15 May 2020: The University of Canberra’s Academic Board has approved a recommendation from the UC Student Representative Council to temporarily allow students to withdraw from a unit until the day before the formal exam period commences for Semester 1, 2020.
Students have until midnight Sunday 17 May to withdraw from a unit while remaining liable for fees and receiving a “withdrawn-late” grade against the unit.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President Academic, Professor Geoff Crisp, says the University’s Academic Board responded to the UC SRC’s recommendation quickly, to ensure students won’t be disadvantaged in the long term if their studies have been impacted by COVID-19.
“The University takes students’ concerns raised with us seriously, and as with all the decisions we have taken during this crisis we maintained a considered and mindful approach to the circumstances and difficulties experienced by our diverse student cohort and responded accordingly,” said Professor Crisp.
This comes in addition to previously announced changes, including a temporary grading strategy and support for international students during this time.
The temporary grading strategy is intended to provide relief to students whose grades may have been compromised due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis and the University’s subsequent move to a remote learning environment that was implemented to secure the safety of the community during this time.
Students will have full control over their decision to opt into the grading adjustment with the University committing to only making adjustments to grades on application from a student.
With Australia’s borders currently closed to international arrivals, the University has also announced innovative measures to boost international student load for Semester 2, 2020 and support our existing international students.
These measures include the roll out of a carefully selected range of online units for UC’s most popular courses. International students will be able to study one to four of these units online before they transition to Canberra when our borders reopen.
The University is pleased to announce that our international student fees will be frozen at the 2020 rate for 2021, meaning our current feels will remain unchanged into next year.
“The University has taken the decision to temporarily adjust these processes to ensure students can manage their workload and results in circumstances that have been beyond their control throughout this first Semester of 2020,” said Professor Crisp.
“We understand that the COVID-19 crisis has affected everyone in our community and we want to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that students are not academically disadvantaged and that the University’s academic integrity is not compromised due to the adjustments we have all had to make so far this year.”
For more information on the range of support measures the University has implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.