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Enrolments Policy

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Section 1 - Purpose / Objectives

(1) This policy is designed to ensure VU's practices in relation to enrolment are fair and consistent, comply with all relevant Government requirements, and support the delivery of an excellent student experience at VU.

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Section 2 - Scope / Application

(2) This policy applies to enrolment in all onshore and offshore courses provided by VU, including all:

  1. higher education - foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework courses;
  2. postgraduate research programs and courses;
  3. VE courses;
  4. Senior secondary certificates;
  5. English Language Intensive Courses of Study, and
  6. Non-award units and courses.

(3) This policy does not apply to courses offered as part of industry packaged programs.

(4) This policy does not apply to the enrolment of students assessed as part of the Skilled Migration Assessment Service for the purposes of issuing them with their competency certification or testamur.

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Section 3 - Definitions

(5) Nil

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Section 4 - Policy Statement

(6) VU will seek to provide an enrolment system and process that is:

  1. Clear, straightforward, and accessible;
  2. Equitable to all students; and
  3. Adequate to the University's purposes in:
    1. Planning for the delivery of its courses;
    2. Satisfying its regulatory and legislative obligations; and
    3. Providing services to students in connection with their studies.

Part A - Eligibility for course enrolment

(7) A person is eligible to enrol as a student in a VU course if she/he:

  1. has received and accepted a formal offer of enrolment in that course; and
  2. has met the criteria for admission specified in the offer; and
  3. has reached at least 16 years of age as at the commencement date of the course or has the written permission of the Dean of the College responsible for the course to enrol under that age. In the case of an international student studying in Australia who is under 18 years of age, written consent to the enrolment from a parent or legal guardian must be provided; and
  4. is not disqualified from such enrolment.

Part B - Requirements of enrolment

(8) A person enrolled in any VU course is subject to the statutes, regulations, policies and procedures of the University.

(9) A person is enrolled as a student in a course if he/she has satisfied the requirements of enrolment prescribed by the Academic Registrar, by the required dates. See the Enrolments Procedure for these requirements.

(10) A student enrolled in a course must re-enrol in their course in accordance with the requirements of the course to maintain their entitlement to participation in the course.

Entitlements of students enrolled in an award course

(11) A student enrolled in a VU course is entitled to gain access to the academic and student support services offered by the University, be issued a student email account, and receive a student identification card.

(12) Subject to the conditions prescribed in the Enrolments Procedure, a student enrolled in a unit or units within a course is, for each unit, entitled to:

  1. attend or participate in teaching sessions and other scheduled activities; and
  2. an assessment of their learning and performance;
  3. access academic and other social supports available to VU students; and
  4. receive results.

(13) A person who is not enrolled for a compulsory semester/teaching period by the relevant prescribed date is not considered to be a student enrolled in a course and is not entitled to attend or participate in teaching sessions or other scheduled activities, or receive any of the services outlined above.

(14) Notwithstanding (12), a person may, by arrangement, be permitted to audit (listen to) a course or part of a course for which they are not enrolled. Such a person will have no entitlement to any of the services, materials or support that pertains to an enrolled student.

(15) A student granted intermission from his/her award course remains a student enrolled at the University at the course level although not actively enrolled in units.

(16) A student who is enrolled in an award course at an overseas institution and enrols at VU as part of an approved study abroad or study exchange program will have all the normal entitlements and responsibilities of students enrolled in a VU award course during their enrolment at VU.

Part C - Variation to enrolment in an award course

(17) Subject to maintaining compliance with enrolment load requirements, the course structure and any specific enrolment instructions provided by the Dean of the College (or nominee), domestic students enrolled in an award course may add and withdraw from courses until the relevant prescribed dates published by the University, without penalty.

(18) International students may be subject to withholding of the non-refundable deposit portion of their fees for some variations. Further details can be found in the Fee Adjustments Procedure - International.

(19) Withdrawal from courses and / or units after the relevant prescribed dates will incur academic and/or financial penalties, as appropriate. Please see the Fees Policy and associated Procedures for further details.

(20) A student may be instructed to amend her / his enrolment by:

  1. A Dean of College; or
  2. The Academic Registrar.

(21) This instruction may be made to meet the requirements of this or any other University policy, the requirements of enrolment published by the Academic Registrar, or to comply with the student's visa obligations in the case of international students.

(22) If a student does not comply with such an instruction within the timeframe provided, the Academic Registrar is authorised to enforce the instruction by amending the student's enrolment and notifying him/her of the change.

Part D - Enrolment load in an award course

VE Students

(23) Domestic Students must be enrolled in 540 hours per year, or 270 hours per semester, to be considered full-time. Enrolment hours are provided on the Enrolment Offer or Tax Invoice which is provided after enrolling.

(24) International Onshore Students' attendance must average at least 20 hours per week over a semester with no less than 36 weeks in an academic year.

(25) VU English students studying English Language Intensive Courses of Study must attend 80% of classes in each study period and must inform the University immediately of any absence of 5 consecutive days or longer in order to maintain their enrolment.

Higher Education Students

(26) Domestic students are considered full-time when the Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL) is between 0.375 and 0.5 EFTSL for a semester. Below this value, a student is considered part-time. The EFTSL totals are displayed on the Enrolment Offer, Tax Invoice or Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN).

(27) International onshore students are considered full-time if they are enrolled in at least 48 credit points for both Semester 1 and Semester 2. This load is required in order for the student to complete the course within the CRICOS-registered duration.

(28) Inbound study abroad or exchange students are considered full-time if they are enrolled in at least 36 credit points for Semester 1 or Semester 2.

