Suspension & Discontinuation of Courses, Majors & Specialisations
Definition
Suspension of a course, major or specialisation means that there is no intake to that course, major or specialisations for a specified period (the Academic Board approves suspension of intake for year at a time). Students currently enrolled in the course continue their progress through the course without change.
Discontinuation of a course, major or specialisation means that the course, or the major or specialisation in a course, is no longer offered by the University.
Principles for Suspension & Discontinuation
The Academic Board has established the following principles for the suspension and discontinuation of courses, majors and specialisations.
- Where intake to a course is to be discontinued completely, or the course is to be restructured to the extent that some discrete streams or majors are to be discontinued and students will be unable to transfer to comparable streams or majors, the course discontinuation process will apply, and phasing-out plans must be submitted and approved.
- Students enrolled in a course or stream, or in receipt of an active offer of admission to the course, should not be disadvantaged by the phasing-out process and should be able to complete a program of study that satisfies the objectives of the course in the time normally taken to complete such course/streams. Students who are enrolled in a course which is subsequently discontinued and who make satisfactory progress will be able to complete that course, including all compulsory elements and any requirements necessary for professional accreditation.
- Where a course is to be renamed but there are to be no substantive changes to the range of streams or to the course objectives, there will be no phasing out and the discontinuation process will not apply.
- Students who are already on approved leave from a course that is to be phased out should be able to return to complete the course, provided they re-enrol no later than the end of the period of approved leave. Any leave approved after the discontinuation process has commenced should be negotiated with the student on the basis that a return to the course in which the student was enrolled may not be possible.
- In some cases, it is understood that it may be necessary to vary the range of subjects available to students who are completing courses or streams that are to be discontinued. In such cases, a sufficient range of subjects should be made available to preserve the integrity of the course/stream concerned as reflected in its objectives. In particular, the core elements of the course/stream must be available to completing students, though there may be some variation to or restriction on the range of electives. Faculties may need to adjust discontinuation plans over the period of discontinuation to ensure they make available those subjects that continuing students will need to complete their programs.
- All students enrolled in a course/stream or in receipt of an active offer of admission to a course that is to be phased out must be notified of the plans for discontinuation and the expected timetable for phasing out and must be advised of any planned changes in the overall study options that will be available to them. Students must be notified either before the end of semester two in the year preceding the commencement of the phase-out process, or before the normal time for enrolment, whichever is the earlier. It is expected that faculties would make available individual course counselling for those students who need advice on their specific completion pathway.
- Discontinuation proposals must be approved by the Acadmeic Board before students are formally notified of them.
Special Arrangements In Phasing-Out Courses
With proposals for discontinuation of courses, faculties and graduate schools must submit a teaching-out plan which covers cohorts progressing normally, including additional years of offering in cases where, with large cohorts, there is typically a failure rate that justifies a further year of running core subjects and electives. The expectation is that, if there is a viable class size, compulsory subjects in phasing-out courses will normally run, and there will be a sufficient spread of electives to provide students genuine elective choice, although substitution of one subject (e.g. from a replacement course) for another subject in the old course may be approved as part of the teach-out plan. However, inevitably, there are students who fall behind their cohorts and for whom special arrangements need to be made since it would not be viable to run subjects for just one or two students.
Criteria for Approval of Special Arrangements
The shepherd will, in making her/his recommendation to the President, consider such matters as:
- whether the proposed arrangements allow the students to meet the academic objectives of the course;
- whether the proposed arrangements give the students an optimal learning experience (e.g. in many cases it may be better for students to be in a class interacting with other students, than a small class run just for them, even if the content is not exactly equivalent);
- whether the subjects being substituted are taught at an appropriate level (e.g. it will probably not be acceptable to substitute a new first year subject for an old third-year one, unless arrangements are made for separate assessment, and possibly separate tutorials/workshops);
- whether the assessment processes are comparable and call on the same sets of knowledge and skills; and
- whether the proposed arrangement puts undue pressure on students (e.g. by giving them unbalanced semester loads, forcing them to go part-time or full-time, or by delaying the completion of their course).
Progress Requirements
A significant matter for faculties/graduate schools to consider is the implications for unsatisfactory progress of substituting one subject for another. In many cases, special arrangements will need to be put in place because a student has failed a compulsory subject, or even failed a compulsory subject twice but under circumstances that have led the Unsatisfactory Progress Committee or Academic Board to allow them to continue. In such cases, faculties/graduate schools should indicate in their proposal for special arrangements whether failing a replacement subject will be a trigger for Unsatisfactory Progress. If approved by the President, this must be communicated to the student so they are aware of the implications of failing a subject they are technically just doing for the first time. (Please note that this is not a change of policy: it is simply ensuring that the unsatisfactory progress rules are clear and students know what is at stake.)
Appeals
The faculty/graduate school should have discussed the arrangements with the student(s) involved before submitting the phasing-out arrangements, and will have reached agreement that this is best way to proceed. However, this may not always be possible. If an arrangement has been put in place that a student does not agree with, the student has the right of appeal, first within the faculty/graduate school to the dean, and, if all avenues in the faculty have been exhausted, to the President of the Academic Board. Since time will be crucial in many cases, the President will deal with the appeal executively, and only in rare cases, when the President cannot resolve the issue, will the formal appeal process to Academic Board be invoked.
Approval Process
Suspension and discontinuation of courses, majors or specialisations require the approval of the Academic Board. A course may be suspended for up to one year at a time, after which time the faculty or graduate school may wish to seek a further suspension. Courses may not be suspended indefinitely. In considering proposals for discontinuation or suspension, Academic Board will consider in particular the plans for the phasing out of the course or major/specialisation and the impact on the students concerned. The aim should be to maintain the quality and academic integrity of the student experience during the discontinuation process.
The academic approval process is outlined below.
- Submit the suspension/discontinuation proposal together with the special arrangements for phasing-out and subejct forms for any new subejcts that need to be created as a result of phasing-out arrangements, as required, to the Academic Secretary (for coursework programs) or the Secretary, Research Higher Degrees Committee (for research higher degrees).
- The committee secretary checks the proposal for completeness and then forwards the proposal to an academic shepherd (a member of the Academic Programs Committee (APC) or Research Higher Degrees Committee (RHDC) with responsibility for one or more faculties).
- The shepherd considers the proposal and makes a recommendation to the APC or RHDC, as appropriate. (The shepherd may consult with the faculty/graduate school before making a recommendation.)
- The APC/RHDC considers the proposal and makes a recommendation to the Academic Board.
- The Academic Board is responsible for approving all suspensions and discontinuations of programs.
- Once the proposal has been approved, the faculty/graduate school proposing the change is notified and the approved forms are forwarded to the Student System for implementation.
Timeline for Approval
Suspensions and discontinuations for implementation in the following year must be endorsed at the June meetings of the Academic Programs Committee in order to enable implementation in the Student System for publication in the Handbook by the end of October. Changes submitted after the submission deadline as stated in the timelines may not be able to be implemented in time to be offered the following year.
Forms
In completing discontinuation forms, please note the following.
- A separate form must be submitted for each course or stream, and for each double degree program of which that course or stream constitutes a part.
- In the case of cross-faculty double degrees, both faculties must approve the discontinuation and must submit required information concerning their respective components within a combined discontinuation plan.
- A phase-out timetable must be submitted for each course or stream, indicating the core and elective elements that will be offered over the period of phasing-out. The plan must indicate how the integrity of the course/stream will be maintained and its objectives met during the phase-out process.