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Planning your Enrolment

Full-time, part-time and maximum unit load

You are a full-time student if you are enrolled in courses to the value of 18 units or more in a semester or half year.

You are a part-time student if you are enrolled in courses totaling less than 18 units in a semester or half year.

If you receive Youth Allowance or Abstudy you should be aware that changing your full-time or part-time status may affect your eligibility to receive such payments. For further information you should check with your local Centrelink office. International students should be aware that it is a condition of your student visa that you remain enrolled in a full study load (usually 24 units per semester).

To enrol in more than 24 units per semester, you will need permission from your College/Faculty/School/Centre Office.

Who can help me choose my courses?

Each College Student Office has a student advisor available. Advisors can assist students with choosing courses, and also make sure that you are on track to complete your degree. Contact your College Office to make an appointment with an advisor.

Academic Advisory sessions are held in the first week of each semester. At these sessions, advisors from each College are available in Melville Hall to help students with any questions about their degree.

Pre-requisites, co-requisites, incompatible courses

A pre-requisite course is one that you need to have successfully completed prior to enrolling in another course. The University asks students to enrol in courses for a whole academic year, so ISIS will allow you to enrol in a course if you are currently enrolled in the pre-requisite/s with no result yet recorded. If you subsequently fail the pre-requisite you will need to drop the intended course (see Dropping a course).

A co-requisite course is a course that you can take in the same semester as the course with which it is identified as a co-requisite (you could also have taken it previously). If you want to enrol in a course that has a specified co-requisite that you have not previously successfully completed, you must enrol in your elected course and the co-requisite. You must continue enrolment in both the co-requisite course and the elected course to gain results in both courses.

Incompatible courses overlap in course content to such an extent that both courses cannot be taken for credit. You should not enrol in a course that is identified in the course catalogue as being “incompatible” with a course you have already taken and passed. If you do enrol in such a course you will not receive credit for the “incompatible” course.

If you are seeking an exemption from a pre-requisite or a co-requisite you must consult with the relevant course coordinator or College Student Office.

Exemptions

In some Colleges you may apply for an exemption from taking compulsory courses on the basis of having previously successfully completed the same course or an equivalent course. However, if an exemption is granted a course of equivalent unit value must be substituted. While an exempted course will count towards program requirements and satisfy prerequisite/co-requisite requirements for other courses, the unit value of the exempted course will not count towards program requirements.

Exemption from part of a course

If you have been exempted from completing part of the requirements of a course by your lecturer, because you have previously completed equivalent studies, you are still required to enrol in the course in order to complete the remaining requirements of the course and thereby gain a formal result in the course. You will also be liable for the full fee/HECS liability for the course.

Credit for previous studies

If you have been admitted to the University from another tertiary institution you can apply, when you enrol, to have your previous studies credited towards your program at the ANU. If you are transferring from one ANU program to another ANU program you can also apply, when you enrol, to have your previous studies credited to your new program.

To apply for credit you will need to complete an Application for Transfer (Credit) form and will need to provide certified copies of your previous results and an outline of the course content (as per the handbook of your previous institution) for each course you are seeking credit for.

The College Dean's decision on what credit you are awarded will be final.

Group of Eight (Go8) Credit Transfer Agreement

In recognition of the excellence of teaching and research that exists in the Group of Eight universities, members agree to enhance the mobility of students between them by facilitating the transfer of credit earned at their institutions.

The Agreement is based on an acceptance that the assessment regimes at all Group of Eight universities are comparable and transferable.

Click here for further information on the Go8 Credit Transfer Agreement.

Information on Go8 Members can be found at www.go8.edu.au

Repeating a course

You may not enrol in a course which you have failed twice previously without the approval of the delegated authority in the relevant College/Faculty/School/Centre.

With the appropriate approval you may repeat a course that you have passed previously, in order to fulfil program requirements or to achieve a higher grade, but only as a non-award enrolment with full-fee liability.

Studying at another institution (cross-institutional enrolment)

You can apply to your College/Faculty Student Office to take courses at another Australian institution for credit towards your ANU program. You application for cross-institutional enrolment will also need to be approved by your proposed host institution. You will need to contact your proposed host institution for application and enrolment details.

Click here for more details about Cross-Institutional enrolment.

Overseas exchange studies

You can find out information on formal overseas exchange programs from International Student Services. You will also need to seek formal approval from your College/Faculty Student Office and negotiate with them on the credit you are to receive upon successful completion of the overseas studies. If there is any change to the list of courses that you agree on with your College/Faculty for your overseas studies, you will need to re-negotiate with your College/Faculty before enrolling in the courses. If you don't discuss your enrolment with your College/Faculty, you may not be granted full credit for your overseas studies.

Before departing overseas you need to complete all re-enrolment procedures and the Pre-Departure Checklist for Exchange Students form, available from International Student Services.