Policy on Nomenclature of Award Courses at UTS

1 Policy objectives

1.1 The naming of an award course characterises the level of the award and the principal discipline of study of the degree course. The naming is significant for both legal and administrative purposes. Course names (full award title) are to be used in official correspondence with students and with external bodies. The testamur award title is the official title enshrined in the testamur awarded to a student at graduation, as a recognition of the student's successful completion of the requirements for the award of a course. The official abbreviation of an award course is also included in the Handbook. The Policy on Nomenclature for Award Courses at UTS ensures that the course name, testamur award title and abbreviation of a course are approved in accordance with clearly identified principles (Section 4) and are consistent with the rules set out in this Policy. All course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations approved after the adoption of this Policy by Academic Board shall conform to this Policy. The procedures for approvals are also detailed in Section 3 of this Policy.

2 Scope

2.1 This Policy applies to all levels of award courses of the University as defined in Rule 1.1 of the Rules of the University Relating to Students.

3 Supporting procedures and responsibilities

3.1 Approval of individual course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations for award courses is by the Vice-Chancellor in accordance with the Policy on Nomenclature for Award Courses. In the absence of the Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor will assume the approval role for the Vice-Chancellor.

3.2 Proposed course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations for new courses shall be included in the course proposal submitted via the University's course approval process. Once course planning approval for a new course is granted, the Vice-Chancellor will direct on the approved course name, testamur award title and abbreviation for the new course. The Governance Support Unit will advise stakeholders concerned and the approved nomenclature will be recorded on CASS (Curriculum and Student System).

3.3. Changes to existing course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations shall be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor via the Governance Support Unit, specifying:

• the approved nomenclature and proposed changes;
• reasons for the change and impact for stakeholders (students, internal and external partners, administrative units such as International Office, Student Administration, Graduations);
• strategies to manage the change, endorsement by stakeholders and transitional arrangements for students;
• proposed effective date of the change.

The Vice-Chancellor will direct on the approved changes. The Governance Support Unit will advise stakeholders concerned and the approved changes will be recorded on CASS.

4 Principles for consideration of course name, testamur award title and abbreviation

4.1 Generic and specific titles for various levels of award at UTS

Note: See Appendix 1 for current approved generic titles.

4.1.1 Undergraduate courses

In general, the University expects that generic titles will be used especially for awards at undergraduate level, for example, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business. In the cases of 'new-style' cooperative undergraduate degrees and interdisciplinary degrees which do not fit into the generic categories, non-generic titles have been used, for example, Bachelor of Accounting, Bachelor of Mathematics and Finance. As well, it is recognised that in exceptional circumstances faculties/institutes may propose that specific titles be used for undergraduate degrees, or a specific field of study be included as descriptors in the testamur award title. For example, the majors of the Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Design programs are included in the testamur award title.

4.1.2 Graduate Diplomas and Graduate Certificates

Generic titles have not been used for Graduate Diplomas and Graduate Certificates, mostly in view of the specific target of students, course content and design for the degrees.

4.1.3 Master's degrees by coursework

A mixture of generic and non-generic titles in Master's degrees by coursework has been used. It may take into account the admission requirement that may include the requirement for an undergraduate degree in one of several relevant fields of study. For example, Master of Dispute Resolution, Master of Engineering Management, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science Management.

4.1.4 Degree with honours or with merit grading and Honours degrees

• Degree with honours or with merit grading
  Course names do not include merit grading for degrees. If an award is conferred with honours or is graded by merit, the testamur will indicate the award and its level of honours or grading. The level of honours or grading will appear at the end of the award title: for example, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with First Class Honours, Graduate Diploma in Engineering with Distinction. The merit grading will not be indicated in the official abbreviations.
• Bachelor (Honours) degrees
  For Honours degrees (Honours) is part of the award. It will appear immediately after the level of award, not after the specialisation. For example, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Communication. (Honours) will appear as part of the course name and the abbreviation.
• Master's (Honours) degrees
  Master's (Honours) is normally used for Honours Master's coursework degrees except in the case of the Master of Education (Honours), abbreviated MEd(Hons). The Master of Education (Honours) is a research degree and its naming was specially approved by the Vice-Chancellor.

4.1.5 Research degrees

• For a Master's coursework degree that has the same name as a Master's by thesis degree, the course name for the Master's degrees by thesis will be Master (Research). 'Research' will not be included in the testamur award title or in the abbreviation.
• Doctoral degrees usually have the generic title of Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD. Specific titles are used only in Professional Doctorates or as specially approved by the Vice-Chancellor: for example, Doctor of Juridical Science, SJD; Doctor of Education, EdD; Doctor of Project Management, DPM; Doctor of Creative Arts, DCA; Doctor of Technology in Science, DTech.

