1999 Engineering Handbook - Credit for previous studies

Credit for previous studies

General
Maximum credit allowed
Permission to take work elsewhere during study

General

The Faculty of Engineering awards credit towards its engineering degrees and technology degrees at Monash for subjects passed in completed or incomplete tertiary studies elsewhere (including TAFE post-secondary education courses), provided that it is satisfied that the subjects for which credit is sought were substantially the same in content, contact hours and standard of assessment as those subjects from which exemption is sought. Advanced standing will be given to the second year of the Bachelor of Technology degrees for completed studies in approved TAFE courses.
The onus is upon the student to provide to relevant administrative officers on each campus full documentation concerning previous studies for which credit is sought together with an academic transcript of results. This should be in the form of handbook subject entries and those sections of the handbook setting out course structure; in some cases course outlines handed out in lectures may provide the same information. This should preferably be done with the initial application for admission or, at the latest, at the time of enrolment. The minimum information required is number of years in course, level of subject in course, subject content and textbooks, number of contact hours and laboratory sessions etc per week, credit weighting of subject (percentage of year represented by subject), and method of assessment (number and length of assignments, number and length of examinations etc).
Credit entitlement is determined in the first instance by representatives of the various departments and ratified by a senior member of the academic staff on each campus. The credit granted is formally noted by the faculty's undergraduate affairs committee at the earliest opportunity.
Students who feel that they have been unfairly treated in the determination of credit entitlement may appeal to an appeals committee comprising, for the engineering degrees at Caulfield and Clayton, the dean or nominee, the head of the department or nominee and the subdean; for the BTech degrees, the dean or nominee, the head of department or nominee and the course leader; for the engineering degrees at Gippsland, the head of school and the course leader. In each case the appeals committee may be augmented, where appropriate, by a representative of a relevant engineering department or discipline group.

Maximum credit allowed

Irrespective of what study applicants may have undertaken prior to admission, or may be permitted to take during their course under cross-campus arrangements or under the 'permission to take work elsewhere' regulation, it is the policy of the faculty that a certain amount of work must be completed at Monash University. Students must complete at least ninety-six credit points in a particular undergraduate engineering degree program, and students in one of the three-year BTech degree programs at Caulfield or in the Bachelor of Engineering Studies at Gippsland must complete at least seventy-two credit points, in order to qualify for a degree of Monash University.
While the new Bachelor of Engineering program has been designed to enable greater mobility between campuses, some restrictions on enrolments at other campuses do apply. Information is available from the faculty administration office on each campus.
There are two exceptions to the requirement for minimum work to be completed at Monash University. The first concerns applicants admitted to candidature for an engineering degree, on the basis of a professional qualification obtained in another engineering or non-engineering specialisation, under an approved 'conversion course' arrangement leading to the award of a second qualification. Such a conversion program exists at Gippsland, and typically requires completion of forty-eight to ninety-six credit points (one to two years full-time or two to four years part-time study). Many subjects required for completion of this program are available by distance education. Candidates taking distance education subjects should anticipate the need to attend a residential school at Churchill each teaching semester. The second exception relates to people who have completed the three-year Bachelor of Engineering Studies degree at Gippsland and who wish to convert to the Bachelor of Engineering at Gippsland. The conversion program for BEngSt graduates requires a further year of study to be taken full-time at the Gippsland campus.
Students should note that the requirement concerning the minimum number of credit points to be completed on the 'home' campus applies also where students are permitted to enrol for subjects offered on another campus within the Faculty of Engineering. For example, a student enrolled in an engineering degree program at Gippsland, who is permitted to enrol for subjects at one of the metropolitan campuses, must still complete subjects to the value of ninety six credit points offered at the Gippsland campus.

Permission to take work elsewhere during study

The faculty board may in its discretion, grant permission to a student to undertake and complete work in another faculty of the university or at another university or tertiary institution, provided that permission is obtained prior to commencing the work. The faculty board or undergraduate affairs committee must be satisfied that the work to be completed is equivalent to a subject or to subjects specified at Monash. Upon completion of the work, the student will be awarded credit points for the work. The maximum credit allowed also applies in this circumstance.