Enrolment

Students recommencing after a period of suspension, and continuing students who did not pre-enrol for Semester 1, 2009 must enrol at the Faculty of Arts office. The Faculty of Arts office is located next to the MacLaurin Hall stairway, in the Main Quadrangle (view map).

ENROLMENT DATES FOR CONTINUING AND RECOMMENCING STUDENTS, LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL

Research students

Monday 2 February 2009 9:00am - 4:00pm
Tuesday 3 February 2009 9:00am - 4:00pm

Coursework students

Wednesday 4 February 2009 9:00am - 4:00pm
Thursday 5 February 2009 9:00am - 4:00pm

Late opening - research and coursework students

Friday 6 February 2009 9:00am - 5:30pm

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• Proxy_enrolment
• Late_enrolment
• Fees_and_subscriptions
• FEE-HELP and PELS
• FEE-HELP and HECS
• Re-enrolment
• Concurrent enrolment
• Variation of enrolment
• Adding/withdrawing a unit of study
• Suspension, extension, change in attendance status...
• Refunds policy for withdrawals and discontinuation...
• HECS Census Dates
• Change of address

To enrol by you must give written authority to someone to act on your behalf. Proxy forms are available from the Student Centre or the Faculty office. You must provide your proxy with appropriate course selection information and your tax file number if you are deferring your Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) liability to the taxation system.

If you do not enrol at one of the specified times (listed above) you may be charged a late enrolment fee of $100. Enrolments will not be possible after 31 March 2009.

Details of voluntary subscriptions are available from the Student Centre web site. International students are required to pay fees according to deadlines set by the International Office. Local students are required to pay tuition fees or upfront HECS when they enrol. Payment may be made by cheque, EFTPOS or credit card only (cash cannot be accepted). Tuition fees and HECS will be charged on a per semester basis. If you are deferring HECS payments, your tax file number will be required at enrolment. Student cards and transport concessions will be issued on the day.

On 1 January 2005 important changes took place for students deferring fee payments to the Postgraduate Education Loans Scheme (PELS).

Background to the changes
In 2002, the Commonwealth Government conducted a review of Australia’s higher education system. The Government’s response to this review was announced in the policy statement, Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future.

This statement included changes to the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), and the Postgraduate Education Loans Scheme (PELS), that took effect on 1 January 2005.

What happened to PELS
The deferred payment arrangements for local postgraduate fee-paying students that existed under PELS still exist but are now known as FEE-HELP. FEE-HELP is a loan program that assists eligible local fee-paying students to pay their tuition fees at recognised Australian Universities in much the same way as PELS did. Australian citizens and holders of a permanent humanitarian visa are eligible for FEE-HELP assistance.

Under FEE-HELP, students can borrow up to a maximum of $80,000 (indexed annually) over their lifetime.


The impact of the replacement of PELS on students who obtained a PELS loan before 2005.

Generally, you will be considered to be a pre-2005 PELS student if you:

• commenced your current postgraduate course of study before 1 January 2005;
• incurred a PELS debt in this course before 1 January 2005;
• have not discontinued your enrolment without formal approval from the University; and
• have not completed the requirements of your course or the requirements of another course at the same level.

As a pre-2005 student, the arrangements under FEE-HELP are much the same as those that existed under PELS. The main difference is that the new FEE-HELP loan limit of $50,000 will apply for all FEE-HELP debts you incur from 1 January 2005. However, a pre-2005 PELS student who holds a permanent visa (other than a permanent humanitarian visa) will have their eligibility for FEE-HELP assistance determined under the old PELS rules until the end of 2008. This means that if you were eligible for a PELS loan, you will be eligible for FEE-HELP assistance (subject to the three year limit which applies to the holders of permanent resident visas).

Should you have difficulties with, or questions about, any of the above you are welcome to contact the HECS and Fees Office of the Student Centre on (02) 9351 5066/5659/5065.

