UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY LAW SCHOOL
RESOLUTIONS: COURSEWORK
AWARDS
These resolutions apply to all undergraduate and postgraduate coursework award
courses in the University of Sydney Law School, unless specifically indicated otherwise.
Students enrolled in postgraduate research awards should consult the resolutions for
their course.
These resolutions must be read in conjunction with applicable University By-laws, Rules
and policies including (but not limited to) the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule
2014 (the ‘Coursework Rule’); resolutions for the course of enrolment; the Coursework
Policy 2021 (the ‘Coursework Policy’); the Learning and Teaching Policy 2019; the
University of Sydney (Student Academic Appeals) Rule 2021, the Academic Honesty in
Coursework Policy 2015; and the Academic Honesty Procedures 2016.
Current versions of all policies are available from the Policy Register:
http://www.sydney.edu.au/policies
In the context of these resolutions, ‘postgraduate’ refers to Advanced Learning and
Professional Master’s degrees and Graduate Diplomas. It does not refer to the Juris
Doctor which is identified by name where appropriate.
PART 1 : COURSE ENROLMENT
1 Enrolment restrictions
(1) A student is expected to enrol in units of study with a total value of no more than 24
credit points per semester. A student should seek advice from the Associate Dean
before enrolling in more than 24 credit points per semester.
(2) Units of study in excess of a student’s award course requirements will be taken on
a full fee, non-award basis. The results from these non-award units will not be
included in the calculation of the WAM.
2 Time limits
(1) A student must complete all requirements for a master’s degree within six calendar
years from first enrolment. Part time students should ensure their enrolment
pattern allows completion within the maximum time.
(2) A student must complete all requirements for a graduate diploma within three
calendar years from first enrolment. Part time students should ensure their
enrolment pattern allows completion within the maximum time.
(3) A student must complete all requirements for the Juris Doctor degree within ten
calendar years from first enrolment.
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(4) A student must complete all requirements for a bachelor’s degree (including
combined degrees) within ten calendar years from first enrolment.
(5) Periods of suspension, exclusion or lapsed candidature will be added to maximum
completion times except that no completion time will exceed 10 years from first
enrolment.
(6) Credit will not be granted for previous studies older than 10 years at the time of first
enrolment.
(7) If a postgraduate student is admitted with credit, the School will determine a
reduced time for completion of the award course.
3 Suspension, discontinuation and termination of candidature
The Coursework Policy specifies the conditions for suspending or discontinuing
candidature, and return to candidature after these events. The Coursework Policy also
defines the circumstances when candidature is terminated. Students should pay careful
attention to the significant dates in these processes and their effect on results and
financial liability. Students should refer to the relevant course resolutions for further detail
on the criteria for approving suspensions of candidature.
4 Credit for previous study
(1) The Coursework Policy specifies the general conditions for the granting of credit for
previous study towards courses in this School. Advice for the granting of credit for
undergraduate courses and the Juris Doctor can be found in the relevant course
resolutions. Postgraduate students may apply for credit for units of study
completed outside the School. Previous study may include study competed prior
to enrolment. The Program Director may grant such credit on the following
conditions:
(a) Postgraduate students must complete at least 50% of their course
requirements from units of study listed in the table of units specified for their
course.
(b) Where students outside the University of Sydney Law School are permitted
to transfer their enrolment to a postgraduate course in the University of
Sydney Law School, the Program Director may grant credit for previous
studies up to 50% of the requirements of their course.
(c) Subject to paragraph (a), the Head of School and Dean may permit
postgraduate students to satisfy up to 25% of their course requirements from
units of study previously completed in the School on a non-award basis.
The value of credit may not exceed 25% of the student’s course
requirements.
(d) Credit will not be given for units of study which are or have been credited
towards the award of another course, except:
(i) postgraduate students who have graduated with a graduate diploma
previously awarded by the University of Sydney Law School, may
apply to have relevant units from the graduate diploma credited
towards a master’s degree in the University of Sydney Law School;
and
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(ii) postgraduate students who are Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor
graduates or graduands of the University of Sydney and who have
competed Sydney Law School LAWS6000/JURS6000 as part of their
Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor courses, may apply to have up to 12
credit points of such units of study credited towards a Graduate
Diploma in Law and 24 credit points towards a Master of Laws.
