Glossary of terms

Academic Penalty Date

This is the final date on which you can withdraw from a course without that course appearing as a ‘Fail’ on your academic transcript. If you withdraw after the Academic Penalty Date you will have WF against that course.

Academic Transcript

This is the official statement of results for all the courses you have studied. It is the document that you will present to potential employers. You will receive an electronic transcript via My eQuals when you graduate. A copy of your transcript can be ordered from Student Administration for a small fee at any time. It will then be accessed via My eQuals.

Advanced Standing

Advanced Standing is credit given towards your Notre Dame degree for equivalent courses studied at another institution or for recognised prior learning. Applications for Advanced Standing are considered on a case-by-case basis by the Dean of your School in conjunction with the Campus Registrar.

Amendment to Personal Details

This is the form that you will use, together with relevant supporting documents, to change your official name. You can obtain this form from Student Administration, your School, or download it from the university’s web page. All other amendments to personal details should be done via your Student Centre.

Australian Higher Education Statement (AHEGS)

This is provided to graduates via My eQuals after their Graduation Ceremony. The AHEGS provides info on your qualification, on UNDA and our higher education system.

Audit Enrolment

Students who enrol on an audit basis pay a reduced fee and attend lectures and tutorials, but do not submit assignments or sit for examinations. Audit courses are completed for interest only, and cannot be credited toward any degree. Students will be admitted to study courses for audit at the discretion of the Dean of the relevant School.

Census Date

The Census Date (or Financial Penalty Date) is the final date that you can withdraw from a course without being required to pay the full cost, or incurring a FEE-HELP/HECS-HELP liability, for that course. The main Census Dates for Summer/Winter Terms and Semesters are for standard length courses and can be found on the University calendar on the University webpage. Courses which are not of a standard length or have a different commencement or completion date to the main term or semester dates, will have different Census Dates. The Census Dates for each course are published on the University’s webpage.

Core Course

Students in all disciplines at Notre Dame complete Core Curriculum courses. For undergraduates these are made up of three courses; CORE1010: Introduction to Philosophy, CORE1030: Introduction to Theology and CORE1020: Ethics. Some courses and in particular, postgraduate courses, have different courses for their Core Curriculum.

Course

A course is a single subject most often taken over the duration of one semester or term. Some courses run over the full year.

Course Outline

Course outlines are generally distributed in the first lecture of each course. They contain important information on the course’s content, structure and assessment. It may also contain information on the required and recommended reading for each week, the format of each lecture and tutorial, and the due dates for assignments.

Cross-Institutional Enrolment

Cross-Institutional Enrolment is where courses studied through another institution while you are enrolled at Notre Dame, are credited toward your Notre Dame degree (for example, a student undertaking a semester in a Study Abroad program). Cross-institutional enrolments must be applied for and approved by your Program Coordinator and the Campus Registrar before you enrol at another university for credit to be granted. Cross-institutional enrolment will usually only be granted for courses which are not available at Notre Dame.

Deferral

This means postponing the commencement of your program. In most cases, deferral is available for a maximum of one year, and you must obtain the permission of the Dean of your School to defer your commencement.

Deferred Examination

An examination that is the same in content to that of the final examination but is held at a time and date set by the Campus Registrar after the final examination for that course. A Deferred Examination is normally held after the Board of Examiners meeting for that study period and usually in the next examination period.

Intensive Courses

An intensive course is one which runs outside of the standard semester and term times.

Irregularly Scheduled Examination

An examination that is the same in content to that of the final examination but is held at a time, date or place different from the final examination for the course.  An Irregularly Scheduled Examination can be held during the official examination period or at a time commencing before the regularly scheduled final examination, as approved by the Campus Registrar.

Leave of Absence

You may request up to four semesters, leave of absence over the course of your degree. Before you request leave of absence, you are encouraged to discuss with your Program Coordinator or Senior Administrative Officer what are your enrolment options upon your return and how a semester or year away from studies will affect the completion time for your degree.

Lecture

A lecture is a large group teaching session where the lecturer does most of the talking – your role is to listen and take notes, although questions are encouraged. If you wish to record lectures, ask the lecturer’s permission at the beginning of the class.

Not-for-degree

Students may enrol in courses on a Not-for-degree basis. This normally occurs where a student wishes to study certain courses, but not complete an entire degree. These students follow the same application procedure as those studying for award, and complete all assessments for the courses they enrol in.

Program

It consists of all the courses which make up your degree.

Retroactive Withdrawal

An application for students to withdrawal from a Course or Courses after the Census Date and/or the Academic Penalty Date due to Special Circumstances.

Sign-ups

Notre Dame prides itself on individual attention and small- group teaching. For this reason, classes that have large numbers of students enrolled are often split into several smaller lecture/tutorial groups that run at different times. You will need to sign up for your preferred time slot – this is a separate process from your course enrolment. Your school will advise you in advance of the procedure for sign-ups before the beginning of each semester. For further information on sign ups, check with your School.

Special Consideration

An application where a student’s study has been significantly affected by unexpected circumstances beyond their control.  If a Dean or delegate considers that Special Consideration should be granted, the Dean has discretion to identify appropriate means to support a student’s achievement of course learning outcomes.

Standard Semester 1/2 courses

For the purpose of Census Dates, a standard Semester course is one which commences in Week 1 and concludes in Week 13 of either Semester 1 or 2.

Standard Summer/Winter Term courses

For the purpose of Census Dates, a standard Summer Term course is one which commences in Week 1 and concludes in Week 4 of study period 1. A standard Winter Term course is one which commences in Week 1 and concludes in Week 3 of study period 2.

Unofficial Transcripts

These are available for downloading from your Student Centre at any time. These are unofficial and cannot be used for employment or entry to other institutions.

Testamur

This is the certificate presented to you on graduation day stating that you have fulfilled all the requirements for completion of your degree.

Tutorial

A tutorial (which may also be referred to as a ‘tute’, a ‘workshop’ or a ‘lab’) is a smaller group teaching session. Not all courses have these – check the information on the timetable, or in your course outline. In a tutorial, you will generally discuss the lecture topic in more detail, or undertake practical exercises and interaction with your classmates.

Withdrawal from University

This is the form that you will use if you decide to withdraw from university. You can submit this from the university's web page notredame.edu.au/current-students/your-enrolment/forms-and-documents from the university’s web page.