Abstudy

Abstudy is a partial income support payment for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Campus mode

This refers to a course or unit where the dominant mode of delivery is through attendance at classes at a Deakin campus, centre, affiliated industry, or other physical site. Within a campus unit, there are classes and seminars which students attend.

CHESSN

Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number.

Online campus

This is where the dominant mode of delivery is through the University's online environment. There may or may not be compulsory contact hours online. In some units students may be required to attend an event, such as an exam or an assessment, at a designated physical site.

This was formally referred to as 'Cloud Campus' or 'Cloud online' study.

Community-Based Delivery (CBD)

CBD courses and units, like Deakin's National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research Innovation (NIKERI) Institute combine on and off-campus teaching to help Indigenous Australian students undertake their studies without missing any family or community obligations.

Computer standards

Deakin recommended computer standards (which you should check) to ensure you can make the most out of your learning experience.

Contact hours

Contact hours and 'study commitment' are detailed in a 'unit guide' which is provided for every unit. Contact hours provide the number of hours, classes, seminars and online learning experiences scheduled for campus and online students, usually each week. Study commitment gives an indication of the hours over a trimester a student could be expected to spend in teaching, learning and assessment for a unit. Unit guides can be found on CloudDeakin through DeakinSync.

Core unit

These are units which you must complete in order to meet the requirements of your course. Not all courses have core units (e.g. Bachelor of Arts) and some courses will be made up almost entirely of core units (e.g. Bachelor of Nursing). Your course rules and core units (if any) will be provided in the University Handbook.

Course

The overall degree you are enrolled in, e.g. Bachelor of Arts.

Course guides

Course rules can be accessed online through the University Handbook.

Corequisite units

If a unit description in the University Handbook has a corequisite unit, it means you must have already completed, or will complete the co-requisite unit at the same time (same study period) as the unit you want to enrol in.

Credit point

A credit point is a measure of your course workload. A full-time student's normal workload during a trimester is 3-4 credit points. Most students will study 4 credit points per trimester if they want to use only Trimester 1 and 2 to complete their degree in a timely manner. A unit of study commonly has a value of 1 or 2 credit points.

Credit transfer and recognition

See Recognition of prior learning.

Discontinuation of course

If you are considering discontinuing your course, first seek advice from a student adviser at Student Central. If you decide to discontinue, please complete the discontinuation process online at StudentConnect. Or visit our discontinue your course webpage.

EFTSL

Equivalent Full-Time Student Load.

Electives

An elective can be any unit that does not have a restriction on it and one that your course allows you to do. In an undergraduate course you can only choose undergraduate units as electives. Speak with a student adviser at Student Central about adding additional electives to your course.

Encumbrance

A restriction placed on a student's enrolment for breaching specified due dates or conditions relating to matters such as: academic progress, enrolment fees, library loans, residential fees, or student loans. Encumbrances limit students' access to services provided by the University and may block provision of a range of important services such as: library access, result release, re-enrolment, variation to enrolment and graduation.

Exchange programs

Deakin has a number of exchange programs for students to study overseas - whether coming from overseas to study at Deakin or a Deakin student heading overseas to study. If you want to study at Deakin, as an exchange or study abroad student in Australia, view our study abroad webpage. If you are a Deakin student wanting to study overseas, find out more at Study Abroad.

FEE-HELP

Australian Government loan program to help eligible domestic fee-paying students pay their tuition fees. Visit Government HELP schemes.

Full-time study

To be considered a full-time student by the University and Centrelink, you need to be enrolled in at least three units (or 3 credit points) in a trimester. However, 4 credit points in a trimester is the usual full-time load when attempting to complete a course as efficiently as possible.

HECS-HELP

Australian Government loan program to help eligible Commonwealth supported students to pay their student contribution amounts - Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). Visit our Government HELP schemes webpage.

ID card

Your ID card at Deakin is called Deakin Card. Your Deakin Card is not only your ID but is required at exams, for the library, to print on campus and after-hours door access.

Intermission

An approved break in your studies. Visit the intermit your course webpage.

Invalid units

If you fail a prerequisite or corequisite unit or fail to meet special requirements for a unit, the unit in question will become 'invalid'. View more information on invalid units and rule breaches.

Lectures

Often held in a lecture theatre and involves information being presented to students, usually by an academic staff member and often with some level of student participation. Generally, you do not need to timetable yourself into classes.

Major sequence

A group of related units approved by a faculty board and listed in the University Handbook amounting to a minimum of 6 credit points, with at least 2 credit points in levels 2 and 3 of the course.

Minor sequence

A group of related units approved by a faculty board and listed in the University Handbook - taken over two levels and amounting to a minimum of four credit points. Minor sequences are not included on academic transcripts or testamurs. Also referred to as a sub-major.

OS-HELP

Overseas Higher Education Loan Program - visit Government HELP schemes.

Overseas study

Deakin has a number of exchange programs for students to study overseas – whether coming from overseas to study at Deakin or a Deakin student heading overseas to study.  See Exchange programs.

Part-time study

A part-time study load is 1 or 2 credit points in a trimester. You should consider the time it will take you to complete your course if you chose to study part time.