(e) Postgraduate students may not enrol in units of study for credit to a course
which are, in the opinion of the Program Director, substantially similar to
other units of study for which credit has been given.
(f) The subject matter of the units of study for which credit is sought must, in the
opinion of the Program Director, be sufficiently relevant to the course of
study in which the student is currently enrolled.
(g) Credit may not be given for previous or current work which takes the form of
a supervised or unsupervised independent research project. However, this
provision does not apply to a coursework unit that is assessed partly or
wholly by a research paper.
(h) Postgraduate students who are given such credit are not thereby exempted
from fulfilling the requirements for that award course, including the
completion of any compulsory units that currently apply.
PART 2: UNIT OF STUDY ENROLMENT
5 Details on units of study
(1) All units will be offered as either one semester in duration or in intensive mode. An
undergraduate unit and a Juris Doctor unit will require 39 hours of tuition for core
units and between 26 and 39 hours for electives, and a postgraduate units will
require approximately 26 hours of tuition.
(2) Undergraduate and Juris Doctor students must satisfy the Jurisprudence
requirement of their award courses by successfully completing an elective from the
relevant Jurisprudence table (Part 2 of the Undergraduate Table and Part C of the
Juris Doctor Table). A unit is included in the Jurisprudence tables if theoretical
reflection on law as such is its primary goal.
6 Postgraduate students enrolling in units of study other than
those specified for their course
(1) Subject to paragraph (b), the Associate Dean may permit postgraduate students to
satisfy up to 25% of their course requirements from units of study within the
University of Sydney Law School but outside the table of units specified for their
course, subject to the student demonstrating:
(a) that they have the relevant academic or professional background to
undertake the unit(s);
(b) the relevance of the units to their studies.
(2) Postgraduate students must complete at least 50% of their course requirements
from units of study listed in the table of units specified for their course.
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7 Postgraduate students enrolling in Juris Doctor units of study
(1) Postgraduate students may, with the permission of the Associate Dean, enrol in
one designated Juris Doctor unit for credit towards the elective requirements of
their award course subject to the following conditions:
(a) The unit of study would enhance their area of specialisation or otherwise
contribute to their program of postgraduate learning. Approval will not be
granted where a suitable unit is taught within the postgraduate program.
(b) Students may not enrol in the unit of study, Foundations of Law, or
equivalent unit.
(2) Students will be required to comply with any alternative assessment requirements
imposed (normally including a research paper representing no less than 60% of the
assessment requirements for the unit of study).
8 Cross-institutional study
(1) The Program Director may permit a student to complete a unit of study at another
recognised institution and have that unit credited to the student’s course
requirements. Cross-institutional study is available subject to the following terms,
unless specified in the course resolutions:
(a) the unit of study is not used to satisfy any compulsory requirement; and
(b) the unit of study content is not taught in any corresponding elective unit of
study in the School; or
(c) the student is unable, for good reason, to attend a corresponding unit of
study in the School; and
(d) the unit of study is taught in English at the required level and offered as part
of an equivalent award course at the other institution; and
(e) the unit of study has similar assessment and workload requirements to units
offered by the School; and
(f) the results from the cross-institutional unit(s) will not be included in the
calculation of a student’s WAM.
9 International exchange mobility
(1) The School encourages undergraduate and Juris Doctor students to participate in
exchange mobility.
(2) The following conditions apply:
(a) Candidates must complete 96 credit points of law units for the Bachelor of
Laws and Juris Doctor at the University of Sydney Law School, and
therefore eligibility for exchange mobility for these degrees depends on the
amount of credit granted for previous study and cross-institutional study.
(b) The credit provisions under the relevant course resolutions apply to units of
study undertaken on exchange mobility for a Bachelor of Laws or Juris
Doctor degree.
