Policy Library common glossary

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• Act

  means the Charles Sturt University Act 1989, unless indicated otherwise.

• Articulated set of courses

  means a sequence of courses in which the subjects required for the earlier course(s) in the sequence are a subset of the subjects required for the later course(s).

• Assessment

  the process of attributing value to the outcome of a task undertaken by a student to demonstrate their achievement of skills or knowledge.

• Award

  a qualification such as a certificate, diploma or degree, which the University confers on students who have completed the requirements of the course of study leading to the qualification.  An award represents a particular set of learning outcomes and objectives, based on and compliant with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

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• Business days

  means days when the University is open; excludes weekends and other days when the University or the relevant campus of the University is closed.

• By-law

  means the Charles Sturt University By-law 2005, unless indicated otherwise.

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• Campus

  means a facility or location where the University:
  i.    has ownership of, or long term legal tenure at, the location or facility (generally indicated by freehold title, Crown land custodianship/trusteeship or exclusive leasehold);
  ii.    currently delivers, or has plans to deliver, a broad range of courses involving regular face-to-face teaching by University employed academic staff that are physically located at the facility;
  iii.    currently delivers, or has plans to deliver, a range of administrative services to staff and students at the location by University employed staff that are physically located at the facility;
  iv.    academic staff at the campus are expected to engage in research and scholarship as part of their duties; or
  v.    the University Council has resolved to approve the designation of the location as a 'campus' under the Act.

• Census date

  the deadline by which all students must finalise their subject enrolments for each teaching period, after which they are financially and academically liable for each subject that remains on their enrolment.

• Controlled entity

  means an entity that is subject to the control of the University. Note: See also the definition of controlled entity in section 19A of the Charles Sturt University Act 1989 (NSW)

• Core subject

  a subject that all students undertaking a course are required to pass, to complete a course.

• Course

  see Coursework course, Higher degree by research course and Short course. Where the term ‘course’ is used without a modifying adjective, it means a course leading to an award of the University, and does not include short courses. Where a short course is meant, the term ‘short course’ is used.

• Coursework course

  a course leading to an award/qualification recognised by the Australian Qualifications Framework that is not classified as a higher degree by research.

• Coursework subject

  a subject on a specified topic for which students engage with text, learning materials and/or resources, and complete assessment tasks, not a research component.

• Credit

  recognition of a student’s prior learning as equivalent to and standing in place of subjects of components of a course. Credit reduces the amount of learning required to achieve a qualification. Credit is also known as ‘advanced standing’.

• Credit points

  see “Points”.

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• Days

  In the absence of specific wording in an academic policy document that identifies whether or not a reference to days is calendar days, business days or working days, then the reference to days is deemed to be calendar days. (AS 12/59, 18.7.2012)

• Domestic course

  A course delivered by an Australian education provider, including courses provided by this University and by partner institutions located within Australia.

• Domestic student

  A student who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, New Zealand citizen, or holds an Australian permanent humanitarian visa.

• Duty to foster the wellbeing of staff and students
  1. includes the duty to ensure that no member of staff and no student suffers unfair disadvantage or unfair adverse discrimination on any basis recognised at law including race, gender, sexuality, religion and political belief; 
  2. includes the duty to ensure that no member of staff and no student is subject to threatening or intimidating behaviour by another person or persons on account of anything they have said or proposed to say in exercising their freedom of speech; 
  3. supports reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent any person from using lawful speech which a reasonable person would regard, in the circumstances, as likely to humiliate or intimidate other persons and which is intended to have either or both of those effects; 
  4. does not extend to a duty to protect any person from feeling offended or shocked or insulted by the lawful speech of another. 

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• Elite athlete or performer

   includes anyone who has been registered by the University as an elite athlete, pre-elite athlete, elite sports support person or elite performer, which are defined as follows:

  1. Elite athlete – a person competing at the highest level of their sport, either as a national representative or as a professional sportsperson. To be considered an elite athlete, a person will normally have been recognised as such by a national sporting body or professional sports organisation.
  2. Pre-elite athlete – a person who has been recognised by a regional academy or state or national sporting organisation for their potential to attain high honours in their sport, and has been placed in the academy’s or organisation’s program to develop this potential.
  3. Elite sports support person – a referee, coach, official or someone in another support role, working at the national representative level of a sport or in a professional sports organisation, with travel and training commitments similar to those of an elite athlete.
  4. Elite performer – someone who has performed in extensive or significant productions or performances at a state, national or international level.

