Faculty of Engineering : Guide to courses
3. General information for students in the Engineering Faculty

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3. General information for students in the Engineering Faculty
    3.1. Computer facilities
    3.2. Part-time study options
    3.3. Overload/high achievers
    3.4. Contact and non-contact hours
    3.5. Honours degrees
    3.6. Credit for previous study
    3.7. Community Access Program (CAP) subjects
    3.8. University of Melbourne Extension Program
    3.9. Lateral entry
    3.10. Professional recognition
    3.11. Student support schemes
        3.11.1. First-year transition program
        3.11.2. Engineering mentoring scheme
        3.11.3. Students at risk program
        3.11.4. Students with a number of failures

3. General information for students in the Engineering Faculty

3.1. Computer facilities

Engineering Computer Resources (ECR) is a Faculty of Engineering facility providing computer laboratories for access to electronic mail, the University intranet, the wider internet, generic software and specialised engineering software. The primary focus of ECR is support for undergraduate teaching through tutorial and practical classes held in the laboratories as well as casual access for all students and staff of the faculty.

ECR has six laboratories and a full-time staff of three. The six laboratories contain 130 PC workstations using Windows or Linux, as well as 35 Silicon Graphics workstations. Two PC laboratories, with a total of 56 workstations and a small multimedia laboratory containing three PCs and four Unix workstations, are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week. In peak usage periods all laboratories are available for extended hours in the evenings and on weekends. The full-time staff includes two systems managers and one help desk and support staff.

All students and staff within the Faculty who are eligible can base their primary email access at ECR, with suitable forwarding or redirection to other mail systems on or off campus. Internet browsing to any web sites specifically associated with course-related, engineering material is available in all laboratories.

CSSE students do not have access to ECR laboratories. Computer facilities for CSSE students are provided in the ICT building.

3.2. Part-time study options

Engineering, geomatic engineering and associated combined programs have been designated as full-time courses. Students wishing to undertake part-time study should apply at the Engineering Faculty Office, where each case will be considered on an individual basis.

The Bachelor of Computer Science is available as a part-time course (six years part time). It should be noted, however, that there are no evening classes available.

3.3. Overload/high achievers

A full-time course load normally consists of 100 credit points per year or 50 points per semester. Generally, first-year course plans of more than 50 points per semester will not be approved. Any application to overload must satisfy the overload policy guidelines as stated at http://www.eng.unimelb.edu.au/courses/ugrad/courseplanning/overloadpolicy.html.

High-achieving students in later years who wish to accelerate their progress by taking an overload must also satisfy the overload policy guidelines as stated at the above mentioned URL.

3.4. Contact and non-contact hours

Students will be expected to undertake additional study (ie. outside the stated contact hours) of the order of two hours for each hour of contact in all Faculty of Engineering subjects within their course.

3.5. Honours degrees

Honours degrees in engineering and geomatic engineering are awarded on the basis of performance in the course. Honours degrees in the Bachelor of Geographic Information Technology, Bachelor of Computer Science, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts require an additional year of study. Students undertaking a combined Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Law Honours degree should refer to the Faculty of Law section of the Handbook, for information about the Bachelor of Laws with honours.

3.6. Credit for previous study

Please see Credit for previous study.

Please note that studies undertaken more than 10 years ago may not be considered for credit.

3.7. Community Access Program (CAP) subjects

Please see Community Access Program.

Please note that if you later wish to credit your CAP studies to an award course taken on a fee-paying basis, you will be required to pay the difference between the CAP fees charged at the time you took the subjects and the current cost of an Australian fee place at the time of your award course enrolment. Payment of these costs will be required for each subject in which credit is granted. Information regarding tuition fees can be viewed at http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/coursefees/.

3.8. University of Melbourne Extension Program

Students may be eligible for credit towards their degree if they have completed subjects in Year 12 through the University of Melbourne Extension Program. They may also be awarded credit for approved subjects taken in Year 12 as part of another university's extension program. A maximum of 50 points credit at first-year level will be awarded for University of Melbourne Extension Program and other extension program subjects. For information about the University of Melbourne Extension Program students should consult their school's career library or ring the admissions office at the University on +61 3 8344 5538.

