Cancellation of Units - Policy

(approved by Academic Council Resolution 196/93)

(amended by Academic Council Resolution 75/02)

1.         The University reserves the right to cancel, no later than the end of the first week of the appropriate semester (in the case of semester units), and no later than the end of the first week of first semester (in the case of year-long units), any units other than those which form a compulsory component of any degree course, if the Dean of the Faculty concerned is satisfied that, through unforeseeable circumstances, such as death or illness, there is no staff member available to teach them.  

2.         The University reserves the right to vary the advertised content of any unit offered at any stage in the year, if through unforeseeable circumstances, such as the death or serious illness of a staff member, the Dean of the Faculty concerned is satisfied that it is impossible to offer the course as advertised. 

3.         Deans shall have the right, no later than the dates shown below for units at different levels and in different semesters, to approve requests from Heads of Schools for cancellation of units, excluding those which form part of a compulsory component of any degree course in which enrolments have not reached by that date, any normal minimum viable number which has been previously approved and advertised by the Faculty.

4.         All faculties shall determine by Faculty or Board Resolution, their own procedures for the approval and advertising of minimum viable numbers for specific units.

4.1     All faculties shall include in their Faculty' s section in the  Handbook a statement outlining the approved faculty policy.

5.         A unit may be cancelled only with the written agreement of the Dean following a written application from the head of school concerned, stating the reasons for the proposed cancellation.

6.         A head of school who wishes to cancel a unit may apply to the Dean of the faculty which resources the department, no later than FOUR working days before the last date on which the Dean is authorised to cancel the unit (see dates in 3 above), if by that day enrolments have not reached the number previously set as the minimum viable for the course, and advertised in the Handbook as such.  (A unit for which no minimum enrolment has been approved and advertised shall not be cancelled on the grounds of insufficient enrolments).

7.         Before making a determination on any request, the Dean shall consult with the Dean of any other faculty for which the cancellation has implications and shall give due consideration to the likely impact of the proposed cancellation on those enrolled in it.  (eg. in terms of limiting unreasonably the options available within majors or impacting on students' ability to complete the first year requirements of a major sequence in that academic year).

8.         The Dean shall make a determination on any request to cancel a unit by 5pm on the final permissible date (see 3 above), and shall provide verbal advice of the decision immediately to the department concerned, the Faculty Offices concerned, and the Manager (Student Administration), and follow this with written confirmation of the decision as soon as possible.

9.         A school which is authorised to cancel a unit shall as a matter of urgency advise every student enrolled in the unit of the cancellation (in writing) and shall advise the student that, on production of the letter of advice to the Student Administration Enquiry Counter, any late fee for change of enrolment that would otherwise be payable will not be charged.   The School shall display a notice advising of the unit's cancellation, in appropriate locations (for example, proximate to the location of the discipline concerned), and shall also provide the Faculty Office/s concerned with a notice to display on appropriate noticeboard/s.

10.        Once the Manager (Student Administration) and the Faculty Office have been verbally advised of the decision to cancel a unit, no further enrolments in, or changes of enrolment to, the unit concerned will be accepted.

Note: 

i)     An administrative code of WC (Unit Cancelled) will be entered on a student's internal academic record to indicate that a student has withdrawn due to the cancellation of a unit.  Units with this code attached will not appear on a student's examination results slip or on their formal academic record.

ii)    Procedure for the cancellation of a unit is available at http://www.secretariat.uwa.edu.au/home/policies/courseunit/cancelling_a_unit.

Sept 2002

UNITCANCELPOLICY