Over-enrolment
Policy
Subject to making satisfactory progress in their courses, all students are entitled to complete all of the requirements of their course, including the required number of points, compulsory, core and breadth subjects, and any other requirements such as a major or specialisation.
If, as a result of factors beyond their control, a student completes the points required for their course without having completed other requirements, they will be entitled to enrol in that course to undertake additional points sufficient to complete the course requirements. Reasons may include receipt of poor course advice, changes to subject offerings or alterations to the requirements of professional registration.
Students may seek approval to receive Commonwealth support (either through HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP, depending on their fee paying status in the relevant degree) to undertake additional studies (normally up to a maximum of 25 points) towards their Bachelors degree in circumstances where they make a late change to their course plan and elect to pursue a major in a different subject area to the one they had initially planned.
Notwithstanding these allowances, students are generally not permitted to complete any study in addition to that required for completion of their course, within their enrolment in that course.
Domestic Students
(Including Australian and New Zealand Citizens and permanent residents of Australia)
The Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) stipulates that 'a higher education provider must not advise a person that he or she is a Commonwealth supported student in relation to a unit of study unless the unit contributes to the requirements of a course of study in which the person is enrolled with that provider or another higher education provider.'1 Further, the Act also stipulates that 'a student is entitled to FEE-HELP assistance for a unit of study if the unit is, or is to be, undertaken as part of a course of study.'2
To comply with this legislation the University must not permit a domestic student to undertake an over-enrolment, unless the subjects are required for the completion of the person's course. Domestic students who wish to undertake additional points or subjects not required for the completion of their course may be permitted to enrol through the University's Community Access Program (CAP).
International Students
CAP is not normally available to international students, nor is their enrolment regulated by HESA. However the legislation governing Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS), explicitly forbids registered higher education providers from changing the start and end dates of a student's course of study unless the need for an extension is a result of:
- Compassionate or compelling circumstances; or
- An intervention strategy implemented for a student at risk of not making satisfactory progress; or
- Leave of absence granted for an approved reason3 (see policy on Leave of Absence for more information).
On this basis international students may be permitted to undertake a limited over-enrolment (normally up to a maximum of 25 points) providing that this does not require an extension of the expected course duration or the issue of an amended Confirmation of Enrolment (COE).
1 Higher Education Support Act 2003, Section 36-10: Advice on whether a person is a Commonwealth supported student.
2 Higher Education Support Act 2003, Section 104-1: Entitlement to FEE-HELP assistance.
3 The National Code of Practice for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2007, Standard 9: Completion within the expected duration of study.