3.9. Lateral entry

Other than overseas students, all applicants for selection into second or later years of the course(s) must lodge an application with VTAC (Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre). Overseas students should apply direct to the International Centre at the University of Melbourne.

Mid-year entry is for full-fee paying places only. Applicants for Australian full-fee places must apply to the Faculty direct. Overseas students must apply to the International Centre.

With the exception of overseas students, all applications for the Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) must be submitted through the University's domestic web application at https://sis.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/course-application.pl. Mid-year entry is possible for Australian fee places (Commonwealth supported places may be available to local applicants). Overseas students must apply to the International Centre. Please refer to the BCS (Hons) homepages at http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/course/honours/ for more detailed information regarding the application process.

3.10. Professional recognition

The Bachelor of Engineering and the Bachelor of Geomatic Engineering are professional degrees, that is, graduates can obtain professional recognition by joining Engineers Australia or the Institution of Surveyors Australia Inc. These institutions will only accredit courses if certain subjects are studied, hence all engineering courses in each department will have compulsory subjects to be studied at each year level.

The Bachelor of Computer Science is accredited by the Australian Computer Society (ACS), an internationally recognised professional association for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals. Accreditation endorses the quality of the curriculum of the BCS at Melbourne, and affirms that the course is highly relevant to Australia's current and future computing industry. The rigorous accreditation process ensures that students develop a broad range of skills in the course, and learn the importance of observing a professional code of ethics and the centrality of the software development process.

3.11. Student support schemes

3.11.1. First-year transition program

To assist students in making the transition from secondary to tertiary studies, all departments in the Faculty provide a series of lectures and/or workshops outlining techniques whereby successful adjustments to university life and enhancement of academic and study skills may be achieved. The transition program is either embedded into a core first-year subject or separately timetabled.

3.11.2. Engineering mentoring scheme

The Faculty's Engineering mentoring programs provide a support network for students at all year levels, with a particular focus on the transition from secondary school to university (First Year Student Mentoring Program) and university to the workforce (Industry Mentoring Program). Participants can therefore choose to be mentored by more experienced students studying the same stream of engineering or people working in industry with a wide variety of backgrounds and experience. The aim of the mentoring relationship is to provide support, guidance and encouragement.

For further information about the mentoring initiatives in the Faculty of Engineering contact the Faculty Transition Coordinator on +61 3 8344 4941, visit the web site at http://www.eng.unimelb.edu.au/mentor or visit the Faculty Office.

3.11.3. Students at risk program

Students enrolled in BE, BGeomE, BGeoIT, BCS or combined courses within the Faculty, who have performed significantly below expectation in Semester 1, may be invited to attend a students at risk interview. The purpose of these interviews is to establish why students are not performing up to their ability and to give advice as to how they might repair the situation.

First-year student-at-risk interviews are conducted within the Engineering Faculty Office; later-year students are interviewed by their department.

For further information contact the Transition Officer, Faculty of Engineering, on (03) 8344 4941 or email: paoneill@unimelb.edu.au.

3.11.4. Students with a number of failures

Students who fail 50 per cent or more of their course in a semester or fail the same subject twice or more, may have their case examined by a Faculty Unsatisfactory Progress Committee. This Committee considers each student's case individually and each student is given the chance to explain the reasons for his or her poor performance, in writing and/or in an interview with the Committee. The Committee is first and foremost concerned with the problems the student may have faced during the year and what he/she proposes to do about these problems to ensure that they do not reoccur.

The outcome of the Unsatisfactory Progress Committee's review will depend very much on the nature and degree of the 'unsatisfactory progress', the legitimacy of the problems, the submission the student makes to the Committee and the extent to which the student can demonstrate that he/she can overcome the problems that have affected his/her study.

In some cases the Unsatisfactory Progress Committee will allow the student to continue with their enrolment, repeating failed subjects where appropriate. The Committee may enforce a number of restrictions on enrolment, including limiting the number of points studied in any one year or in some cases recommend to the University's Academic Board that the student have their enrolment terminated in their course.

If a student's enrolment is terminated from the course, he/she will not be re-admitted until he/she has demonstrated academic rehabilitation by successfully completing other tertiary studies.