A new unit of study is created when a unit is developed for the first time or when an existing unit is subject to significant change. Any change to title, code, credit points or Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED funding classification) coding, which may result from a major change of content, would result in a new unit creation.

At its most basic, a unit consists of a description, resources and a unique set of unit learning outcomes, the achievement of which are measured by appropriate assessment tasks.

Credit points

Victoria University assigns a credit point (cp) value to each coursework unit of study. VU units are generally made up of 12 credit points, although it is possible under some circumstances to have 24 or 48 credit point units.

The credit point number indicates the size of the unit, its workload and its contribution to meeting the requirements of a course. The total requirement of a course is expressed in quantitative terms as the number of credit points which must be accumulated. A credit point represents an average workload of about 1 hour per week over a 12 week semester. A full-time student normally takes 48 credit points in each semester.

A full-time student enrolled in units over two standard 12 week semesters will normally accrue a yearly total of 96 credit points (2x48cp) which represents 1.0 (100 percent) equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) in terms of student statistics and fee structures.

Approval

New units are attached to a course or courses. Therefore, the unit approvals process needs to be managed in conjunction with any changes to the course(s) to which the unit is related.

New units fall under external reporting timelines and must be fully approved:

  • by October 1 of the previous year to be available in Semester 1
  • by April 1 to be available in Semester 2

Resources

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