New Curriculum 2010 FAQs

The new curriculum was introduced in January 2010. All programs from earlier years can no longer accept new enrolments. This means that all new students and students returning to Macquarie after an absence (i.e. 'returning Macquarie students', as defined below) will join the new curriculum. Students already enrolled need not change to the new curriculum if they do not want to, but must complete their degree by the end of 2012, otherwise they will automatically be enrolled in the new curriculum.

From 1 January 2010 returning former Macquarie students include:

• students who are returning from an absence from study of 12 months or more for any reason, including
• students who have been excluded for failing to meet the requirements for minimum rate of progress towards their award.

Units you have completed so far in your Macquarie studies will continue to count towards your degree/program of study.

The new curriculum has been introduced in order to broaden the experience and expertise of Macquarie graduates, to better prepare them for the next stage in their career and to meet employers' demand for 'well-rounded' and workplace-prepared graduates.

The number of degrees available is significantly reduced and from 2010 many are structured around a system of Majors and Minors to make it easier for students to choose what they want to specialise in as well as making it easier and simpler to manage their enrolment.

The new curriculum introduces students to areas outside of their department and faculty through People and Planet units.

The new curriculum also makes it easier for the student to identify and select the key areas of learning they are interested in, whilst having the flexibility to explore other areas. Students will also complete a Capstone unit in the final stages of their studies. Students who first join this University from 2012 onwards will be given the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and skills to the community through Participation units, which will be introduced at that time.

Certain units have been designated as People and Planet units – a schedule of People and Planet units is available in the online 2010 Handbook. The schedule of People and Planet units identifies the Faculties and Departments offering the units. If you are enrolled in a single degree and are required to enrol in People and Planet units you will need to choose both units from outside your department and one of them will need to be from outside your Faculty. Your department is either the department responsible for your qualifying major or, in the case of a named degree, the department responsible for your degree.

A People unit is intended to help you to understand the world through learning about the challenges of modern society. A Planet unit looks at the physical environment in its fullest sense.

A unit that is a required unit in your program cannot be counted as a People or Planet unit.

Some programs of study do not have People and Planet requirements, or have partial or modified requirements. You should check the Handbook for specific requirements which apply to your chosen program.

Continuing students transferring to the new curriculum do not need to complete a People or a Planet unit, provided that they complete their studies by the end of 2013. This applies both to students transitioning to the new vcersion of theirpre-2010 degree, and to those who are transferring to a different degree. If you are still enrolled after 31 December 2013, the program into which you are transferred may include a requirement for People and Planet units.

Some, but not all programs of study will require completion of a major. Check the Handbook for:

• specific requirements for your program of study
• Schedule of majors, and within the schedule, check
  • Part 1 – criteria for choosing your major (this is very important)
  • Part 2 – lists of majors

A major is a main area of study and, if your program requires the completion of a major, it will be shown on your testamur. A student who graduates in the current BA receives a testamur showing that they have a Bachelor of Arts, but it does not include the coherent study or specialisation. The testamur for the new Bachelor of Arts will, however, show both the degree and your major – e.g. Bachelor of Arts major in Philosophy In some degrees, where it may be possible to complete two majors, both will be shown on your testamur.

A major consists of a minimum of 24 distinct credit points, including a minimum of 12 distinct credit points at 300-level in an approved combination of units, which will include a Capstone unit.  These units will usually but not always have the same prefix.  Lists of approved units for majors in different areas are available on-line in the 2010 Handbook.

A minor is 12 distinct credit points from an approved major, including 6 distinct credit points at 300-level, and will not be shown on your testamur. Completed minors will appear on your transcript if you identify them as part of your expected completion advice to the University. Check the Schedule of Majors for more information on minors.

A capstone unit is completed towards the end of a degree and brings all the related areas of learning that the student has completed throughout their major or program of study to develop problem-solving skills and prepare the student for life as a graduate.

You should check information from your department. If you are thinking about transferring to the new curriculum you should consult your academic adviser to discuss transitional requirements and the availability of capstone units as they are phased into new programs from 2010.

A Participation unit will become a compulsory component in degree programs for all undergraduate students who first enrol at Macquarie University from 2012 onwards.

If you are currently enrolled in a Macquarie degree (including combined and double degrees) in 2010, you will not be required to complete a Participation unit to finish your degree.

If you were enrolled at Macquarie in an undergraduate degree in 2009, you will have a choice between continuing in your current degree program, or changing to the new version of your degree (but note that if you continue in your current degree you will have to complete it by the end of 2012 if you wish to take out that award). If you decide to change to the new version, you will have to meet all the requirements for that degree to graduate, including completing the Capstone unit. There are no transition criteria, such as a specified Grade Point Average (GPA) to make this changeover, but you will need to check carefully what changing over will mean for your study program. You should consult with an academic adviser in your Faculty as early as possible.