Further information on the changes outlined above can be found at the following DEST website:

On 1 January 2005 important changes took place for students currently deferring fee payments to the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS)

The nature of the HECS changes
New student contribution ranges (the amount students pay) – What were previously known as HECS Places are now called Commonwealth Supported Places. Universities are now required to determine student contribution (or HECS) amounts for these places, within ranges set by the Commonwealth Government.

New Student Learning Entitlement – The Government has introduced the Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). The SLE gives all Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and holders of a permanent visa access to a Commonwealth supported place for 7 years of equivalent full-time study. Thereafter, students will be subject to full fees.

Eligibility for loans and discounts – The deferred payment arrangements and discount for up-front payments that existed under HECS still exist but are now called HECS-HELP assistance. Australian citizens and holders of a permanent humanitarian visa are eligible for HECS-HELP; however, the discount for full up-front payments or partial up-front payments of $500 or more has been reduced from 25% to 20%.

The impact of these changes to HECS on students who commenced before 2005

The Government has determined that you are to be considered a pre-2005 student if you:

• commenced your course of study as a HECS liable student before 1 January 2005;
• have not discontinued your enrolment without formal approval from the University;
• have not completed the requirements of your course or the requirements of another course you have transferred into at the same level.

As a pre-2005 student, most of the changes outlined above will apply to you. That is, you will:

• become a Commonwealth supported student (previously known as HECS liable);
• commence using your SLE (from 1 January 2005 with the full entitlement of 7 years); and
• if you are currently eligible to defer your HECS to the Taxation System or to pay up-front, you will be eligible to HECS-HELP assistance although, as stated above, the discount rate for an up-front payment will be reduced to 20%.

Those changes that will affect you in a different fashion as a pre-2005 student are:

• changes to the student contribution amounts. Students commencing at The University of Sydney from 1 January 2005, who are Commonwealth supported will, in most cases, be subject to contribution amounts greater than yours. Your contribution amount will increase for 2005 but, as in previous years, only in accordance with the annual indexation applied by the Australian Government;
• new eligibility criteria for HECS-HELP. Pre-2005 students who are New Zealand citizens or the holders of a permanent visa (other than a permanent humanitarian visa) will have their eligibility for HECS-HELP assistance determined under the old HECS rules until the end of 2008. This means, if you were eligible in 2004 to defer your contribution, you will be eligible for HECS-HELP assistance (with the exception of those students who have exceeded the three year limit which applies to holders of permanent resident visas).

From the end of 2008, you will cease to be a pre-2005 HECS student and will study under the new arrangements, regardless of whether you have completed your course.

Should you have difficulties with, or questions about, any of the above you are welcome to contact the HECS and Fees Office of the Student Centre on (02) 9351 5066/5659/5065.

Further information on the changes outlined above can be found at the DEEWR website.

You are required to re-enrol each year. Advice on how and when to enrol is normally sent out in September the previous year. Please check your University email account regularly for correspondence sent to you by the University. If you do not receive enrolment information you should contact the Student Centre. If you do not enrol within the period stated, your candidature will lapse and you will have to apply for re-admission.

You may not enrol concurrently in another award program that is not already a combined program approved by the Senate, unless approved in writing by the relevant deans.

All variations of enrolment must be lodged in writing with the Faculty of Arts and not with your department. If you vary your enrolment in your department and do not advise the Faculty, your enrolment will be incorrect and you will be charged accordingly. It is your responsibility to ensure that your enrolment is correct.

Please contact your department for details of any necessary registration, class times and reading lists.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you are correctly enrolled. The following information will assist you to maintain a correct enrolment.

Check your personal Confirmation of Enrolment (you will receive this in the mail) and bring it to the Faculty of Arts office to make any changes to your enrolment.

Advising your department of your intention to change your enrolment is not sufficient. If you do not advise the Faculty of Arts of a change in writing:

• you will be incorrectly enrolled
• you will be incorrectly charged
• you will not receive a result for study undertaken
• you will be ineligible to graduate

You must enrol in all units of study you undertake with the Faculty of Arts office.