4.2 Consideration for generic titles

4.2.1 The approval of the use of a generic title should be based on the following considerations:

• accurate description of the level of award;
• reflective of the principle discipline of study with regard to:
  • the course objectives and learning outcomes
  • the structure and content of the course
  • the extent of the recruitment or marketing demands for the title
  • the extent of the professional or employment demands for the title
  • the extent of the use of titles in the national and international community;
• the number of generic titles in the general academic or professional area being used by the University;
• consistency and articulation of the title with those being utilised at the higher or lower degree level;
• the DEST grouping of course of study.

4.3 Consideration for specific titles and inclusion of descriptors in testamur award titles

The approval of the use of a specific titles and inclusion of descriptors in testamur award titles should be based on the following considerations:

• the extent of specialisation within the degree program, compared with the full requirements of the program in terms of course objectives, learning outcomes, structure, duration, etc.;
• the extent of the professional or employment demands for the specific title and/or descriptors;
• the possibility of misunderstanding/interpretation by students and employees, let alone the question of false presentation;
• the life expectancy of the title, especially if it is just to suit market demand at a particular time in a specific environment;
• the perception of usage of the specific title from a national and international perspective;
• the number of specific degree titles in the general academic and professional areas used by UTS. Are we extending it too far? Do we have too many specifics? Where should all these specifics end? Are the descriptors too detailed?;
• the assessment of the full impact if the proposed title is not approved, for example, how would it affect the agreement with the external partner.

4.4 Titles for double, combined, cross-faculty, cross-institutional degrees

The Policy on Double, Combined, Cross-Faculty and Cross-Institutional Degrees [see note below] specifies the policy and number of testamurs for each type of these degree awards. The consideration for testamur award titles and abbreviation are as follows:

4.4.1 Double degree – two testamurs

The student will be enrolled normally in one faculty for the first award and in another faculty for the second award. Completing the requirements of the course would be normally a two-stage process. On graduation, the student will receive two testamurs, each with the corresponding testamur award title and abbreviation for the degree course they have satisfactorily completed. The consideration for the appropriate course name, testamur award title and abbreviation of each of the double degree follows the principles in this Policy.

4.4.2 Combined degrees – one or two testamurs

4.4.2.1 Combined degrees are courses of study with a structure which includes components of two discrete awards and which may or may not satisfy the requirements for admission to two awards. In the case where one testamur is issued for the combined degree, the major discipline of study with the majority of credit points will precede in the course name, testamur award title and abbreviation.

4.4.2.2 For combined degrees involving an International Studies component, the nomenclature should be as follows:

(a) the professional component of the degree should precede the Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, e.g. BE BA, BBus BA, LLB BA;

(b) where the professional component is also denoted by BA, the symbol BA should appear only once and the combined award should appear as BA, for example, for the Bachelor of Arts in Communications and in International Studies.

4.4.3 Cross-faculty degrees – one testamur

A cross-faculty degree is managed normally by a single faculty in cooperation with one or more other faculties. This faculty usually offers the majority of credit points and is closely related to the outcomes of the course in terms of either professional or disciplinary aspects of the degree. The consideration for the appropriate course name, testamur award title and abbreviation follows the principles in this Policy.

4.4.4 Cross-institutional degrees – one single award

Depending on the partnership agreement, the consideration for the appropriate testamur award title and abbreviation follows this Policy.

Note: This Policy is under review, the result of which may require changes to the Policy on Nomenclature for Award Courses.

4.5 Abbreviations and acronyms

4.5.1 Official abbreviations for Graduate Certificates were introduced in October 2002. Abbreviations need to be considered for appropriateness, consistency and effectiveness of identification of the course. It should not be too complex to lead to possible misinterpretation. As far as possible, generic titles should be considered: for example, GradCertN, GradDipN.

4.5.2 Acronyms should not be used in course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations, unless specially approved by the Vice-Chancellor. Currently approved title with acronyms is: TESOL for 'Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages'.

4.6 Language of instruction

The language of instruction or range of languages of instruction should not be included in the testamur award title. Instead, it should be specified in the academic transcript. It is also important that the language of instruction be made available to students in terms of marketing programs and in terms of specifying accurately details associated with a presentation of courses.

4.7 Editorial conventions and system constraints

In considering course name, testamur award title and abbreviation for a course, regard should also be given to some editorial conventions and system constraints. Appendix 2 lists the current guidelines for reference. Should changes to these be made as directed by the Vice-Chancellor, the Governance Support Unit will update the list and advise faculties accordingly from time to time.

5 Communications

This Policy should be listed in the Course Design Framework being developed by the Teaching and Learning Committee Working Party. It should be published through the University course development website and linked to the Online Course Approval Process as a major policy document for consideration of nomenclature approvals (see note).

Note: Both the course development website and the Online Course Approval Process are currently under development. See the Award course approval and accreditation procedures in the interim for information about the University's course approval process in the interim.