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• Grade

  a series of two or three letters recording a student’s final overall result in a subject, or an interim administrative status until a final overall result is decided.

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• Higher degree by research (HDR) course

  means a course leading to a qualification at Australian Qualifications Framework level 9 or level 10 in which a research component makes up 66% or more of the course volume of learning. Higher degree by research courses lead to the award of a master by research, professional doctorate or doctor of philosophy.

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• Inherent requirements

  the fundamental components that demonstrate the abilities, knowledge and skills required to achieve the core learning outcomes of a course. They are based on course learning outcomes, which are designed to reflect professional standards. Reasonable adjustments can be made to meet the requirements, however, any adjustment must not fundamentally change the nature of the inherent requirement.

• Integrated bachelor (honours) course

  where a bachelor degree and a one-year bachelor (honours) degree are combined in an integrated bachelor (honours) course that meets the requirements of both courses.

• Intensive school

  – a learning activity or set of learning activities, held online, on campus or at a non-campus physical location, for students enrolled to study a course or subject online. Intensive schools may be delivered in a condensed timetable, and may be compulsory or non-compulsory.

• International student

  A student who is not a domestic student at the time of the relevant study, and is studying within Australia on a temporary student visa.

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• Major

  a sequence of subjects in a discipline or on an interdisciplinary theme that:

  1. totals 64 points in volume
  2. requires students to complete at least 48 points above 100 level, and
  3. requires students to complete at least 16 points above 200 level.
• Minor

  a sequence of subjects in a discipline or on an interdisciplinary theme that:

  1. totals 32 points in volume; and
  2. includes at least 16 points above 100 level.
• Moderation

  comprises activities to control assessment, assure its quality and review it, to ensure:

  1. consistency, comparability, appropriateness and fairness of assessment judgements;
  2. validity and reliability of assessment tasks, criteria and standards; and that
  3. assessment tasks are credibly capable of valid assessment of the learning outcomes.

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• Non-resident student

  All students who are not classified as ‘domestic’ or ‘international/overseas’ in relation to their visa/citizenship and location status. Non-residents include: any student enrolled in a non-domestic course (including Australian domestic students studying overseas in a course delivered by an offshore partner institution); non-domestic students studying on campus within Australia while on any temporary visa other than the student visa; and non-domestic students who are studying in a domestic course that is delivered entirely online, where they do not need a student visa for their enrolment.

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• Paired subject

  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.

• Point

  A measure of volume of learning, equivalent to between 17.5 and 20 learning hours.

• Prerequisite subject

  a subject that must be completed before a student can commence study in the next subject for which this is a prerequisite entry requirement.

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• Research component

  one or more subjects for a higher degree by research course, a master by coursework and dissertation, or a bachelor (honours) course, in which students undertake a substantial piece of research involving a thesis, dissertation, portfolio or project.

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• Short course

  a learning activity or series of learning activities, for which students may receive a certificate of completion but which is/are not recorded as a subject with a grade on a formal transcript of results and have no relationship to award courses.

• Single subject

  a credit-bearing subject in which students enrol without admission to a course leading to a qualification.

• Student

  means a person who is or was enrolled in, or seeking admission to, a course or subject offered by the University or a partner institution or organisation, or who is given permission to audit a course or subject offered by the University or a partner institution or organisation; it includes a candidate for a higher degree by research award, as well as students enrolled in online or on-campus study modes. A student remains a student while on approved leave of absence. 

• Subject

  means a unit of study in which a student enrols and that will appear on the transcript of their grades.

• Subject convenor

  means a member of the academic staff of a faculty, appointed by the head of the teaching school, who is responsible to the head of the teaching school for coordinating the academic administration of a subject across all campuses and in all modes it is offered. 

• Subject coordinator

  means a member of the academic staff of a faculty, appointed by the head of the teaching school, who is responsible to the head of the teaching school for the academic administration of a subject on a particular campus or in a particular mode.

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• Teaching period

  each formal period of study during which a subject is delivered, including sessions, terms, micro-sessions, year-long periods and ADPP periods.