If you do not qualify for your degree by 31 December 2012 and you have not already transferred to the new degree program by 1 January 2013, you will be automatically transferred to the new degree program on that date.

Once you have changed to the new degree, you will not be able to go back to your old degree if you change your mind. However, you will be exempt from any People and Planet unit requirements as long as you complete the degree before 31 December 2013.

If you decide not to change to a new degree, you have three (3) years (up to 31 December 2012) to complete the degree you are enrolled in without having to transfer to the new degree. If you haven't completed your studies by 31 December 2012, you will be automatically transferred into the related new program of study of your degree and you will have to satisfy the requirements for that program of study of the degree. However, you will not be required to undertake People and Planet units if you began your degree before 2010 and complete by 31 December 2013. If you are still enrolled after that date, you will need to include People and Planet units to qualify for your degree.

Students who commenced the 5-year combined LLB degree in 2009 will be transferred to the new version of their degree in 2013 (but will still have exemption from People and Planet units until the end of 2013).

You should speak to academic advisers in Law and in your Department as soon as possible to find out whether it is in your best interests to transition to the new combined degree in second semester 2010.

If, after academic advice, you decide not to transition to the new degree, you have the option of completing and qualifying for the first part of your degree (e.g. the BA) under the old rules, and then continuing on to finish the LLB separately under the new rules, and graduating with the new Bachelor of Laws. However, if you do this, you will graduate twice and receive two testamurs.

Example 1: A student enrolled in 2009 in the first year of the BMediaLLB wishes to graduate with the BMedia rather than changing to the BA majoring in Media. She will therefore remain enrolled in the BMediaLLB and will qualify for the BMedia in 2012, and will graduate at the first available graduation ceremony with that degree. In 2013 she will be transferred to the LLB,in which she will continue until she qualifies for that degree. She will then graduate with the LLB, at a second ceremony, and will have a second testamur, this time for the LLB.

This principle will apply to other named degrees combined with the LLB, such as the Bachelor of Environmental Management Bachelor of Laws (BEnvMgtLLB).

Example 2: A student enrolled in 2009 in the first year of a BALLB would prefer to graduate with a BA testamur that shows him having a major in Politics rather than a generic BA. After discussing his options with an academic adviser, he decides to transfer to the new curriculum BALLB, with a major in Politics, and he continues in that combined degree until he qualifies at the end of 2013. He then graduates with one testamur which states that he has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics, Bachelor of Laws.

If you are enrolled in the Bachelor of International Studies, you can find information for continuing students about transitioning to the new degree program starting in 2010 (PDF 60Kb) here.

Continue in your existing degree, but delay notifying the University of intention to graduate until the end of Semester 1, 2012.

If it is clear at that time that you will need to continue with law units in 2013, you should notify the University that you intend to graduate with the non-law degree (e.g. the BEnvMgt) in the October 2012 graduation. You will then be admitted to the LLB program at the beginning of 2013, and will qualify for the LLB at a later date.

No, at this stage it is too late to transfer into the pre-2010 version of any degree. However, provided that you satisfy the transfer criteria for entry to the new program of study (e.g. BA to BCom) you can still change your degree, but you will be transferring into the new curriculum version of the BCom study program. That means that you will have to check carefully with an academic adviser how your existing studies will fit into the new study program. It is very important that you get academic advice before applying to transfer into any new curriculum degree because you will not be able to change your mind and return to the old degree, and you can only lodge one application for transfer.

If you were effectively enrolled in a degree at Macquarie in 2009, you will not be required to enrol in People and Planet units provided you complete the requirements for your degree by 31 December 2013. After this date, all students still enrolled will be in programs of study offered from 2010 and any People and Planet requirements in those programs of study will apply.

Requests for first half-year transition to the new curriculum closed on 29 January. Applications for second half-year transition to the new curriculum will open in the middle of the year, at a date to be advised.

For those who have already lodged a first half-year online Application to Change to the New Curriculum, you can still check the status of your application.

You don't have to register a major when you enrol if you are enrolling in a 'named degree', such as the Bachelor of Applied Finance, Bachelor of Business Administration or Bachelor of Chiropractic Science.

If you are enrolling in a generic degree, such as the Bachelor of Arts, Science or Commerce, you are advised to select your major at the time of enrolment, though you are not obliged to register it. You will have to choose both of your People and Planet units from outside the Department offering your major (sometimes called a 'qualifying major'), so it is helpful to know which Department that will be when you are choosing your units at enrolment.

