Each subject (with the exception of the bridging courses at Clayton) is worth a number of credit points, or in the case of Gippsland courses, has an assigned value. When the subject is passed, these credit points or values are added to the student's total, and thus by a process of accumulating credit points or values and satisfying the requirements for `core' and `elective' subjects the student progresses towards degree completion. Details of core and elective subjects and the number of credit points or values required for degree completion in each degree course are set out in the subject lists included in the undergraduate section of this handbook.
The faculty permits both full-time and part-time enrolment. Subjects to the value of twenty-four credit points constitute a normal full-time enrolment in any semester at Clayton and Caulfield. An overweight enrolment of up to twenty-eight credit points in a semester (twenty-four credit points if a bridging course is included) is permitted. At Clayton the normal enrolment for the first year of the BE is eleven subjects only, totalling forty-four credit points; this enables students who need to take a bridging course to do so without overloading. At Caulfield, students normally enrol in fourteen level-one subjects totalling forty-eight credit points.
At Gippsland, subjects totalling forty- eight credit points (forty-seven in first year) constitute a normal full-time enrolment in each year of the degree. Students must complete the subjects to the value of 191 credit points as specified in the course subject lists to be eligible to graduate.
The faculty believes that full-time enrolment is generally in the best interests of its students, but is well aware of the variety of circumstances which may oblige a student to take a reduced load. Part-time enrolment is allowed, provided the student is aware of the maximum time limit for degree completion stated in the regulations for the relevant course. For engineering degrees at Monash the time limit is eight years from initial enrolment. For the BTech degrees, the time limit is six years. Circumstances may also arise which oblige students to discontinue their studies for a time. Leave of absence may be sought from the faculty or schools for one semester or one year at a time (but not more), and information about the appropriate steps to be taken is available from the faculty office or the school administration offices. Again, students should be mindful of their time limits.