DEFINITIONS
Some terms used in this Handbook may be unfamiliar to new students. The explanations listed here relate to these terms as they are used by James Cook University.
- Academic Board:
- the Board is a committee of the Council and the principal academic body of the University.
- academic record:
- an official statement, issued by authority of the Registrar, of a student’s results obtained at the University and showing any credit granted for prior study.
- academic year:
- the period beginning on the first Monday of the first semester of a calendar year and ending on the Sunday preceding the corresponding Monday of the next calendar year.
- adjudicator:
- an additional assessor appointed to examine academic work where consensus has not been reached between the examiners. The adjudicator is frequently external to the University.
- admission:
- the process by which a person received a formal offer, from the Registrar on behalf of the University, to enrol in a particular academic year for a particular course or particular subject, which has been formally accepted by that person, whether by ordinary admission, alternative entry or miscellaneous admission.
- assessment:
- includes all forms of assignments and examinations set as part of a program of study. Assessment exercises may be in the form of essays, project reports, laboratory reports, practical work, field trip reports, artistic or creative performances, teaching practice, placements, tutorials, semester tests or examinations etc.
- assignment:
- a piece of academic work to be completed by a student and submitted for assessment.
- award:
- a degree, diploma or certificate contained in the list of approved Awards of James Cook University.
- candidate:
- a person enrolled for an award of the University who is pursuing a course of study in accordance with the requirements which apply for the award.
- certified copy:
- a photocopy of an original document which has been certified by a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations, Police Officer or staff member of a tertiary institution, as a true copy of the original document sighted by the certifier. The certification must be original; photocopies or facsimiles of certified copies are not acceptable.
- Chancellor:
- the person who presides at meetings of the University Council, and at graduation ceremonies.
- cross-institutional enrolment:
- a student enrolled for an award course at the University is granted approval to undertake subjects at another tertiary education institution for credit towards a James Cook University Award.
- a student undertaking a course at another tertiary institution is approved to undertake units offered at James Cook University for credit to the student’s course at the other institution.
- the procedure by which:
- commencing student:
- a person who has been admitted and enrolled for the first time at the University for a course and whose enrolment for that course has neither lapsed nor been cancelled.
- continuing student:
- a person who has been admitted to the University and has been enrolled for a course, whose enrolment for that course has neither lapsed nor been cancelled, and is not a commencing student.
- Council:
- the governing body of the University.
- course:
- a combination of subjects the successful completion of which, in accordance with the relevant requirements, will fulfil the prescribed requirements for a particular award.
- credit transfer:
- as a consequence of study successfully completed at this or another approved tertiary institution, or in recognition of prior learning, credit may be granted towards an award of the University. This may be unspecified credit or for specified subjects.
- deferred enrolment:
- the approved postponement of study for a specified period prior to the first enrolment in a course.
- discipline:
- a major area of study capable of being identified and of being systematically developed in undergraduate and graduate university courses, e.g. English, Geography.
- EFTSU
- (equivalent full-time student unit): a value representing the student load for a subject or part of a subject expressed as a proportion of the workload for a standard annual enrolment for a student undertaking a full year of study in a particular year of a particular course.
- elective:
- a subject which is not part of the core subjects of an award, but which may be undertaken as prescribed by the requirements of the course and credited towards that award.
- enrolment:
- the process by which an applicant, having been made a written offer of admission for a particular course, selects the appropriate subjects to study within that course for that year or semester, has the program approved by the appropriate officer(s), pays the appropriate fees and is issued a Student Identification Card. Enrolment must be completed at a time specified by the University.
- examination:
- a formal assessment by the University of the level of attainment in a particular component of a subject or a complete subject. Examinations are normally written but may be oral or practical. Such examinations are conducted by the University in accordance with the Examination Requirements.
- Executive Dean:
- the academic officer responsible for the provision of academic and management leadership in all aspects of a faculty’s activities.
- faculty:
- the organisation of several schools into an academic area responsible for the administration of courses.
- field trip:
- involves a student’s travel to and work at a place or places away from the University; and
- relates to, and is a requirement for a course being undertaken by the student at the University; and
- is carried out under the general control of a University staff member.
- an activity which:
- full-time student:
- a student who has enrolled for 18 or more units in one academic year. A normal full-time load is 24 units spread over an academic year. A student enrolled for 9 or more units in a single semester may be classified as full-time for that semester.
- graduand:
- a candidate who has fulfilled the requirements of an award but has not yet had the Award conferred.
- graduate:
- a person who has had an award conferred following the completion of a defined course of study.
- HECS:
- Higher Education Contribution Scheme.
- higher degree:
- an award at Master or Doctoral level.
- honours degree:
- an undergraduate award at a higher level of study which may contain a high level of research.
- inadmissible combinations:
- two or more subjects with substantially overlapping content where enrolment in and credit for may be given in respect of a single subject and only once towards the same course.
- joint degree:
- a degree taken across faculties.
- lecturer-in-charge:
- the academic staff member who is either solely responsible for the assessment in a subject, if he or she is the only person involved in teaching, or who is responsible for the coordination of assessment in the subject if more than one staff member is involved in teaching.
