Handbook 2009

Courses

It is students’ responsibility to enrol in accordance with the degree regulations, requirements of their course/major and official deadlines.

Enrolment of New Students

Successful applicants for admission to Murdoch University will receive an offer letter and an enrolment package that includes all of the information needed to be able to go online to accept the offer and complete an enrolment for the year.

Applicants who are not immediately offered admission will be advised and invited to meet with an admissions counsellor to discuss ways in which they may become successful in the future.

Course Advice Sessions and Orientation

Course and academic advice sessions are offered to all new undergraduate students. The sessions will commence late January and will be repeated in Orientation Week (O Week). Students are encouraged to attend the Course Advice Session relative to their intended course of study. It is an opportunity to meet the academic staff in the course, and to hear about the enrolment options available at Murdoch.

O Week is held for new students in the week before the beginning of Semester and is an essential part of a successful university life. The week is designed to assist students to prepare for their studies, as well as to introduce them to the sporting, cultural and social activities on offer at Murdoch University.

A series of important lectures and workshops will cover such topics such as Getting Organised and Being Successful, Computer Usage on Campus, Learning Skills, Student Services, Planning Your Career, Foundation Unit Taster sessions, and Campus and Library tours. There will also be a general advice session for external students during O Week, however students should note that this is not a Course Advice Session.

Full details of the O Week program will be forwarded to new undergraduate students, and can also be found online:

http://www.murdoch.edu.au/students/new/orientation.html

For those students who commence studies in a trimester, Orientation and Course Advice will take place on day 1 of the teaching period.

Re-Enrolment of Existing Students

Current students who intend to re-enrol for any study in 2009 are required to complete their enrolment by 19 December 2008. There is no guarantee of re-enrolment for any students who seek to re-enrol after the deadline. A fee may be charged for late re-enrolments.

Students should enrol in all units they intend to study during the whole year. This will assist the University in timetabling and in providing sufficient teaching resources for students. Students who do not enrol in second semester units by the end of May may also be charged a late re-enrolment fee.

All students are expected to re-enrol through MyInfo, except for the following:

Students who are registered as having no access to the Internet are sent re-enrolment forms in November each year.

Honours students are re-enrolled by Faculty Student Administration.

Research students will be re-enrolled by the Graduate Centre on the basis of their Annual Progress Report.

Not-for-award students are required to re-apply for enrolment each year through the Office of Central Student Administration.

Courses Subject to Restriction

Selection of majors and minors

Students are able to manage their selection of and enrolment in most majors and minors through the online enrolment facility, MyInfo.

Where a major is subject to restriction, adding it as a second major is subject to admission being granted: students seeking to add that major or transfer into it must make an application. Applications are considered at the end of each semester. Closing dates and application forms are found at:

http://www.oss.murdoch.edu.au/forms/

Restricted Courses

Bachelor of Chiropractic, Bachelor of Science in Chiropractic and Bachelor of Health Sciences in Chiropractic

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary), Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) and Bachelor of Education (Secondary Teaching) (both four-year and two-year graduate-entry), and their joint degrees

Bachelor of Laws, Juris Doctor and joint degrees with Law

Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Nursing (Conversion)

Bachelor of Psychology, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Psychology with Honours

Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery and Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Biology

Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary) and Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary)

Academic Council definitions and principles (May 2005) state that all postgraduate courses are restricted and no student is allowed to transfer into a postgraduate award without approval.

Intermission of Enrolment

Students may apply to intermit (or suspend) their enrolment for a maximum period of four semesters (taken consecutively or otherwise) during any qualification. Students granted intermission of their enrolment are guaranteed a place in the University and in their course provided they resume studies at the end of the period of intermission.

An Intermission of Enrolment form (available online) or a written application stating the grounds for seeking an intermission should be submitted to the Manager, Enrolment and Fees in the Office of Central Student Administration. (The date this is received is the date of effect of the intermission on the student’s enrolment record, unless the student does not want it to take effect until the following semester.)

Intermissions are granted where the student has passed 50 per cent or more of the points for which results were due in the previous semester; or, where personal circumstances had led to poor results, the student had passed 50 per cent or more in the period preceding when these circumstances arose; or where the student has no prior results at this University but satisfied the University’s criteria for granting deferred admission.

Withdrawal of Enrolment

Domestic students may discontinue their studies altogether by formally withdrawing from the University. This must be done in writing or by email to the Manager, Enrolments and Fees. Telephone advice to members of staff Is not accepted as advice of withdrawal. Re-admission is either via the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) for applications timed to commence at the start of the academic year, or through the Prospective Students’ and Admissions Centre for mid-year readmission. A student re-enrolling after a break in studies of two or more semesters is required to meet the course and fee requirements in force at the time of re-enrolment, subject to those requirements being varied in individual cases by the Program Chair and Manager, Enrolments and Fees respectively.

A student who has no substantive enrolment in an academic year will have their enrolment discontinued and be required to apply for readmission.

Any student re-enrolling after exceeding the maximum permissible period of enrolment may have conditions attached to their enrolment (see the Academic Progress Rules for Bachelor Degrees, for Postgraduate Coursework Qualifications, and for Coursework Masters Degrees).

Research students must apply to the Graduate Centre for suspension.

Program Chairs

Each course in the University has a Program Chair who is able to provide academic advice to students in such areas as course structures, choice of electives, study habits etc.