and accurate copy: applicants must follow those instructions.

(45) Where the documents are not in English, the applicant must provide the original document and a translation by a translator acceptable to the University. Translations must be verified in accordance with the instructions published by the DSA.

Supporting documents – informal learning (proficiency credit)

(46) Applications for credit for previous informal or non-formal learning must include:

  1. a statement by the applicant:
    1. explaining how the relevant work and/or life experience covers the syllabus and meets the learning outcomes of the subject(s) for which credit is sought; and
    2. detailing the activities, when and where they took place, and their duration and/or frequency; and
  2. supporting evidence such as:
    1. a resume; 
    2. employment position descriptions; 
    3. samples of work; 
    4. project briefs; 
    5. reports and publications; 
    6. statements by relevant employers confirming the applicant’s work experience, position and length of service; and
    7. vocational courses and qualifications.

(47) The experience outlined and work provided must be assessed for their recency in line with the ‘Recency requirements for credit’ section of the Credit Policy.

(48) The section on ‘Verification and translation of supporting documents’ in this procedure also applies to documents provided by applicants to support an application for proficiency credit.

Assessment of credit applications

(49) The Credit Policy states the roles that can make a credit decision and the requirements for these decisions.

(50) Credit applications will be assessed by the approved assessor within 20 working days of receipt.

(51) The Division of Student Administration will provide support to faculty staff in assessing credit applications where needed.

Criteria for assessing credit applications for formal learning (transfer credit decisions)

(52) In assessing the equivalence of a student’s previous formal study for transfer credit, subject coordinators and course directors will apply the following criteria:

  1. Breadth of the learning – topics covered and content in comparison with the learning outcomes and syllabus of the target subject.
  2. Depth of the learning – in what detail and over what total hours the content was covered in comparison with the learning outcomes and syllabus of the target subject.
  3. Level of the learning – whether the learning was at the same level as the target subject: e.g., year level, equivalent stage in a course at the same Australian Qualifications Framework level – an introductory subject or advanced subject at a later year level.
  4. Learning activities of the source subject(s) (lectures, tutorials, assessment tasks) compared to the activities of the target subject.
  5. Where the target subject includes practical learning and/or workplace learning, whether the source subject(s) has an equivalent amount and level of practical learning so that students will have acquired the skills and knowledge to participate safely in subsequent practical lessons and meet expectations for subsequent workplace learning.

(53) Applications for exceptions to credit limits will be approved by:

  1. the faculty board of the relevant faculty for individual students; or
  2. the University Courses Committee for a cohort of students or a course; or
  3. Dean, Graduate Studies or delegate for higher degree by research students.

(54) Applications for exceptions to credit limits will be assessed for suitability in the first instance, by the course director. If sanctioned by the course director, the application will be forwarded for consideration to the executive dean. The course director may decline to submit the application if it is deemed unsuitable.

(55) The course director will assess the application within 20 working days of receipt.

(56) If sanctioned by the executive dean, the application will be submitted to the faculty board or the University Courses Committee for consideration at the next meeting.

(57) The decision of the faculty board or University Courses Committee will be communicated to the Senior Manager, Admissions and Credit in the Division of Student Administration.

(58) Assessors must check the recency of learning in line with the ‘Recency requirements for credit’ section in the Credit Policy.

Assessing credit applications for informal learning (proficiency credit)

(59) As well as assessing the student’s written application for recognition of their informal learning and supporting documents, a subject coordinator or course director may require them to undertake an assessment task.

(60) They will advise the student of the date and place of the task, and whether it is written, practical or a combination of these.

(61) For a written assessment task, they will advise the student of the format of the assessment, which may include:

  1. the number of questions and marks allotted to each;
  2. the type of answers required (multiple choice, short answers, essays);
  3. the materials to be provided by the assessor; and
  4. the materials the student must provide.

Granting credit 

(62) Assessors must look at past decisions/precedents and where suitable, the course director will record all decisions to grant credit for the qualification as a precedent in Credit and Pathway Management Database. This will enable consistent decision-making and enable the precedent to be applied to future credit applications by the roles and on the conditions stated in the ‘Credit precedents’ section of the Credit Policy.

(63) The decision-maker must notify the credit team in the Division of Student Administration, as soon as the decision has been made, so the student can be notified and their student record updated.

(64) For higher degree by research coursework credit, the Dean, Graduate Studies approves credit upon the recommendation of the applicant’s primary supervisor and the sub-dean (graduate studies).

Reviewing credit precedents 

(65) A review of credit precedents must be undertaken by the faculty(s) at the end of the period for which the precedent has been approved. This review will include an assessment of the subjects included in the precedent for currency and suitability. Where the precedent is for a standard credit pathway, under which credit has been granted to five or more students, this review will include consideration of the students’ academic performance compared to students who have not received the credit. The Division of Student Administration will support the faculty in this review.

