Waiver of Rules

Policy on seeking a Waiver of Faculty and General Rules or Regulations for Admission and Transfer to Undergraduate Courses

(approved by Senate R129/01, amended by Council R101/03, R31/04)

Authority to approve

1.1  By Senate Resolution 129/01, the Senate has authorised the Chair of the Academic Board to consider, and if satisfied, to approve on behalf of the Senate, recommendations for the waiver of  Regulations for Admission and Transfer to Undergraduate Courses submitted by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies which comply with the policy approved by the Senate from time to time.

1.2 By Academic Council Resolution 26/03, Academic Council has resolved that a waiver of rules be granted to permit faculties to waive up to two points required for degree completion for students who commenced their degree course prior to 2004 and who are affected by curriculum changes resulting from the conversion to a 6-point unit structure.

1.3 By Academic Council Resolution 101/03, Academic Council has authorised the Chair of the Academic Board to consider, and if satisfied, to approve on behalf of Academic Council, recommendations for the waiver of Faculty and General Rules submitted by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) or the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) which comply with this policy.

Grounds for requesting a waiver

2.1 The Senate may formulate and publish from time to time a policy to guide the Chair of the Board's exercise of discretion.  Senate has stated that until further notice the Chair should only consider requests for a waiver of rules on the following grounds:

(a) the Faculty intends to propose a change to the rules as soon as possible;

(b) there are strong compassionate or educational reasons for waiving the regulation/s in a particular case or cases;

(c) a student is able to demonstrate that he or she may not have been responsible for the fact that the work is not in exact accordance with the rules for the award.

2.2 Students are normally required to complete work equivalent in value (in terms of both points and level) to that required for the award.

Administrative Procedures for seeking a waiver of rules

3. Where a waiver of the rules is sought under 1.2, a faculty may waive up to two points required for degree completion for students who commenced their degree course prior to 2004 and who are affected by curriculum changes resulting from the conversion to a 6-point unit structure.  The Faculty will advise the student of the outcome of the request for a waiver. 

4.       In the case of a waiver sought under 2, for undergraduate students, the Faculty Administrative Officer prepares a request for a waiver of rules which must be endorsed by the relevant Dean.  This request must explain in detail the circumstances which give rise to the request and the rationale for its approval.  Such a request may be initiated either directly by the Faculty Administrative Officer or as a result of an application by a student.

5. The Faculty Administrative Officer forwards the request in 4, with supporting documentation, to the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) who will make a recommendation to the Chair of the Board. The Faculty Administrative Officer must ensure that a copy of the request and the supporting documentation is placed on Central File number F1106 (with a copy to the Student’s file).

6. The Chair of the Board sends the request with his/her decision on file to the Academic Secretary for transmission to the relevant Faculty Administrative Officer who then advises the Dean and the student of the outcome.

7. In all cases where a request for a waiver has been approved, the Faculty Administrative Officer ensures that an explanatory comment is recorded on the student's academic record. 

8. The Faculty Administrative Officer will record the outcome of any request for a waiver on the student’s file.

9. The Faculty Administrative Officer must ensure that all decisions made under this policy are notified to the President of the Guild of Undergraduates with the identity of individual students withheld.

10. For postgraduate research students, the process is the same except that the request is prepared by the Manager of the Graduate Research and Scholarships Office, endorsed by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) and forwarded to the Chair of the Board. 

11. For postgraduate coursework students (including master's by coursework and dissertation students), the process is the same.   The request is prepared by the Faculty Administrative Officer, endorsed by the Dean of the Faculty and forwarded to the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) for recommendation to the Chair of the Board.

[Waiver-Rules]
March 2005