Prerequisite units

If a unit has a 'prerequisite unit', you must have successfully completed that prerequisite unit/s before you study in the unit with the prerequisite. If a unit has a prerequisite, it will be detailed in the University Handbook.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Credit granted for relevant prior learning (including formal, informal and non-formal learning). If you have studied at post-secondary level before, or have relevant work or life experience, you may be eligible for credit transfer or recognition for prior learning. This means you may not have to complete a unit if you've completed something very similar at the same level before, or you may get general credit and not have to complete an elective. Further information is available on our recognition of prior learning webpage.

Re-enrolment

Each year you will be sent information about how and when to re-enrol for the next year. You must re-enrol to maintain your place at Deakin.

Refunds and remission of debt

In special circumstances, if you withdraw from your studies or reduce your enrolment load after the relevant census dates, you can apply to have certain fees and payments re-credited or refunded. There are strict guidelines for remission of debt, so it is important you seek advice from your faculty. More information is available on our fees website.

SA-HELP

The Student Amenities Higher Education Loan Program is a loan scheme that allows eligible students to defer all or part of the cost of the student services and amenities fee. Visit Government HELP schemes.

Semesters

Some courses operate over two semesters each year. The first runs from February to June, the second from July to November.

Seminar

An interactive meeting for smaller groups of students that is part of the course structure, formerly known as a tutorial. You need to timetable yourself into seminars after you have enrolled.

STAR

Student Timetable Allocation and Registration (STAR). The online system used to create your on-campus class timetable - visit study timetables.

Student adviser

A student adviser can help students with unit selection. Students should contact a student adviser before varying enrolment to make sure the course and unit rules are being followed. More information or contact a student adviser at Student Central.

StudentConnect

StudentConnect is an online administration portal where you manage your student enrolment and update your personal details.

Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)

A fee that higher education providers can charge their students for student services and amenities of a non-academic nature, such as sport and recreational activities, employment and career advice, childcare, financial advice and food services. Eligible students can defer payment of this fee through SA-HELP. Visit the SSAF webpage for more information.

Study abroad

At Deakin, students can take part in overseas exchange, study abroad, international internship or volunteering opportunities. Study overseas can be for a few weeks, a trimester or a year, as part of a degree. View more information on the Study abroad webpage.

Study Assist

Study Assist is a government website which provides information to students about government assistance for financing tertiary study.

Sub-major

See Minor sequence.

Termination

In some circumstances your enrolment may be terminated. Examples include non-payment of a fee, academic performance or a breach of the student code of conduct. You will lose access to all Deakin services, including CloudDeakin, email, StudentConnect and the library. More information can be found on our fees webpage.

Timetable

Deakin uses STAR (Student Timetable Allocation and Registration) for timetables. STAR is a personalised timetabling system that allows students in campus-based units to register online for classes and seminars.

Trimesters

At Deakin there are three trimesters (study periods). Trimester 1 runs from February to July, Trimester 2 runs from July to November and Trimester 3 runs from November to February. Generally, to undertake your course full time, you would study 4 units in Trimester 1 and 2. Trimesters allow great flexibility and give you the opportunity to spread your study load throughout the three trimesters, to accommodate work or other responsibilities outside of university.

Unit

A component of study. In school, you may have called these subjects.

Unit guide

A reference for students providing specific information or instruction about a unit.

University Handbook

The University Handbook is the official source of information on your course and each unit that we are offering in a particular year.

Withdrawal

Formal termination by a student of enrolment in a unit or course other than by intermission.

Withdrawing from study

If you are considering withdrawing from study, you may find it helpful to talk with staff before you make your final decision. A personal counsellor, language and learning adviser or your unit chair will all be able to provide confidential advice. See also Discontinuation of course.

Withdrawing units

If you want to change your enrolment you need to do so via StudentConnect. Check the University Handbook as changes to enrolment must be in keeping with relevant course and unit rules and enrolment variations may also result in a change of fees. It may be best to discuss this with a student advisor at Student Central before making changes. More information at our change your enrolment web page.

If you're unsure of the University vocabulary, view our terminology and code definitions.

Unit codes

The unit code structure for most standard units is 3 letters followed by 3 digits. For example, MAE201.

The first lettering in a standard unit code indicates which faculty the unit belongs to.

The second and third letters are used to identify the school or discipline area within the faculty.

The first digit generally tells you the level of the unit.

For example, MAE201 means the unit is from the Faculty of Business and Law, in the Department of Economics, it is a level 2 bachelor degree unit and the '01' is the subject number within the school.

Level 6 for graduate certificate and graduate diploma is no longer being used.

Campus codes

In StudentConnect, course maps, the University Handbook and other publications, we usually abbreviate the campus names.

Unit modes

Each unit has a delivery mode and usually this indicates if the unit is offered online or at a campus. Below are the main ones you will see:

An introduction to Deakin key enrolment terms and systems

An overview of Deakin important dates

Overview of common enrolment terminology

Video text transcripts

Deakin terminology explained text transcript (PDF, 324.1KB)