2020 Transitions

Introduction

In late 2017, the Academic Board initiated a review of all courses with a view to re-accrediting all courses and restructuring them with a focus on ensuring full and transparent compliance with the requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework. The redesign process had a strong focus on transparency to students of what is contained in and required of each of ACT’s courses. It also had a strong focus on students’ ability to transfer between courses – to articulate smoothly from one course to the next, or exit from a higher level qualification with a shorter exit qualification. An example of this is the ease in which students can now for the first time smoothly transition from a diploma, to an associate degree, and then to a bachelor degree.

As part of the review process throughout 2018 and 2019, the Coursework Committee was requested by the Academic Board to review all courses, course structures, coding system and credit point values and make recommendations to the AB. The following is a summary of the approved changes for coursework awards for delivery in 2020.

  • The credit point system has been revised to allow for greater flexibility of the delivery of units of various length. Prior to 2020, a full-time year of study used a 32 credit point system. From 2020, ACT is using a 96 credit point full-time year. The credit point value of units taken prior to 2020 will be tripled to align with the new credit point system. Most units approved for delivery in 2020 are 12 credit points, but ACT sets no restriction on other volumes of units.
  • The unit coding system has been revised, so that the unit code identifies:
    • Unit Field
    • Unique content identifier – the taught unit content
    • Unit level
    • Unit volume
  • The unit coding system adopted is AA111-LVV in which: AA represents the unit field; AA111 identifies the unique content delivered; L represents the AQF level of the unit, and VV represents the volume of the unit in credit points.
  • Course redesign to include three levels of units within certain programs. In line with the intentions of the Australian Qualifications Framework and the TEQSA Guidance Note on Nested Courses, Bachelor degrees, Coursework Masters degrees and Extended Masters degrees incorporate multiple levels of units in order to achieve the course learning outcomes. This allows greater flexibility for articulating from one course to the next, and allows for exit points through a course.

Levels of units

Unit categories

Four categories of units have been approved, outlined below:

  • Units at level 5 only, “Foundational”
  • Units at levels 5 and 7, “Foundational”. Level 5 versions are undertaken within undergraduate courses. Level 7 versions are taken within the context of postgraduate courses, giving graduates of another discipline an introduction to a new field of study, but at a higher level.
  • Units at levels 6, 7 and 8, “Developing”
  • Units at levels 7, 8 and 9, “Advanced”. These units are designed to be the advanced and specialised, and usually represent the highest level of coursework units taken in a course (level 9 units in masters degrees, level 7 within bachelor degrees). The Academic Board approved that level 7 versions of level 8/9 units be created to allow bachelor students to have the opportunity to undertake units at Level 7 which would otherwise be unavailable to them. The creation of these units is designed as a “level nine-first, stretching down to seven” approach, rather than a “level seven first, stretching upwards to level nine” approach, to ensure that units approved at level 9 are genuinely at the level expected by students at the end of a masters degree.

Multi-streaming and classroom / cohort rules

  • Units with the same unique content identifier may be delivered to a multi-streamed cohort of up to three adjacent levels (such as levels 5 to 7, 6 to 8, 7 to 9, whereas levels 5 and 8 or 6 and 9 cannot be co-delivered). The Academic Board has granted the ACT Registrar permission to grant exemptions to this rule if deemed appropriate.
  • Subject to the above requirement regarding multi-streaming limits, units may be delivered within one cohort / classroom if the units have the same unique content identifier (first five characters of a unit code), or otherwise as approved by the ACT Registrar, for instances including but not limited to New Testament set text books in the English and the original Greek text being co-delivered.

Levels of units completed prior to 2020

  • Units completed at 200 or 300 level in 2019 and prior are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 5 outcomes
  • Units completed at 400 level in 2019 and prior are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 7 outcomes
  • Units completed at 500 level in 2019 and prior are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 7 outcomes
  • Units completed at 600 level in 2019 and prior (other than projects and capstone units) are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 8 outcomes
  • Projects at 600 level of 8cps, and capstone units at 600 level completed in 2019 and prior are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 9 outcomes
  • Units completed at 700 level in 2019 and prior (other than projects and capstone units) are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 8 outcomes
  • Projects at 700 level and capstone units at 700 level completed in 2019 and prior are deemed equivalent to units achieving AQF Level 9 outcomes

LA units

The existing Biblical Language (LA) units have been approved at the following levels:

LA001 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew: Level 5, as LA001-512

LA002 Introduction to New Testament Greek: Level 5, as LA002-512

LA003A Biblical Hebrew A: Level 6, as LA003-612

LA003B Biblical Hebrew B: Level 6, as LA004-612

LA004A New Testament Greek A: Level 6, as LA005-612

LA004B New Testament Greek B: Level 6, as LA006-612

LA010 Intermediate Greek: Level 8, as LA007-812

LA011 Intermediate Hebrew: Level 8, as LA008-812

Frequently Asked Questions

See here