Exceeding load

(29) A student enrolled in a higher education award course is only permitted to exceed the full-time course enrolment load limit in a compulsory semester/ teaching period with the approval of the Dean of the College (or nominee) responsible for the course.

(30) Approval by VU International is also required by inbound study abroad or study exchange students who wish to enrol in more than a standard load.

Part E - International student award course enrolment: Onshore

(31) An international student studying in Australia is required to comply with:

  1. their visa conditions as determined by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs; and
  2. their rights and responsibilities as determined by the Australian Government under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS);
  3. the relevant policies and procedures of VU; and
  4. the conditions of any scholarship or sponsorship, where relevant.

Part F - International student award course enrolment: Offshore

(32) Students enrolling in offshore courses offered by VU will receive appropriate support to complete their enrolment requirements.

(33) VU will make every effort to ensure that the enrolment process for offshore students is equivalent to, and where possible, the same as, the process for onshore students.

(34) All general enrolment requirements as specified in the Enrolments Procedure apply to offshore students.

Part G - Discontinuation, completion or cancellation of enrolment

Student-Initiated

(35) A student who wishes to cancel his/her enrolment in an course should do so in writing to the Academic Registrar, in accordance with published dates.

(36) Where a student's cancellation form is received by the University after the prescribed dates for withdrawal without financial or academic penalty for specified delivery locations, such penalties shall apply, as appropriate.

(37) A student who withdraws from or cancels all his/her course enrolments forfeits his/her place in the course to which he/she was admitted and ceases to be a student of VU. Such a person must reapply for admission should he/she wish to resume studying at VU.

  1. Onshore international students will also have their electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) cancelled, which may impact the student's visa status in Australia.

(38) Any student seeking to transfer from VU to another registered provider must formally cancel their enrolment. The issuing of a release letter to an international student studying in Australia does not automatically cancel a student's enrolment at VU.

University-Initiated

(39) Where a student enrolled in an award course is deemed by the University to have completed the requirements for that course, his/her status as an enrolled student in that course may expire on the day prior to the date of the commencement of the next relevant compulsory semester or teaching period, or upon conferral of the award, whichever is the later.

  1. International students' enrolment will expire upon the completion of their course requirements in order to comply with the date ranges applicable to their student visas.

(40) The Academic Registrar may deem a student's enrolment to have lapsed where a student fails to meet published requirements for enrolment.

(41) The University may cancel a student's enrolment where he/she has:

  1. been excluded as a result of general and/or academic misconduct under the Student Misconduct Regulations 2019; or
  2. been excluded as a result of unsatisfactory academic progress under the Academic Progress Regulations 2016; or
  3. been excluded under the Exclusion for Safety Reasons Regulations 2019; or
  4. failed to pay the prescribed fees by the payment date; or
  5. failed to comply with visa conditions, in the case of an international student studying in Australia; or
  6. failed to maintain a full-time study load, in the case of an international student studying in Australia, or an inbound study abroad or study exchange student; or
  7. failed to attend classes in VE/FE courses as required under the rules of the course; or
  8. ceased to be an employee of a given employer, in the case of a student whose enrolment is sponsored by their employer, and where advice has been received from the employer; or
  9. where the enrolment is contrary to Australian law.

(42) Students whose cancellation of enrolment is due to factors cited in (41) (d) - (g) are entitled to request a review of the cancellation of enrolment. This is covered in Part H of this Policy.

Part H - Reviews and Appeals of Decisions

Right of Review

(43) A student whose enrolment has been denied, altered or cancelled for the reasons outlined in clause (41) (d) - (g) above may request a review of the decision to deny, alter or cancel their enrolment.

(44) Enrolment determinations will be reviewed by The Academic Registrar.

(45) A student whose enrolment has been denied, altered or cancelled as a result of:

  1. general and/or academic misconduct;
  2. unsatisfactory academic progress; or
  3. for health and safety reasons

(46) should follow the relevant review and appeals processes pertaining to those actions, as specified in the Student Misconduct Regulations 2019, the Student Appeals Regulations 2019, the Academic Progress Regulations 2016, and the Exclusion for Safety Reasons Regulations 2019. Such a student will not have a separate right of review arising under this policy.

Effect of suspension or exclusion from an award course

(47) Notwithstanding a student's right to maintain his/her enrolment during an internal or external review of a University decision, a person who has been suspended from the University is not permitted to enrol in any course, nor is he/she entitled to use the services offered by the University to students enrolled in courses during the period of his/her suspension.

(48) At the conclusion of the specified period of suspension, a student has the right to resume his/her studies in the same course he/she was studying when suspended, subject to the availability of the course (or its equivalent at the time of re-enrolment) and to meeting any conditions for re-admission which have been imposed by the University.

(49) A student who has been excluded from the University for misconduct or health and safety reasons ceases to be a student of the University. Such a person is prohibited from entering the University's premises for any reason and will not be admitted to any course or permitted to study on a non-award basis.

Part I - Delegations and Authorities

(50) The Academic Registrar is delegated to:

  1. set conditions and expectations for the enrolment of all students;
  2. deny, alter or cancel any student's enrolment on specified grounds; and
  3. review any decision to deny, alter or cancel any student's enrolment.

(51) VU's offshore partner institutions are authorised to:

  1. set specific conditions and expectations for the enrolment of students appropriate to their facility or context, in conjunction with VU.
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Section 5 - Procedures

(52) Enrolments Procedure

(53) Enrolments - Attendance (International Foundations) Procedure

(54) Enrolments - Maximum Course Duration (HE) Procedure

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Section 6 - Guidelines

(55) Nil