Plan your course

Taking the time to plan your course will make enrolling easier. The planning process involves viewing how your course is structured, familiarising yourself with the units required and, for many courses, selecting some or all your units.

To plan your course, you should first access your course entry in the University Handbook and download your course map.

The University Handbook

The University Handbook is the official source of information on your course and the units that Deakin is offering in a particular year. Generally, you need to follow the course rules in the Handbook for the year you commenced your course. You can look up your course in the Handbook online.

Your course map and choosing your units

Your course map is a visual tool that will help you understand the structure and rules of your course. It will provide an overview of the units required to complete your course, and the suggested sequence. You will find a link to download a PDF of your course map in your Handbook entry.

TIP: It’s a good idea to bookmark your course entry in the Handbook and save your course map (or, you could print it out and fill it in with a pen). You should have both on hand when you’re ready to enrol.

Planning your enrolment

Proper course planning is essential to graduating on time and avoiding paying unnecessary fees. Once you’ve accessed your course Handbook entry and downloaded your course map, you can begin to select your units.

Firstly, it important to understand the course rules and requirements specific to your course.
A unit is a component of your course. All courses require you to complete a fixed number of units to successfully complete your course. There may be compulsory core units, or you may need to choose units as electives or units to build toward majors or minors. This is where your course map becomes very helpful.
Once you have your course map, you can determine if you need to select units or are you pre-enrolled and need to confirm the units.
If you are required to select units you must remember to check if there are co-requisite units (studied at the same time) or pre-requisite units (you need to complete prior to taking a unit). These details are listed in the unit details and on your course map.
Your study load is another important thing to consider. You can choose to complete your course full-time or part-time, and this will affect how many units you complete each study period. Most courses provide you with the flexibility to study either part-time or full-time, but you should check your course entry in the Handbook to see if there are any restrictions.

Things to do

Get your course map

The course map is a visual tool that can help you understand the structure and rules of your course.

Visit course maps

Attend an enrolment information session

Enrolment information sessions are designed to help guide you through the enrolment process.

Things to know

Full-time or part-time study

With most courses you have the option to switch your study load between part-time and full-time by changing the number of units you are enrolled in.

Each unit is generally worth one credit point. If you're enrolled in three or more credit points in a study period, you're considered a full-time student. Less than three units is considered part-time study.

Changing your enrolment load from full-time to part-time will have implications on Austudy, ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance. If you currently receive one of these allowances, please refer to the Department of Human Services website for more information.

Apply for recognition of prior learning (RPL)

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is the opportunity for you to gain course credit for previous formal or informal study. This credit can help you complete your course faster, as well as reduce the cost of your tuition. If you’ve completed previous study, or have previous knowledge, experience or professional qualifications, you can learn more and prepare an application for RPL.

If you intend to apply for RPL or are waiting for your RPL outcome, you should still proceed to accept and enrol.

Fees

All Deakin students are required to pay fees. When you plan your course, it's important that you understand the fees associated with your course. If you are a domestic student and you wish to use HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP or SA-HELP, you will need to provide us with your Tax File Number (TFN). When you prepare to accept and enrol, you should familiarise yourself with your fee obligations and apply for a TFN if you need one.

Get your USI

To accept and enrol in your course, you’ll need a Unique Student Identifier (USI). The USI is a government-issued individual education number for life. All higher education students, domestic and international campus-based, require one to maintain enrolment and graduate, as well as access any Commonwealth assistance for fees. You cannot accept and enrol without it.

You can create one now through the Australian Government USI portal. You may already have a USI if you’ve studied at university or TAFE before.

If you are an international student studying in Australia, you can only create your USI once you have arrived onshore.

Remember that the personal details you use to generate your USI and to accept and enrol in StudentConnect must match.