Notifying students of credit decisions

(66) The Division of Student Administration will notify outcomes of credit decisions to:

  1. applicants for admission in the letter of offer; and
  2. enrolled students by email, which will refer them to the online credit application tool for the outcome of their credit application within two working days of receiving the credit application outcome from the decision-maker.

(67) Unsuccessful credit applicants will receive details of how to apply for a review or appeal of the credit decision.

(68) For higher degree by research students, the Office of Research Services and Graduate Studies is responsible for all communications regarding credit, which fall outside the admission process.

Recording credit granted to a student

(69) For enrolled students, credit decisions and the evidence to support those decisions must be recorded in the central credit management system by the decision-maker.

(70) For prospective students, credit decisions and the evidence to support those decisions must be recorded in the admissions workflow.

(71) For higher degree by research students, the Office of Research Services and Graduate Studies is responsible for recording information regarding credit decisions in the student document management system.

(72) Credit granted to a student is recorded in the student management system by the Division of Student Administration, and will appear on the student’s transcript, as follows:

Graded credit The subject appears with the subject code and the student’s original achievement grade in the subject in the previous course.
Proficiency credit (PCR) For proficiency credit that is specific credit, the subject appears with the subject code and a PCR (proficiency credit) grade.
Unspecified credit For unspecified credit, a credit subject code appears, with a TCR or FCR grade as relevant.

(73) The Credit Policy provides definitions of the types of credit.

(74) Where a credit decision requires approval by the head of school, evidence of this approval is to be included in the documentation for the credit decision, which is recorded:

  1. for enrolled students, in the central credit management system; or
  2. for applicants for admission, the admissions workflow.

(75) See the following section on forward credit, for the way these types of credit approvals are recorded for each student.

Recording forward credit

(76) The ‘Credit provisionally provided for a subject currently studied (Forward credit)’ section of the Credit Policy outlines circumstances where forward credit may apply.

(77) Where forward credit is approved, the Division of Student Administration (DSA) will add the subjects for which credit is approved to the student’s enrolment, with forward credit (FCR) grades.

(78) To receive forward credit for current study at another institution, a student must provide acceptable evidence that they have passed the subject(s) at the other institution, by the date DSA specifies to the student.

(79) Upon receipt of evidence of the successful completion of study at another institution, forward credit (FCR) will be updated to transfer credit (TCR).

(80) Forward credit will be reviewed each session. If it is identified that the student has not successfully completed the unit of study for which they have been given forward credit by the specified date, DSA will remove the forward credit from the student’s record in the student management system.

(81) Students do not have to provide evidence of their grades in subjects completed at Charles Sturt University to have FCR grades replaced with graded credit or TCR grades.

Review of and appeal against credit decisions

(82) The Credit Policy states that students may request a review of a credit decision and/or appeal against it.

Review

(83) A student who wishes to have a credit decision reviewed must send a request for review to the Division of Student Administration via credit@csu.edu.au within 20 working days after the date the notification of the decision was sent to them.

(84) For higher degree by research students, review requests should be forwarded to the sub-dean (graduate studies) in the relevant faculty.

(85) The request must state the reason(s) the student wants the decision reviewed and should include any additional documentation that will support their request for credit.

(86) The Division of Student Administration (DSA) will check the review request to ensure that it provides additional evidence or information which meet grounds for review. If the grounds for review are met, DSA will, within five working days of receiving it, forward it to the relevant associate dean or a delegate of higher delegation than the original decision-maker, of the relevant faculty, for review.

(87) If the review application does not meet grounds for review, DSA will contact the student and request additional evidence and/or information as required. DSA may decline the review request if the student cannot provide additional evidence and/or information in support of their application.

(88) The associate dean or delegate of higher delegation than the original decision-maker, of the relevant faculty, will review the decision.

(89) If the associate dean (or delegate) requires more information from the student, they will inform DSA, who will ask the student for it.

(90) The associate dean (or delegate) will provide an outcome of the review to DSA, including the reason(s) for the decision, within 10 working days of receiving the review request or of receiving any further information requested from the student.

(91) Where the outcome of the review is:

  1. no change to the decision, DSA will inform the student of the decision and reason(s), and advise them of their right to appeal if they are not satisfied; or
  2. a change to the decision:
    1. DSA will, within five working days of receiving the outcome from the course team, inform the student of the changed decision, and initiate a replacement credit application in the central credit management system; after which
    2. the course director will, within five working days of receiving the replacement credit application in the central credit management system, perform the necessary steps to approve the new credit decision; after which
    3. DSA will, within five working days of the approval, finalise the application and notify the student of the outcome.

