1999 Distance Education Handbook

Fees

General information
Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS)
- Census dates for withdrawal from subjects
Fees guide for 1999 (subject to change and ratification)

General information

Contributions payable under the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) are reviewed annually by the Australian government and university fees are also periodically reviewed. Students enrolling in fee-paying postgraduate courses, or as a fee-paying overseas student, are not required to also pay under HECS.

Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS)

The scheme was introduced by the Australian Government in 1989 and requires contributions to be made by students towards the cost of their higher education studies. The amount to be contributed depends on the study load (subjects) undertaken each semester, and is payable whether or not a pass in each subject is achieved.
Undergraduate students, some postgraduate students, and cross-institutional students who are not enrolled as fee-paying students in the award course being undertaken at their home institution, are liable for payment under the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).
HECS Contributions will not be required from:

students enrolled in approved fee-paying courses;
students enrolled in single subjects (although other fees will apply);
students in recognised bridging or supplementary courses; (no such courses are listed in this book);
overseas students generally (other arrangements apply);
students who receive an Australian Postgraduate Award from the university (normally available only to higher degree research students);
students enrolled in a course place fully funded by an employer (but not including students whose employer is paying the HECS liability on behalf of the student).

Comprehensive HECS information will be provided with offer letters to students offered a Government-funded course place. You may select the deferred payment option (in which case payment is deferred until your taxable income reaches an annually indexed threshold), partial up front payment or the up-front payment option (in which cases a 25 per cent discount may apply). Payment of a contribution under the up-front payment option will be required on a semester basis. HECS guidelines are updated annually and it is the students' responsibility to read and understand them.

Census dates for withdrawal from subjects

If withdrawal from a subject occurs by 31 March in the first semester, or 31 August in the second semester, the subject will not incur a HECS liability for the semester. These are referred to as 'census dates' as they are the dates at which the Government calculates HECS liability and institutional funding. Where summer semester subjects are offered, the census date is that date on which the student begins a course of study (where the study period is less than six weeks long), or fourteen days after course commencement (where the period is greater than six weeks).
More detailed information will be provided with offer letters, or may be obtained from the Student Admissions and Records Branch (SARB) at the Gippsland campus.

Fees guide for 1999 (subject to change and ratification)

Higher Education Contribution Scheme

The enabling legislation for the Higher Education Contribution Scheme provides for annual review, and the standard annual contribution for 1999 has not been determined at the time of printing this book. University fees are also reviewed periodically. For 1998 the annual course contribution for a standard full-time study load for a year was set by the Australian Government in three study discipline bands:

Band one: $3356
Band two: $4779
Band three: $5593

All units of study are allocated a band and total HECS payable is determined by each student's particular study program for each year.

Amenities fees

Amenities fees for 1999 have not been finalised at the time of publication. However, the following categories will apply.
For the purpose of calculating amenities fees:

A distance education student is one who is solely enrolled in subjects by distance education for the year. Thus, students who are internal for one semester, and distance education for the other, pay amenities fees for the year as an internal student.
An internal student for a year is one who is enrolled in at least one on-campus subject for the year.
A student who is undertaking a study program of at least three-quarters of the standard full-time study load for the academic year, or for a semester is classified as a full-time student.
A student who is enrolled for less than three-quarters of the standard full-time study load for the year or semester is classified as a part-time student.

Most new distance education students enrol as part-time students for the whole year. As a guide, students in this category may expect the amenities fee to be at least $125 for the year.

Notes

1 Single-semester fees are not applicable if a student is enrolled for both semesters, regardless of the mix of internal and distance education subjects across the year.
2 Students enrolled in subjects for a semester solely by distance education may take advantage of an enhanced off-campus library service during that semester.
3 Students who are only enrolled at Monash University as cross- institutional studies students, with results to be credited to an award course at another institution, may produce evidence of payment of fees at their home institution as an alternative to payment of the amenities fee at Monash.

Postgraduate course fees

Where subject/tuition fees are applicable to a postgraduate course, the fees payable will be described under the appropriate course heading within the handbook. Some courses may have both HECS and fee-paying places available. Details of fees applicable to your nominated study program will also be supplied with your offer letter. Amenities fees are payable for fee-paying postgraduate courses unless stated otherwise in your offer letter, but HECS does not apply.

Single subject (non-award) fees

For undergraduate subjects at the Gippsland campus in 1998, fees ranged from $495 to $1000, depending on the particular school. It is anticipated that the fees for 1999 will be similar. Further information can be obtained by ringing the relevant school (see contact list included with this handbook).

Refunds

Up-front HECS payments and the major part of single subject fees are refundable until 31 March for first semester, and 31 August for second semester.
Amenities fees are normally fully refundable for the first two weeks of each semester.
Some postgraduate course/subject fees, and single subject course fees may include a non-refundable component, or a separate non-refundable administration fee. Advice of this will be contained in offer letters where applicable.
Full details will be included in the 1999 Student Resource Guide (available on the internet at http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/ssd/).