Glossary
The following list is of particular relevance to postgraduate students.
A
Admission (deferment): An applicant who receives an offer of admission to a course may apply to defer enrolment in that course for one semester or one academic cycle.
Advanced standing: See 'credit'.
Advisor: A member of academic staff appointed in an advisory role for some postgraduate coursework students. See also 'associate supervisor', 'supervision'.
Annual progress report: A form used to monitor a research student’s progress each year. The form provides for comments by the student, the supervisor, the head of the department and the dean (or their nominee). The completed form is attached to the student’s official file.
Associate supervisor: A person who is appointed in addition to the supervisor of a research student, who can provide the day-to-day contact with the candidate or provide particular expertise or additional experience in supervision. See also 'advisor', 'supervision'.
Attendance mode or attendance pattern: The attendance pattern for a course is full-time, part-time or external, depending on the student attendance requirements and the student load.
Australian Postgraduate Award (APA): A Federal Government scholarship available to some postgraduate research students.
Award course: see 'course'.
C
Candidature: This commences when a student is admitted to a course of study leading to the award of a degree, diploma or certificate. There are maximum and in some cases minimum periods of candidature depending on the award course and whether the candidate is a full- or part-time student.
Census date: The date at which a student’s enrolment, load and student contribution liability are finalised before this information is reported to DEEWR. See also 'Commonwealth Supported Student, 'HECS-HELP'.
Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP): Previously known as a HECS Place. A student in a Commonwealth Supported Place makes a contribution towards the cost of their education (known as the student contribution). The Australian Government contributes the majority of the cost.
Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE): This notice is issued to each student after enrolment, showing the course and the units of study in which the student is enrolled, with the credit point value of the units of study and the student-contribution weights. Until all fees are paid, it is issued provisionally. A new confirmation of enrolment notice is produced every time a student’s enrolment is varied.
Convocation: The body comprising the Fellows and former Fellows of the Senate of the University of Sydney; members of the former governing bodies of the institutions with which the University has amalgamated or their predecessors; the graduates of the University of Sydney, which include graduates of the institutions with which the University has amalgamated or their predecessors; professors and other full-time members of the academic staff of the University; and principals of the incorporated colleges.
Course: A program of study at the University of Sydney:
Award course: A formal course of study that will see attainment of a recognised award. Award courses are approved by Academic Board. The University broadly classifies courses as undergraduate, postgraduate coursework or postgraduate research.
Non-award course: Studies undertaken by students which do not lead to an award from the University. Can include professional development programs. See also 'cross-institutional enrolment'.
Coursework: An award course not designated as a research award course. While the program of study in a coursework award course may include a component of original work, other forms of instruction and learning normally will be dominant.
Research: A course in which at least 66% of the overall course requirements involve students in undertaking supervised research, leading to the production of a thesis or other piece of written or creative work, over a prescribed period of time.
Course alias, code or ID: A unique five character alpha-numeric code which identifies a University course.
Course leave: Students are permitted to apply for a period away from their course without losing their place. Course leave is formally approved by the supervising faculty for a minimum of one semester. Students on leave are regarded as having an active candidature, but they are not entitled to a student card. At undergraduate level, leave is not counted towards the total length of the course. Students who are absent from study without approved leave may be discontinued and may be required to formally reapply for admission.
Credit: The recognition of previous studies successfully completed at this University, or another university or tertiary institution recognised by the University of Sydney, as contributing to the requirements of the course to which the applicant requesting such recognition has been admitted. Credit may be granted as specified credit or non-specified credit.
Specific credit means the recognition of previously completed studies as directly equivalent to units of study.
Non-specific credit means a 'block credit' for a specified number of credit points at a particular level. These credit points may be in a particular subject area but are not linked to a specific unit of study.
Credit points: The value of the contribution each unit of study provides towards meeting course completion requirements. Each unit of study normally has a 6 credit point value assigned to it. The total number of credit points required for completion of award courses will be specified in the Senate Resolutions relevant to the award course.
Cross-institutional Enrolment: An enrolment in units of study at one university to count towards an award course at another university.
D
Deferral, deferment: See 'admission (deferment)', 'course leave'.
Discontinuation: See 'enrolment variation'.
Distance education: Where a student does not attend campus on a daily basis for a given course or unit of study.
E
EFTSL: The equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) for a year. It represents the study load for a year of a student undertaking a course of study on a full-time basis.
Embedded courses/programs: Award courses in the graduate certificate, graduate diploma and master's degree by coursework sequence which allow unit of study credit points to count in more than one of the awards, eg the Graduate Certificate in Information Technology, Graduate Diploma in Information Technology and Master of Information Technology.
Enrolment variation: Students may vary their enrolment at the beginning of each semester. Each faculty determines its deadlines for variations, but student-contribution liability depends on the Commonwealth census date.
Exchange student: Either a student of the University of Sydney who is participating in a formally agreed program involving study at an overseas university or an overseas student who is studying here on the same basis. The International Office provides administrative support for some exchanges.
Exclusion: A faculty may ask a student whose academic progress is considered unsatisfactory to 'show good cause' why the student should be allowed to re-enrol. If the faculty deems the student's explanation unsatisfactory, or if the student does not provide an explanation, the student may be excluded either from a unit of study or from a course or faculty. An excluded student may apply to the faculty for permission to re-enrol. Normally, at least two years must have elapsed before such an application would be considered. See the Calendar 2009 for University policy relating to exclusion.