Appeals

(92) The Credit Policy states:

  1. the grounds on which a student may appeal a credit decision and have their appeal considered; and
  2. the position responsible for hearing and deciding on appeals which meet grounds.

(93) A student can appeal a credit decision:

  1. upon completion of a review if they are dissatisfied with a review outcome; or
  2. where an administrative error has been identified and the credit granted as a result of this error has been removed.

(94) To have their appeal against a credit decision considered, a student must:

  1. submit the appeal in writing to the Division of Student Administration by email to credit@csu.edu.au within 20 days after the date the notification of the decision was sent to them;
  2. stating the ground(s) on which they are appealing the decision; and
  3. including any additional documents that will support their appeal.

(95) The Division of Student Administration (DSA) will:

  1. check the application provides the required documentation and if necessary ask the student to provide additional supporting documents; and
  2. within five working days of receiving the student’s completed application, forward it to the executive dean or delegate of higher delegation than the original decision-maker, of the relevant faculty.

(96) Appeals for higher degree by research students will be assessed by a panel including;

  1. the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation); and
  2. the associate dean, research of the relevant faculty.

(97) If the executive dean (or delegate) or higher degree by research appeal panel consider the appeal needs more information, they will advise DSA, who will ask the student to provide this.

(98) The executive dean (or delegate) or higher degree by research appeal panel will, within 20 working days of receiving the completed appeal application, advise DSA of its decision and the reason(s) for the decision.

(99) If the decision is that the original credit decision stands, DSA will inform the student of the decision and reason(s).

(100) If the decision is that the original credit decision will be changed, DSA and the course director will carry out the sequence of actions to change a credit decision stated under clause 91b.

Withdrawal of credit 

(101) The Credit Policy provides for:

  1. the head of the teaching school to recommend withdrawal of credit granted based on unsatisfactory performance, an administrative error or because of an error in assessment;
  2. the course director to approve withdrawal of credit granted based on unsatisfactory performance, an administrative error or because of an error in assessment;
  3. the Senior Manager, Admissions and Credit to approve withdrawal of credit granted because of an administrative error; 
  4. the Dean, Graduate Studies may recommend the withdrawal of credit granted based on unsatisfactory performance, error in assessment or administration error for higher degree by research students;
  5. the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) to approve the withdrawal of credit granted through an error in assessment for higher degree by research students; or
  6. a student to request that their credit be removed.

Withdrawal of credit granted through an error

(102) Where a staff member discovers that credit has been granted through an error, they will immediately:

  1. identify the decision in question and state the reason(s) they believe it was made in error, to the relevant course director, or for higher degree by research students, the Dean, Graduate Studies; and
  2. ask them to confirm that the decision was made in error.

(103) The course director or Dean, Graduate Studies will, within five working days of receiving the request:

  1. review the original decision;
  2. decide whether there has been an administrative error in entering the credit or an error in assessing the credit; and
  3. if there has been an error and the credit granted is incorrect, advise the Division of Student Administration (DSA) by email to credit@csu.edu.au of the revised credit decision.

(104) The revised credit decision may alter the credit granted or withdraw the credit granted.

(105) DSA will, within five working days from receiving the adjusted credit decision:

  1. request a re-evaluation of the decision in the central credit management system;
  2. inform the student of the revised decision and the reason(s) for it; 
  3. adjust the student’s record of credit granted; and
  4. upload the decision correspondence and supporting documents to the student’s record in the student document management system.

Misconduct process where credit may have been granted on the basis of false or misleading information

(106) Where a staff member believes that credit was granted on the basis of false or misleading information provided by the student, they will immediately:

  1. identify the credit decision in question and state the reason(s) they believe any of the information on which it was based was false and/or misleading, to the course director or the Dean, Graduate Studies; and
  2. ask them to confirm that the decision was made on the basis of false and/or misleading information provided by the applicant.

(107) The course director or Dean, Graduate Studies will review the request and, if they agree that the decision was made on the basis of false and/or misleading information provided by the applicant, they will, within five working days of receiving the advice from the staff member, refer the matter to an appointed officer for investigation under the Student Misconduct Rule 2020. Refer to Schedule 1: Appointed officers and committees for a list of appointed officers.

(108) Where the outcome of the investigation is that the student is found to have provided false and/or misleading information, in addition to any other misconduct penalty applied, it is recommended that the penalty will include withdrawal of the credit.

(109) If the appointed officer applies this penalty, the faculty will ask the Division of Student Administration to initiate the process to withdraw the credit in the central credit management system.

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Section 5 - Guidelines

(110) Nil.