Credit policy

Definitions

Advanced standing: exemptions granted to a student for learning completed prior to commencing a program. A student who enters a program with advanced standing commences the program at a later point in the program structure due to the fact that exemptions are awarded for early stages of the program.

AEI-NOOSR: The official National Information Centre for Australia that assesses the educational level of overseas qualifications in terms of qualifications in the Australian Qualifications Framework.

Articulation agreements: agreements that students may progress from a qualification to another with admission and or credit in a defined qualification pathway.

AQF: Australian Qualifications Framework

Block credit: credit granted towards whole stages or components of a program of learning leading to a qualification.

Credit: the value assigned for the recognition of equivalence in content and learning outcomes between different types of learning and or qualifications which reduces the amount of learning required to achieve a qualification. Credit may be through credit transfer, articulation, recognition of prior learning or advanced standing.

Credit agreement: a formal, negotiated, documented agreement between schools, colleges or campuses of the University, or between the University and another tertiary institution. Credit agreements provide for eligible students to receive defined amounts of credit towards a qualification.

Credit arrangements: formal negotiated arrangements within and between issuing organisations or accrediting authorities regarding student entitlement to credit. They may also be formal arrangements made between issuing organisations and students.

Credit outcome: the result of a process of determining a student’s application for credit or credit transfer.

Credit transfer: a process that provides students with agreed and consistent credit outcomes for components of a qualification based on identified equivalence in content and learning outcomes between matched qualifications.

Exemption: an exemption from a course or courses, awarded to students entering an RMIT program with advanced standing.

Informal learning: is gained through work, social, family, hobby or leisure activities and experiences. Unlike formal or non-formal learning, informal learning is not organised or externally structured in terms of objectives, time or learning support.

Formal learning: takes place through a structured program of learning that leads to the full or partial achievement of an officially accredited qualification.

Pathways: allow students to move through qualification levels with full or partial recognition for the qualifications and or learning outcomes they already have.

Nationally-recognised programs: programs listed on the national register of vocational education and training programs. The register includes programs based on nationally-generated Training Packages, and state-accredited programs.

Non-formal learning: takes place through a structured program of learning but does not lead to an officially accredited qualification.

Recognition of current competency: recognition that a student or member of the public has previously successfully completed the requirements for a unit of competency or module, and has successfully maintained that competency.

Recognition of prior learning: an assessment process that involves assessment of an individual’s relevant prior learning (including formal, informal and non-formal learning) to determine the credit outcomes of an individual application for credit.

RMIT-accredited programs: programs which RMIT University accredits in its capacity as a self-accrediting institution.

Specified credit: credit granted towards a specific RMIT course or courses.

Unspecified credit: credit that is not granted towards a specific course or courses, but rather in the form of credit points at a year level, to fulfil elective course requirements.

VET: vocational education and training

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