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(c) Students are only eligible to undertake law units on exchange mobility for a
Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor if they have completed 96 credit points of
their degree, and have no more than three core units outstanding (including
LAWS2018/ LAWS5017 Private International Law A);
(d) Students are not permitted to undertake more than one semester on law
exchange mobility;
(e) Students are not permitted to undertake any of their compulsory
requirements, including jurisprudence, on law exchange mobility;
(f) Results from the exchange mobility will not be included in the calculation of a
student’s WAM.
(3) These provisions do not apply to exchange mobility for Combined Law students in
relation to units undertaken for their first degree combined with the Bachelor of
Laws.
PART 3: STUDYING AND ASSESSMENT
10 Assessment guidelines
(1) Undergraduate:
(a) The assessment regime of each unit of study will include more than one
form of assessment, or at least the option of a second form of assessment.
(b) The total number of assessable words for a unit of study assessed by
assignment and/ or take home exams is 6000 words.
(c) Sit down exams should not exceed 2 hours, unless a longer time has been
approved by the Associate Dean.
(d) “Free form” class participation must not amount to more than 10% of the
total assessment, but “structured class participation” may be weighted more
heavily. A mark will not be assigned for free form class participation where
the class size exceeds 25.
(e) Jointly assessed work must be approved by the Associate Dean and must
not exceed 30% of the total assessment.
(2) Juris Doctor
(a) The assessment regime of each unit of study will include more than one
form of assessment, or at least the option of a second form of assessment.
(b) The total number of assessable words for a unit of study assessed by
assignment and/ or take home exams is 6000 words.
(c) Sit down exams should not exceed 2 hours, unless a longer time has been
approved by the Associate Dean.
(d) “Free form” class participation must not amount to more than 10% of the
total assessment, but “structured class participation” may be weighted more
heavily. A mark will not be assigned for free form class participation where
the class size exceeds 25.
(e) Jointly assessed work must be approved by the Associate Dean and must
not exceed 30% of the total assessment.
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(3) Postgraduate:
(a) The assessment regime of each unit of study will include more than one
form of assessment, or at least the option of a second form of assessment.
(b) The total number of assessable words for a unit of study assessed by
submitted work is 8000 words.
(c) Sit down exams should not exceed 2 hours, unless a longer time has been
approved by the Associate Dean.
(d) “Free form” class participation must not amount to more than 10% of the
total assessment, but “structured class participation” may be weighted more
heavily. A mark will not be assigned for free form class participation where
the class size exceeds 25.
(e) Jointly assessed work must be approved by the Associate Dean and must
not exceed 30% of the total assessment.
11 Attendance
(1) The Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor are delivered in person and students are
required to attend classes in person.
(2) Students are required to attend a minimum of 70% of timetabled activities for a unit
of study. Participation in a minimum number of assessment items or days of class
may be included in the requirements specified for a unit of study. Students who fail
to meet these requirements may be excluded from sitting the final examination
because of unsatisfactory attendance unless granted an exemption by the unit of
study coordinator.
(3) In the case of serious illness, injury or misadventure, a student may apply for
special consideration subject to the student meeting all assessment requirements
and providing satisfactory supporting documentation.
(4) Students are expected to be in attendance at the correct time and place of any
formal or informal examinations. Non-attendance on any grounds insufficient to
claim special consideration will result in the forfeiture of marks associated with the
assessment.
12 Late submission policy
(1) It is expected that, unless an application for special consideration has been
approved, students will submit all assessment for a unit of study on the due date
specified. If an extension has been granted and the assessment is submitted
within the period of extension, no academic penalty will be applied to that
assessment task.
(2) If an extension is either not sought, not granted or is granted but work is submitted
after the extended due date, the relevant lecturer may not accept the work. A
retrospective extension will only be granted in special circumstances, and will take
into account not only the reasons why the work was late, but also why the request
was late.