The addition of, or withdrawal from a unit of study can only be done in writing at the Faculty of Arts office before the following HECS census dates:

31 March for Semester 1, 2009
31 August for Semester 2, 2009

A full-year unit is denoted by 3. You can only enrol in semester 1 for full year units. Please withdraw for each semester as above.

If you withdraw by the above dates you will receive a refund of fees. Please see Refunds Policy (below) for details.

If you discontinue a unit of study after the above dates, you will be Discontinuing with Permission (DNF) and will be charged for the unit, regardless of whether you have completed the required work.

If you do not complete required assessment and do not advise the Faculty you will be charged for the unit of study and will receive a result of Absent Fail (AF).

If you are enrolled in a unit of study that is subsequently cancelled by the department, it is your responsibility to notify the Faculty of Arts in writing to withdraw you from that unit by the HECS census dates; if not, you will be charged for the unit.

Application forms for the above are available at the Faculty of Arts office or online. The relevant form must be completed and approved by the department and Associate Dean. Applications must be submitted prior to the HECS census dates:

31 March for Semester 1, 2009
31 August for Semester 2, 2009

Retrospective applications cannot be processed.

You must notify the Faculty office that you will be recommencing after a period of suspension. If not, you will not be able to enrol.

The University imposes the following policies with respect to the refund of fees paid for local fee paying postgraduate award courses, units of study, and local postgraduate or undergraduate fee paying non-award programs.

Students who withdraw* from a fee paying postgraduate award course or from a postgraduate or undergraduate fee paying non award program before the start of a semester but subsequent to enrolment will be reimbursed 100% of the tuition fee and 100% of all compulsory subscriptions paid.

Students who withdraw* from a fee paying postgraduate award course or from a postgraduate or undergraduate fee paying non award program after the commencement of teaching but before 31 March or 31 August in the February or July semester (the DEST census date) will be reimbursed 100% of the tuition fee and 100% of all compulsory subscriptions paid.

No refunds are payable in respect of a particular semester to students who discontinue from a fee paying postgraduate degree, graduate diploma or graduate certificate or from a postgraduate or undergraduate fee paying non degree program.

Students who withdraw* from March or July semester units of study prior to the relevant census date will be refunded 100% of the tuition fee for those units.

Students who withdraw* from “Intensive Mode” postgraduate units of study will be refunded 100% of the tuition fee for those units. No refunds are payable to students who ^discontinue from “Intensive Mode” postgraduate units of study. See the separate Sydney Summer School refund policy for the refund penalties that apply to units of study taken within the Summer School.

No refunds are payable in respect of the ^discontinuation of a semester-length unit of study.

If a variation of a student’s enrolment before the DEST census date results in a change of part-time/full-time status then any appropriate reduction with respect to compulsory subscriptions will be refunded in full.

*Withdraw - To cease studies in a unit or units of study and/or award course at any time subsequent to enrolment and prior to the close of business on the census date in either the March or July semester (31 March or 31 August). In respect of units of study offered in non-standard semesters (intensive mode units), to cease studies at any time subsequent to enrolment up until:

- close of business on the first day of teaching of the unit of study where the duration of the non-standard semester in which the unit is offered is less than six weeks, or

- close of business on the 14th day after teaching has commenced for the unit of study where the duration of the non-standard semester in which the unit is offered is greater than six weeks but less than a standard semester.

^Discontinuation - To cease studies in a unit or units of study and/or award course at any time during the semester subsequent to the relevant census date (31 March or 31 August). In respect of units of study offered in non-standard semesters (intensive mode units), to cease studies at any time during the non-standard semester subsequent to the census dates set for that non-standard semester, see withdraw above.

These are the latest dates for students to make any variations to their enrolment details, such as application for suspension, changing from full-time to part-time candidature, changing courses or options, etc.

Candidates who are commencing candidature or who are resuming candidature after a suspension must enrol by this date to be eligible to receive a HECS exemption. There are no opportunities for students to claim special consideration.

Please complete a change of address form at the Student Centre so that you receive information about enrolments, results, graduation etc. Advising your department or supervisor is not sufficient.