2020 Transitions

No. With the transition into the new course structures, no credit earned will be removed from students’ transcript. All units completed will continue to contribute towards your continuing course under the new structure.

Since the course codes reported to the Department of Education are changing in 2020 given the new structure of the courses, we are not able to transfer your Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (ECAF) from your current course to the new structure.

What this means is that from 2020 onward, the next time you enrol in a unit, if you wish to receive a FEE-HELP loan for your course (either for the first time or continuing), you MUST complete a new ECAF before the census date of your next unit in 2020 or beyond. You will only need to do this process once, not for every single unit. But you will need to do it for the first unit you take and want a FEE-HELP loan for your course in 2020 or beyond.

We do not anticipate any changes to student payments due to the restructure of courses.

It is your obligation to report any changes in your enrolment in a course to the Department of Human Services. Some students may find themselves in a position of completing their course sooner than initially expected due to the changes in the course structure (such as Diploma and Advanced Diploma Pathway 1 students may be). Those students are required to report the completion of their course to DHS to avoid overpayment and possible penalties for not reporting that their course has been completed.

Students who are transferring from one course to a different course in 2020 are required to inform DHS of their change of enrolment. All courses at levels 5-8 are approved for student payments. Courses at level 9 (masters) approved for student payments include:

• Master of Ministry
• Master of Divinity
• Master of Divinity / Graduate Diploma of Divinity
• Master of Arts (Ministry)
• Master of Arts (Theology)
• Master of Missional Leadership
• Master of Theological Studies

None of the courses are longer than previous structures. In fact, several courses (diplomas and advanced diplomas) are shortening in length. The credit point system is changing, so that a full-time year is weighted at 96 credit points, rather than 32 credit points. This means that a unit worth one eighth of a full-time yearly load will be weighted at 12 credit points, rather than 4 credit points.

No. The discontinuation of the 2019 “6 credit point units” in 2020 would mean that students enrolled in some courses would have to complete a greater number of units to meet the overall credit points for their course. However, the Academic Board has approved special transition arrangements for existing students in those courses. See below for specific transition arrangements for existing students.

Tuition fees continue to be set on an annual basis, and adjusted to the cost of delivery of courses. With the increase in the number of credit points for a full-time year, the cost per credit point was reduced. 2019 standard tuition fees for coursework students were $18,240 per full-time yearly student load. 2020 standard tuition fees for coursework students are set at $19,200 per full-time yearly student load. More information about tuition fees is available here.

All coursework students in courses other than Pathway 1 Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas will have their current candidature expiry date continued into the new structures.

Students currently enrolled in Pathway 1 Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas, which currently have no candidature expiry date, will have a candidature end date imposed. The date will be such that students will have a long enough candidature period to complete one unit per semester in order to complete their course, plus one additional semester of candidature.

A list of existing 2019 units, and the nearest 2020 unit match, is available here.

The credit point value, unit level, and unit field of all units (including past units) is outlined on your transcript. Most course structures don’t require a large number of specified units – courses mostly require the completion of a certain number of credit points within particular unit fields, sometimes at particular levels of study. The change in unit codes does not impact the ability to do this.

The units which are most commonly specified for the completion of courses, and their past equivalent unit match, are outlined below for convenience:

Old Testament

• Old Testament Foundations, OT001-512. Past equivalent substitute units: OT201, OT301
• Old Testament Foundations, OT001-712. Past equivalent substitute unit: OT501
• Old Testament Prophets and Writings, OT002-512. Past equivalent substitute units: OT202, OT302.
• Old Testament Prophets and Writings, OT002-712. Past equivalent substitute unit: OT502.

New Testament

• Jesus and the Gospels, NT001-512. Past equivalent substitute units: NT201, NT301
• Jesus and the Gospels, NT001-712. Past equivalent substitute unit: NT501
• The Early New Testament Church, NT002-512. Past equivalent substitute units: NT202, NT302
• The Early New Testament Church, NT002-712. Past equivalent substitute unit: NT502.

Biblical Studies

• Introduction to Biblical Theology, BB001-512. Past equivalent substitute units: BB205, BB301.
• Introduction to Biblical Theology, BB001-712. Past equivalent substitute unit: BB501.
• Biblical Theology and Interpretation, BB002-512. Past equivalent substitute unit: BB306.
• Biblical Theology and Interpretation, BB002-712. Past equivalent substitute unit: BB506.
• Principles of Hermeneutics, BB003-512. Past equivalent substitute units: BB203, BB303.
• Principles of Hermeneutics, BB003-712. Past equivalent substitute units: BB503.