The procedures are designed to provide for the resolution of problems and complaints quickly and efficiently through appropriate departmental and faculty mechanisms, while protecting the rights of students and staff. All cases of this kind will be treated as confidential. These procedures are provided for cases where the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily through the usual more informal means.
Academic grievances
Academic grievances are those where students have complaints about aspects of their courses, assessment or other matters which are the responsibility of academic staff and of departments and centres in the faculty.
Administrative grievances
Administrative grievances are those where students have complaints about matters relating to enrolment or to information, advice or services on other matters provided by administrative staff of the faculty.
Academic grievances and appeals procedures
Unsatisfactory progress and exclusion
The grounds for exclusion are:
First year
(1) No students should be considered for exclusion solely on the basis of results achieved in the first semester of their studies for the BA degree.
(2) Full-time students (ie those taking three or four subjects in first semester) who fail three or four subjects in first semester and who choose to proceed to second semester studies and do not pass more than 50% of the work attempted in second semester will be liable for exclusion.
(3) Full-time students (ie those taking three or four subjects in both semesters) who do not pass two subjects per semester will be liable for exclusion.
(4) Part-time students (ie those taking one or two subjects per semester) who do not pass at least 50% of the work attempted in a year will be liable for exclusion.
Second year
(1) Students taking twenty-eight points or less - any student who does not pass a subject or subjects valued to at least twelve points (unless the subject failed is the only failure to date) will be liable for exclusion.
(2) Students taking more than twenty-eight points - any student who does not pass a subject or subjects valued to at least sixteen points will be liable for exclusion.
Third year
Any student who does not pass a subject or subjects valued to at least twelve points will be liable for exclusion unless:
(1) the only subject attempted is the last subject required for completion of the degree, provided that students who have attempted and failed twice in such a subject should be liable for exclusion; or
(2) the failure is the only subject attempted and is the only failure to date.
Students who, at second or third-year level, attempt and pass only one subject of a points value below the minimum stated shall not be considered liable for exclusion.
In circumstances he or she considers special, the dean may exempt from the exclusion process and permit to re-enrol, students who would otherwise be liable for exclusion, but whose unsatisfactory performance in examinations is clearly attributable to a serious, well-documented medical problem.
Students who are liable for exclusion will be sent a letter from the faculty informing them of this and giving them information about the courses of action available to them. Students are invited to make a written submission to the Exclusions Committee of the faculty, to appear in person before the committee or both. All information supplied to the committee is treated as confidential, but students may also request that information of a particularly private nature be known only to the chairperson of the committee. Students also have the option to make no case, but this precludes such a student from appealing to the Exclusion Appeals Committee of Academic Board against the decision by the faculty committee to exclude that student.
Students have two avenues of appeal against a decision to exclude by the faculty committee. If the student has substantial new evidence which was not available to the committee, he/she may appeal to the dean, who may either affirm or reverse the decision of the committee in the light of the new evidence. Students also may, under the provisions of the Monash University Statute 6.2. - Exclusions for Unsatisfactory Progress, appeal to the Exclusion Appeals Committee of the Academic Board. Students may appeal to the university committee as an alternative to an appeal to the dean (ie where they have no new evidence or where they prefer to take the new evidence directly to the university committee) or in addition to an appeal to the dean (ie where there is no new evidence or where this appeal has been unsuccessful).
Students can seek information and advice about the exclusion process from the course advisers in the faculty. It is not the role of the course advisers to draft submissions for students or to act as an advocate at exclusions committee hearings. This kind of assistance should be sought from the Monash Association of Students.
Other undergraduate matters
Students should first discuss the matter with the lecturer or tutor concerned. If this does not resolve the matter satisfactorily, the student should consult the course coordinator (where the course coordinator is not the lecturer). If the matter is still unresolved, the student should present his/her case in writing to the responsible head of department or director of centre. (Where the lecturer is the head of department or director of centre, another senior member of that department or centre should deal with the case.) No more than fourteen days should elapse between the time the matter is raised by the student with the lecturer concerned and the completion of all the stages of referral and attempted resolution within the relevant department or centre.
If the matter is not resolved within the period of fourteen days, the matter may be referred by either the student or the head of department or director of centre to the convener of the Committee for Undergraduate Studies (CUGS). The referral will normally be made by the head of department (or centre) who shall notify the student in writing at the time that this step has been taken. At this stage further information may be submitted to the convener of CUGS by either party. The convener of CUGS will attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation within fourteen days of receiving the referral.
If the matter cannot be resolved by conciliation, it may be referred to an ad hoc committee of CUGS, to be known as the Student Grievance Committee, for arbitration. Material received from either party to the dispute for the consideration of the ad hoc committee shall be made available to all parties before the hearing of the appeal. No member of a department from which a dispute has arisen will be a member of the ad hoc committee. The committee shall make its determination within fourteen days and notify the student and the head of department or director of centre of its decision in writing.
The student or department/centre may lodge an appeal against the committee's determination which shall be heard by the dean.
Administrative grievances and appeals procedures
(1) Students who have a grievance in relation to administrative matters concerning the faculty office or officers should in the first instance discuss the matter with the faculty registrar (Arts). The faculty registrar will attempt to resolve the matter.
(2) If this is not successful, students have a right to ask that the matter be reviewed by the associate dean (teaching). A recommendation for the resolution of the matter should be made within fourteen days of the submission being received.
(3) If the associate dean (teaching) is not able to resolve the matter it will be considered by the faculty's Student Grievance Committee. The committee shall finally determine the matter within fourteen days.
Annual reporting
At least once a year, the Committee for Undergraduate Studies will prepare a report for faculty board on student grievances and the operation of the grievance and appeals procedures in the faculty over the preceding year. The report will refer to numbers and types of cases, issues and outcomes in general terms only, in order to preserve confidentiality.