Policy - Faculty Academic Policies and Procedures
5. Courses and Subjects
5.1 Credit Points Policy
The issues of assessment, workload and how the credit points for a unit should be calculated has not been resolved at a Faculty or University level. The Faculty currently has a policy for Postgraduate Diploma/Masters level units, however there are no agreed policies governing undergraduate or Professional Doctorate units. Academic Committee is currently reviewing these issues and is intending to develop a University-wide policy.
5.1.1 Undergraduate
No official policy has been agreed upon to aid in the allocation of credit points to undergraduate units. However, recent Faculty practice has been to allocate a 15 credit point unit, 52 hours of classes and 4,000 - 4,500 words of assessment. This is the equivalent of three assessment units where one assessment unit equals 1,500 written words or 1 hour of examination.
This unofficial rule does not take into consideration placement hours and makes no distinction between lectures, tutorials and practicals. The main rule when proposing new units is ‘consistency’. Do not allocate different credit point values for the same amount of assessment or class requirements.
5.1.2 Postgraduate Diploma and Masters by coursework
5.1.2.1 Summary
On 7 November 1996, Faculty Development Committee approved the following as policy in relation to postgraduate assessment:
- credit points should be assigned to postgraduate units on the basis of one credit point (CP) per 2.6 contact hours of teaching (lectures, tutorials, practicums);
- assessment loads should be assigned to postgraduate units on the basis of 16 academic units (au) per 120 CP course year (1 au per 7.5 CPs), where one academic unit equals one hour of examination or 1,500 words of written work;
- when new units are proposed, they should conform to the Faculty credit point and assessment standards. If a proposed unit varies from these standards, it should be supported by relevant justification for the proposed variation.
5.1.2.2 Rationale
There are a number of University and Faculty policies and procedures which guide workload, credit point values and assessment of courses:
Workload
Academic Committee has suggested that a normal workload for a full-time student should be between 42-46 hours per week (contact and non-contact), with some variation between courses.
Credit points
Academic Board (15 November 1995) determined that a single degree program should consist of 120 credit points per year. Each unit should have a fixed credit point value and from 1998 faculties should move to introduce more 15 point units until there is a prevalence of these units.
Assessment
Existing Faculty policy defines an assessment unit (au) as one hour of examination or 1,500 words of written work. The table below outlines the current Faculty policy in relation to assessment for postgraduate units.
| Unit hours | Credit Points | Assessment Units (au) | Exams (total) | Written Assignments (approx. total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 10 | 1.5 | 1.5 hrs | 2,000 |
| 39 | 15 | 2.0 | 2.0 hrs | 3,000 |
| 52 | 20 | 3.0 | 3.0 hrs | 4,500 |
| 78 | 30 | 4.0 | 4.0 hrs | 6,000 |
120 credit points (a normal full-time year) would therefore attract an assessment load of 16 au (equivalent of 24,000 words or 16 hours examination). Credit points and assessment loads for typical postgraduate course are shown in Table 2.
| Course | Contact Hours | Credit Points (CP) | Assessment (words) | Assessment (au) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Post)Graduate Diploma or Part 1 Masters (C/W) | 8 x 39 hrs or equivalent | 8 x 15CP =120CP | 8 x 3,000 words (or equivalent) = 24,000 | 8 x 2.0 au = 16 au |
| Total | 312 hrs | 120CP | 24,000 words | 16 au |
| Course | Contact Hours | Credit Points (CP) | Assessment (words) | Assessment (au) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 2 Masters (C/W) | 4 x 39 hrs plus thesis | 4 x 15CP = 60CP 1 x 60CP = 60CP |
4 x 3,000 words = 12,000 1 x 15,000 words = 15,000* |
4 x 2.0 au = 8 au 1 x 8.0 au = 8 au |
| Total | 117 hrs + thesis | 120CP | 27,000 words | 16 au |
* Currently, the Faculty of Health Sciences offers Masters by coursework theses ranging from 15,000 - 20,000 words. The University minimum standard is 15,000 words (AcC96/33 23 May 1996). Usually, one of the four 15CP units undertaken in part 2 of Masters by coursework is a literature review that later is included as part of the thesis.
5.1.2.3 Clinical components
There is a wide variation between the number of clinical hours allocated in those units with clinical components. It is therefore difficult to devise a logical and equitable method to assign credit points to these units.
5.1.3 Professional Doctorates
There is no current Faculty policy for the allocation of assessment to units in the Professional Doctorates. As the compulsory research units are based on a 15CP unit attracting 39 hours of class requirements and 4,000 words of assessment, any new Professional Doctorate unit proposal should consider equivalent assessment.