Exemption: A decision made at a sub-unit of study level to allow a student to complete a unit of study without also completing all the prescribed components of coursework and/or assessment. See also 'credit', 'waiver'.
F
FEE-HELP: An interest-free loan facility available to fee-paying postgraduate students undertaking coursework programs.
FlexSIS: The computer-based Flexible Student Information System at the University of Sydney. FlexSIS holds details of courses and units of study being offered by the University and the complete academic records of all students enrolled at the University.
G
Grade: The outcome for a unit of study linked with a mark range. For example, a mark in the range 85–100 attracts the grade 'high distinction' (HD). The most common result grades used are:
| HD | High Distinction | 85-100 |
|---|---|---|
| D | Distinction | 75-84 |
| CR | Credit | 65-74 |
| P | Pass | 50-64 |
| F | Fail | 0-49 |
| AF | Absent Fail |
Some faculties may use other grades in addition to these.
Graduate/Graduand: a graduate is a person who holds an award from a recognised tertiary institution. A graduand is a student who has completed all the requirements for an award course but has not yet graduated.
H
HDR: This stands for 'Higher Degree by Research'.
HECS-HELP: An eligible student in a Commonwealth Supported Place can apply for assistance in paying their student contribution. This may take the form of a HECS-HELP loan to pay all or some of the student contribution, or a HECS-HELP discount if all (or at least $500) of the student contribution is paid by the census date.
M
Major: A field of study, chosen by a student, to represent their principal interest. This would consist of specified units of study from later stages of the award course. Students select and transfer between majors by virtue of their selection of units of study. One or more majors may be awarded upon the graduand’s assessment of study.
Mark: An integer (rounded if necessary) from 0 to 100 indicating a student's performance in a unit of study. See 'Grade'.
Minor: Studies undertaken to support a Major. Requiring a smaller number of credit points than a major students select and transfer between minors (and majors) by virtue of their selection of units of study. One or more minors may be awarded upon the graduand's assessment of study.
MyUni: The University of Sydney’s student portal system. It provides students with access to information about the University and its courses, including access to email, library services, student support services, student self-administration and e-learning software such as Blackboard and WebCT.
P
PhD: The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and other doctorate awards are the highest awards available at the University. A PhD course is normally purely research-based; the candidate submits a thesis that is an original contribution to the field of study.
Progression: Satisfactory progression is satisfying all course and faculty rules (normally assessed on an annual basis) to enable the completion of the chosen award within the (maximum) completion time allowed. See also 'exclusion'.
R
Research Training Scheme (RTS): The RTS provides Commonwealth-funded higher degree by research (HDR) students with an 'entitlement' to a student-contribution exemption for the duration of an accredited HDR course, up to a maximum period of four years' full-time equivalent study for a Doctorate by research and two years' full-time equivalent study for a Masters by research.
S
Semester: A half-yearly teaching session whose dates are determined by the Academic Board. Normally all undergraduate sessions will conform to the semesters approved by the Academic Board. Any offering of an undergraduate unit not conforming to the semester dates (non-standard session) must be given special permission by the Academic Board.
Show cause: See Progression, Exclusion.
Special Consideration: Candidates who suffer serious illness or misadventure which may affect performance in any assessment, may request that they be given special consideration in relation to the determination of their results.
Stream: A defined award course, which requires the completion of set units of study as specified by the course rules for the particular stream, in addition to the core program specified by the course rules. A stream will appear with the award course name on testamurs, eg Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering (Construction Management).
Supervision: Refers to a one-to-one relationship between a student and a nominated member of the academic staff or a person specifically appointed to the role.
Suspension of Candidature: See 'course leave'.
Sydney Summer School: A program of accelerated, intensive study running for approximately 6 weeks during January and February each year. Both undergraduate and postgraduate units are offered. Summer School provides an opportunity for students at Sydney and other universities to catch up on needed units of study, to accelerate completion of a course or to undertake a unit that is outside their award course. All units attract full fees however some scholarships are available.
Sydney Winter School: An intensive session offered by the University during the mid-year break.
T
Testamur: a certificate of award provided to a graduand, usually at a graduation ceremony. The Award conferred will be displayed along with other appropriate detail.
Thesis, treatise, dissertation and essay: The Academic Board has endorsed the following definitions:
Thesis: The written output from a supervised student project that is the only or major examinable assessment requirement for a research degree. Word limit: should not normally exceed 80,000 words.
Treatise: The written output from a supervised student project that is undertaken towards a majority coursework degree for which some coursework and some research work are examinable components. Word limit: should not normally exceed 40,000 words.
Dissertation: The written output from a supervised student project that is undertaken as a unit of study (or multiples of units of study) within a coursework postgraduate program. Word limit: should not normally exceed 20,000 words.
Essay: The written output from an unsupervised student project that is an assessment requirement for a unit of study within a coursework postgraduate program. Word limit: should not normally exceed 8,000 words.
Transcript or academic transcript: a printed statement setting out a student's academic record at the University. There are two forms of academic transcript: external and internal.
U
Unit of study: Unit of study or unit means a stand-alone component of an award course. Each unit of study is the responsibility of a department.
University of Sydney Postgraduate Award (UPA): These awards are funded by the University and are similar to APAs (Australian Postgraduate Awards) in terms of duration and benefits.
W
Waiver: In a prescribed course, a faculty may waive the prerequisite or corequisite requirement for a unit of study or the course rules for a particular student. Waivers do not involve a reduction in the number of credit points required for a course. See also 'credit', and 'exemption'.