- limited attendance:
- an alternative to internal on-campus study. A description of the three forms of limited attendance is to be found in the legend at the front of the Master Schedule of Subjects.
- major:
- a sequence or cluster of subjects which together form a coherent course of study (eg Bachelor of Arts in History; Bachelor of Science in Ecology). The subjects included in a major may be from one or more different disciplines.
- Master Schedule of Subjects:
- a list of the subjects offered by the University in any year, together with their unit value, prerequisites, inadmissible subjects, and time and mode of delivery.
- Masters degree by coursework:
- a Masters degree in which more than one-third of the student load for the course is required as coursework and less than two-thirds of the load is required as research.
- Masters degree by research:
- a Masters degree in which at least two-thirds of the student load for the course is required as research work and not more than one-third is required as coursework.
- miscellaneous student:
- a candidate enrolled in one or more subjects but not in a course leading to an Award.
- part-time student:
- a student who has enrolled for fewer than 18 units in one academic year. A student enrolled for fewer than 9 units in a single semester may be classified as part-time for that semester.
- plagiarism:
- paraphrasing the work of another person;
- directly copying any part of the work of another person;
- summarising the work of another person;
- using or developing an idea or theme derived from the work of another person;
- using experimental results obtained from the work of another person; and
- in the case of collaborative projects, falsely representing the individual contributions of the collaborating students where such distinction is necessary.
- defined as using another person’s work without acknowledgment. The phrase “using another person’s work” includes:
- postgraduate:
- of or pertaining to a course of study undertaken following completion of a Bachelor or Bachelor with Honours degree, a diploma or certificate.
- pre-enrolment:
- the process whereby continuing students can complete re-enrolment procedures for the following year, prior to sitting end-of-year examinations.
- prerequisite:
- a subject which must be successfully completed before a specific subsequent subject can be studied.
- program:
- a specialised scheme of study within a degree.
- quota:
- a limit set by the University on the number of students who may be admitted to a course or subject in a particular year.
- re-enrolment:
- (a) continuing students: the process by which students currently enrolled at the University, complete re-enrolment procedures for the following year either by pre-enrolment or by submitting the appropriate form to the Manager, Student Administration by the due date; (b) returning students: the process by which students previously enrolled at the University but not enrolled in the current year, obtain the appropriate forms from the Manager, Student Administration and submit them by the due date.
- Registrar:
- the member of staff who is Secretary to the Council of the University and Academic Board, and is therefore responsible for making prescribed student and academic program related decisions on behalf of the University as set out in the handbook.
- returning student:
- a person who has been admitted to the University and has been previously enrolled for a course, but not in the preceding year, whose enrolment for that course has neither lapsed nor been cancelled, and is not a commencing student.
- school:
- a unit of academic organisation within a faculty, usually containing several disciplines which have related teaching and research responsibilities.
Note: Note: The College of Music, Visual Arts and Theatre falls within this definition.
- show cause:
- the process whereby students, who do not attain a level of academic achievement prescribed for this purpose by the Academic Board on the recommendation of the relevant faculty, are required to submit in writing a statement supporting an application for continued re-enrolment in that course.
- statement of reasons:
- a written statement submitted by a student to support an application to re-enrol, when a student has been denied permission to enrol for a course and/or subject for a period determined by the Executive Dean.
- student:
- a person who has been admitted to the University and has enrolled for a course or a subject, and whose enrolment for that course or for that subject has not lapsed or been cancelled. (See also commencing student, continuing student and returning student.)
- student academic misconduct:
- cheating in an examination;
- plagiarism;
- falsification of research results;
- falsification of an academic record;
- other conduct not included in the above which in the opinion of the Chair of the Academic Board reasonably represents Academic Misconduct.
- any improper action taken by a student to gain an advantage when having academic work assessed.
- Students are referred to the University’s policy on Student Academic Misconduct.
- Academic Misconduct includes:
- student load:
- student load is expressed in EFTSU (equivalent full-time student unit) values.
- subject:
- a discrete portion of a course, identified by a code, title and unit value.
- termination:
- the cancellation by the University of a student’s enrolment.
- testamur:
- the official document signed by the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar as confirmation of the conferral of an award, or the award of a diploma or certificate.
- thesis:
- a substantive description of the research undertaken for the purpose of obtaining an Award, together with any associated material that is also subject to examination.
- undergraduate:
- of or pertaining to courses of study offered for a Bachelor degree, Bachelor with Honours degree, diploma or certificate.
- unit value of subject:
- a measure of workload; three or four unit subjects represent the normal value of a subject at the University although multiples of three or four unit subjects are possible. A three unit subject represents 25% of a full-time student’s normal workload during a semester. Each subject is awarded a unit value by the appropriate faculty.
- Vice-Chancellor:
- the chief executive officer of the University.
- withdrawal:
- the formal cessation by a student of enrolment from a subject or course. Depending upon the timing, the withdrawal may appear on an academic record as a “withdrawal without failure” or as a “failure”.