(3) The following penalty applies, unless a different regime is set out in the unit outline:
The late submission of an assessment which has not been granted an
extension will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks allocated to that
assessment per calendar day or part thereof.
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(4) All penalties will be enforced as consistently as possible. If the application of the
penalty is to result in an overall fail grade for a unit of study, lecturers retain
discretion to review the whole of a student’s performance and all of the
circumstances in deciding whether or not to award a bare pass. Lecturers may set
a deadline after which no work will be accepted, which is normally the date they
intend to return the marked assessment to students.
13 Word limit policy
(1) Where a written assessment has a word limit, the word limit excludes all footnotes
and any bibliography (if required) unless an alternative requirement is expressed in
the unit of study outline.
(2) An assessment which exceeds the word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the
total marks allocated to that assessment for every 100 words (or part thereof) over
the limit unless an alternative requirement is expressed in the unit of study outline.
14 Special consideration, special arrangement and disability
adjustment
(1) Special consideration, special arrangement and disability adjustment are
processes that afford equal opportunity to students who have experienced
circumstances that adversely impact their ability to complete an assessment task in
a unit of study. The Coursework Policy provides full details of the University policy.
(2) The School’s policies and procedures for applying for these processes are
described on the School website and in unit of study outlines.
(a) When a student experiences serious illness, injury, or misadventure that
affects their ability to participate in assessment items, they may complete an
application for special consideration. When the circumstances are so severe
as to make completion of the unit(s) of study impossible, it may be more
appropriate for the student to apply to discontinue from the units with
permission.
(3) If a student disagrees with the outcome of an application for special consideration,
special arrangement or disability adjustment they should follow the steps set out in
the policy for appeals against academic decisions.
15 Re-assessment
(1) The School does not offer opportunities for re-assessment other than on the
grounds of approved special consideration. However, at the discretion of the
Associate Dean, an undergraduate or Juris Doctor student may be offered a
supplementary exam if they have met all of the following conditions:
(a) the student has failed no more than one unit of study; and
(b) the unit is a compulsory unit of study; and
(c) the unit of study was undertaken in what would otherwise be the student’s
final semester.
(2) All supplementary exams will be taken within two weeks of the release of marks.
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PART 4: PROGRESSION, RESULTS AND GRADUATION
16 Satisfactory progress
(1) The School will monitor students for satisfactory progress towards the completion
of their award course. Under the University’s Coursework Policy, the School aims
to identify students at academic risk, alert them to their status, provide assistance
to these students, and track their progress once identified.
(2) In this School, a student enrolled in an award course administered by the
University of Sydney Law School will be deemed not to have made satisfactory
progress in any semester for any of the following reasons:
(a)
(i) where the student is enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor
degree: the student successfully completes only 50 percent or less of
the credit points for which they were enrolled at the relevant census
date; and
(ii) for all other students: the student successfully completes less than 50
per cent of the credit points for which they were enrolled at the
relevant census date;
(b) they fail a unit of study more than once;
(c) they achieve an average mark of less than 50 for all law units undertaken;
(d) they fail to meet progression requirements as listed in the course
resolutions.
17 Weighted Average Mark (WAM)
(1) The Weighted Average Mark is used by the University as one indicator of
performance. In this School the University WAM is used to determine eligibility for
prizes and scholarships; admission to honours; and to calculate a final graduating
rank for undergraduate and Juris Doctor students.
(2) The WAM is calculated on results obtained at the University of Sydney only. Units
which have been credited from other law schools, or units undertaken on a student
exchange program, will not be included in the WAM calculation.
(3) The University WAM is calculated using the following formula:
WAM =
sum(Wc x Mc)
sum(Wc)
Where Wc is the unit of study credit points x the unit weighting and Mc is the mark
achieved for the unit. Units of study with a result of Absent Fail (AF) or Discontinue
– Fail (DF) are assigned a mark of zero, for the purpose of WAM calculation. Units
of study assessed on a pass/ fail basis are not counted.
(4) The weight of a unit of study is assigned by the owning Faculty or School. In this
School units are weighted with a value of one.