6 Glossary

Unless specified, the definition of terminologies used in this Policy are those stated in the 'Schedule of Definitions' of the Rules of the University Relating to Students being developed for introduction from 2005. For easy reference, the following are listed:

Academic transcript means the official University printed document that provides an accurate statement of the official information held by the University and which satisfies the University's responsibilities to the student and other third parties (including other universities) for adequate and appropriate representation of relevant information about a student's academic and academic related activities at the University.

Award means an academic award of the University.

Award Course means a set of requirements, subjects and/or supervised research which when satisfactorily completed by a student normally qualifies that student for a formal award of the University.

Course means a program of study into which students are admitted.

Testamur means the official certificate of the University that attests to a particular person having satisfied the requirements for and graduated from a particular award course of the University at a particular time.

7 Appendixes

• Appendix 1 – The current list of approved generic titles and abbreviations
• Appendix 2 – Editorial conventions and system constraints for consideration of course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations.

8 Related information

• Double, combined, cross-institutional and across-faculty degrees (AB/98/69) – under review.
• The CASS Curriculum User Procedures Manual – Note especially that other course title fields available on CASS include short titles and abbreviations. They are mainly used for other internal administrative purposes. Guidelines for entries to those fields or calling reports by those fields are detailed in the Curriculum User Procedures Manual.
• International Matters Working Group Final Report (AB/02/43.2, AB meeting June 2003), in particular, approved Recommendation 29 re LOTE programs and testamurs/academic transcripts in the LOTE.

Appendix 1 – Current generic titles and abbreviations in use ¹

The following levels of award, fields of study and their abbreviations have been used:

Notes:

1. As at end July 2004.
2. Except in the case of the Postgraduate Certificate in English Language Teaching, PostgradCertELangTeach, with special approval of the Vice-Chancellor.

Appendix 2: Editorial conventions and systems constraints for consideration of course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations

1. To indicate the field of study: Bachelor, Master and Doctoral – use 'of'; Diplomas and Certificates use 'in'; Descriptors of specialisations use 'in'; for example:
   • Bachelor of Arts, not Bachelor in Arts
   • Graduate Diploma in Engineering, not Graduate Diploma of Engineering
   • Bachelor of Arts in Communication
2. No extraneous information

   The following must not be included. CASS will store the information in different fields as appropriate.

   • The word 'conversion' in conversion courses
   • location of offer (Kuring-gai, Hong Kong)
   • mode of delivery (long distance)
   • study pattern (part-time, full-time, block)
   • payment arrangements (fee-paying, scholarship)
   • admission standards/requirements (limited work experience)
3. Special characters
   • Brackets ( ) – The only information that should be shown in brackets in course names are:
     • (Honours) for Honours degrees
     • (Research) for Master's research degrees, to differentiate between research degrees and coursework degrees with the same title
     • When there is a need to use the brackets in a for a further division of a specialisation of a generic degree; for example, Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Information Management)
   • Majors and Specialisations in the full title of a course should be shown as 'in', e.g. Bachelor of Arts in Communication, not 'Bachelor of Arts (Communication)'
   • No full stop, comma nor slash. Hyphen is allowed only where this is part of a commonly accepted discipline area, e.g. 'e-learning', 'cross-border'.
   • The short form for 'electronic' is 'e' in lower case.
4. Space

   For abbreviations

   • there is no space between the level of award and the descriptor, e.g. BBus, BEngSc
   • there is a space between the two qualifications for combined degrees, e.g. BSc BA, BE BSc, BE DipEngPrac.
5. Character limitation on CASS
   • Full course title and testamur title are up to 150 characters. However there is a CASS guideline to keep the full title to no more than 80 characters long as this will permit the full and short title stored on CASS to be identical.
   • Abbreviated award name – 30 characters.

   It is essential that course names, testamur award titles and abbreviations are kept within the CASS field size limits.

Further administrative information

Policies reviews

This version of the Policy replaces the Policy on Nomenclature for Award Courses which was approved for implementation from November 1992.

Related legislation/policies

• Rules of the University for Students in general and, in particular:
  • Rule 1.1 Categories of Students
  • Rule 2.27 Awards and graduations, Rule 2.27.10 (number of testamurs)
  • Rule 2.29 Grading of Awards
• Award Course Approval and Accreditation Procedures
• Double, Combined, Cross-Institutional and Cross-Faculty Degrees

Note: The Rules of the University Relating to Students are being re-drafted and expected to be implemented in 2005. The 'Double, Combined, Cross-Institutional and Cross-Faculty Degrees' is being reviewed by the Teaching and Learning Committee and Courses Accreditation Committee. The 'Award Course Approval and Accreditation Procedures' is being considered by Academic Board, to be replaced with a new Award Course Approval Policy effective 2005.

Accountabilities

Compliance: Vice-Chancellor, Deans

Monitoring and evaluation:Governance Support Unit

Development/revision: Academic Board, Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Governance Support Unit

Administration of approved nomenclature: Governance Support Unit, Student Administration Unit, Faculties

Administrative contact

To be advised