Yes, you can, but you should seek academic advice before you make a decision. Changing your major may mean that you have to reconsider your choice of People and Planet units.

You will have to:

1. Complete all the requirements for each major including required units and minimum credit points. You can find the requirements for individual majors in the 2010 Course Handbook.
2. For each major you will have to complete a minimum of 24 credit points, including 12 at 300 level.
3. If a unit is common to both majors, i.e. if it is a required unit in each major, you can count it towards meeting the unit requirements of each major but you can only count it once to satisfy the 24-credit-point requirement in one of the majors. You will have to make up the 24 credit points in the other major from other units for that major.

Some majors are not compatible with each other, so you will need to check that the two you have chosen can be done together. An example of two incompatible majors is the combination of Photonics and Astrophysics. An example of two compatible majors is the combination of Maths and Physics – however you need to make sure your unit selection satisfies all of the requirements mentioned at (1) and (2) and (3) above.

You should be aware that if one of the majors you choose to combine with another major has greater than the minimum 24 credit point requirement (e.g. Development Studies and Culture Change, 33 credit points) you might need to do more than the minimum total credit point requirement for your degree.

1. If you can't fit in two majors, you might still be able to do a minor, or even two minors (but note that two minors cannot be used to replace a qualifying major), instead. For each minor you will have to complete a minimum of 12 credit points, including 6 at 300 level, from any major.
2. The same rule of not double-counting a unit applies to minors as to majors. In other words, you cannot count any unit twice in a combination of majors and minors.
3. A warning: your minor/s will not appear on your testamur. They will, however, appear on your transcript and demonstrate the breadth of your study to a potential employer.

Your qualifying major must be within your faculty, but a second major may be from another faculty. The second major does not have to be one of the majors listed as a qualifying major for your degree.

For example, Biology is not listed as a qualifying major for the Bachelor of Arts, but it can be studied as a second non-qualifying major within the BA.

If you're a new student enrolling for the first time in 2010 you will be asked as part of the process of enrolment to specify the area you think you would like to major in. You can change this later if you decide to specialise in a different area.

If you are a 2009 student who is changing to a new curriculum degree that is based on majors, you can advise your major on the "Expect to Complete (PDF 32Kb)" form.

You will only have to complete one People and one Planet unit for the double degree, but they must come from two different Faculties.

No, not as part of a double degree. If you graduate in one of your degrees, you cannot continue in the other degree as part of a double degree program.

In other words, you would no longer be in a double degree, and would lose the credit point advantages that come with the double degree. You would have to apply for admission to the second degree, and would have to complete the full requirements for that degree.

No, exemptions only apply to students who were enrolled at Macquarie in 2009. You will be enrolling in a new degree under the new curriculum, and one of the requirements of the new curriculum is the completion of one each of People and Planet units.

Yes, provided that:

• the unit also meets the People and Planet requirement of being outside your Department (the Department administering your Program of Study or Qualifying Major), or outside your Faculty, and that
• the unit is not a required unit for your Major or Program of Study

You can find the People and Planet Unit rules on the 2010 Course Handbook.

Yes, all students enrolling in one of the new degree programs from 1 January 2010 will be required to include a 300-level Capstone unit in their studies. If you are close to finishing your degree in 2009, you should check before you decide to change to a new program that there will be a suitable Capstone unit available in your major area in 2010 as not all departments will be offering one at this stage.

Units that were worth 3 credit points in 2009 have not changed their value. Most 200-level units are now 3 credit points, and many 300-level units have changed from 4 to 3 credit points. Eventually all units will be standardised to 3 credit points, but in 2010 there will be one or two special program exceptions where some 200-level units may still be worth 4 credit points.

From 2011 the higher-level units will also be standardised to 3 credit points. Some departments have already dropped their 300-level units down to 3 credit points for next year (2010). These changes have been implemented to ensure that there is enough room in your degree to complete the extra units associated with the new curriculum. These credit point changes will affect everyone, even if you choose not to move to the new curriculum structure.

Due to the standardisation to 3 credit points, the Faculties will offer 1- and 2-credit point shell units. This will enable students who need extra credit points to complete their degrees to do so without enrolling in excess credit points to meet the total credit point requirements for their degree. These units will usually involve you in reading or research study of some kind relevant to your major. Ensure that you consult an academic adviser in your department about structuring your program.

Standardising credit points to 3 has a number of benefits, both for students and for administration. In particular it will make it easier for students to plan their programs and tally up credit points, and it will facilitate transportability of credit points to and from other universities which have also standardised their credit points.

The number of credit points required to complete degrees has not changed, and every faculty has set up shell units, as explained in the answer to the previous question., to enable students who find themselves one or two credit points short of the required total to avoid doing excess credit points to complete. These are units worth one or two credit points each and will typically involve a reading or research unit that you can tailor to your major.

To take an example:

One of the requirements of your current degree is to complete 12 credit points of 300-level units. You have completed 8 credit points so far. Next year the third subject you wish to take will be standardised from 4 down to 3 credit points, meaning that you will only have 11 credit points total upon completion of this unit. You can then enrol in a 1-credit point shell unit to bring your 300-level credit points up to 12.

If however, you find yourself in a situation where it appears that you may need to enrol in extra credit points, for instance, to satisfy prerequisites for an extra 300-level unit, you should discuss possible solutions to this with your department.

Many units that were worth 4 credit points in 2009 have changed to 3 credit points (and a new unit code) in 2010, with the rest changing in 2011.

You accumulate the number of credit points that a unit is worth at the time you complete it. If you complete a unit in 2009 or 2010 that is worth 4 credit points, that is how it will be listed on your transcript. All 300 level units will be 3 credit points from 2011 for all students.

The workload for 4-credit-point units which change to 3 credit points will decrease correspondingly, and their fees will reduce by the cost of one credit point.

If you have any concerns about your program and how this change will affect you, please contact your Department for academic advice.

Yes. You should contact your department directly.

In the past, students at Macquarie University have been permitted to graduate with any degree that they have qualified for, provided that degree was open for new enrolments in the year in which they first enrolled in their current degree at Macquarie University.

If you are able to complete the requirements for the degree in which you wish to graduate there is no need to transfer to a program of study – but it is very important that you check with an academic adviser that you will be able to satisfy by the end of 2012 the requirements of the pre-2010 degree with which you wish to graduate. If it is clear that you will be able to finish by 2012, keep going. If there is any doubt, however, you should be aware that at the beginning of 2013 you will be transferred to the new version of the degree in which you are enrolled and you will not be able to ask to graduate with any pre-2010 degree which is no longer offered.

Assuming you have satisfied all the requirements for the degree you wish to graduate in by 31 December 2012, you will notify the Academic Program Section who will then check that you have met the requirements for that degree. This is the qualification that will appear on your testamur.

There is, however, another very important thing to take into consideration when deciding whether to transfer: if you do not officially transfer, while the degree you have asked to graduate with will be shown on your testamur, and your transcript will show that you have qualified for and graduated with that same degree, the record of your studies year by year will reflect the degree in which you were enrolled at the time.

Example 1 – enrolled in BA 2009-2012. Satisfy the requirements for BCom and ask to graduate with BCom. Testamur will show BCom ; transcript will continue to show yearly enrolments in BA, but qualified and graduated in BCom.

Example 2 – enrolled in BA 2009. Transfer successfully to BCom in 2010 and complete requirements for BCom in 2012. Testamur will show BCom and transcript will also show BCom from 2010-2012.

You should also keep in mind that if you decide to transfer to a new degree in 2010 or later, you will not be able to go back to your pre-2010 degree if you change your mind.

Many students will want to transfer into the new programs of study because of the opportunities that they offer, including the naming of the major on their testamur. However, in some cases, the capstone for the major may not be offered in 2010. That means that some current students who are nearing the end of their degree may be unable to complete the new degree program by the end of 2010. For the new Bachelor of Arts (or Bachelor of Science), your major will be included on your testamur, which will usually be helpful when you are applying for work. Provided you complete your studies by 31 December 2012, you will not be required to complete People and Planet units if you transfer to the new curriculum but you will be required to complete a Capstone unit.

All exemptions for students commencing their degrees in 2010 will be given at the 2010 value of the unit being exempted. This will be given at the 2010 value of the unit being exempted. This will not affect your total credit however. Any points not allocated as specific credit (exemptions) will remain as general credit to make up the total amount of your credit for previous study.

Provided that:

• the unit is outside your home department or the area in which you are doing your qualifying major, and
• is not a required unit for your degree,

it can be used to satisfy the people (or planet) requirement for your degree.

Provided that:

You should make yourself familiar with the Undergraduate Rules. They are published in the Calendar of Governance. Rules may be amended from time to time, and these amendments will be published on the University's website, and in each case the information contained on the website supersedes the information in the printed Calendar of Governance.

No. A review of postgraduate programs is beginning now, but there are no changes for current students at the moment.