Frequently Asked Questions: Australian Institutions

Southern Cross University Sydney, Melbourne & Perth Campuses
CIC Higher Education

Southern Cross University Sydney, Melbourne & Perth Campuses

Teaching for the current semester is delivered fully online, but the campus remains open for resources.

All class material including lecture presentations, tutorial exercises, readings, assessments and assessment guides are available via the SCU Learning Management Systems (LMS) called ‘My SCU’. Students can access these materials irrespective of time and location.

Lectures are delivered online live (the lecturer contacts students with the time and day of the class being held). The lectures are also recorded, which means students can access them at any time via ‘My SCU’. Tutorials are scheduled as per campus timetable. Students will be notified in advance with a copy of the timetable so that they can attend tutorials online. Tutors will contact students with information on the time and day of tutorials.

All Career Edge Internship program sessions will be delivered online via Zoom. Students will need to register and attend these sessions. They are not recorded. This is because the sessions are interactive and require student engagement.

The programs offered by Southern Cross University are accredited by the relevant regulatory and professional bodies. The online units on offer are identical in terms of structure, content, and assessment rigour to other modes of study.

Units often have a major assessment at the end of the academic term. Some subjects have essays, report or project, whilst others have a final exam. The current model of assessment for units that are delivered online comprise online tests, online quizzes and online exams. Your lecturer provides you with information concerning the structure of the online exam before the end of the academic term.

University policy determines the standard class duration. Most subjects have the same length of contact hours per week. We fully adhere to the university policy on contact hours. Not all units (subjects) have the same number of contact hours. Generally, a subject has 60 minutes of lecture and 120 minutes of tutorial per week. Each session is 13 weeks. Therefore, students attend an average of 40 hours per subject per academic session (term).

 

Online lectures run live and are also recorded (for future reference and revision) on MY SCU. Students can access the recorded lectures any time they need by accessing their MY SCU. Tutorials will run live (per the campus timetable) via Zoom or Ultra. Tutorials will be recorded as well. Tutorial recordings will only be provided to students with disrupted or zero Internet access. When scheduling timetables, the time difference between campuses and the students’ location will be considered to ensure there is viable flexibility in-class delivery.

The next intake will be in November 2020.

Session 3, 2020 will be offered online.

Yes. Please contact your local EduCo representative to place this request.

There are no changes to requirements at this time.

If a student is unable to provide official academic (or other) documents due to the COVID-19 lockdown in place in his/her country, we will accept unofficial documents or screenshots and will issue a conditional offer based on these documents. At a minimum, the unofficial document must show the student’s name and (if it is an academic document) the name of the course he/she is studying and the results for each unit he/she has been enrolled in. Offshore students (i.e. out of Australia) will be required to provide the original documents before we can issue a CoE. Onshore students (i.e already in Australia) will be allowed to enrol on the condition that they provide the official documents prior to the semester census date (approximately 4 weeks after commencement).

Yes. Students can attend courses online. Admissions is ready to assist students with the registration process.

Yes. The cost of studying online is the same as that of studying on campus.

All students are required to accept their offer and make payment prior to being able to enrol and commence online.

Total indicative course fees are clearly displayed on the letter of offer. The deposit required will be based on the number of units the student intends to study online and will also be indicated in the letter of offer. Payment plans are available to students to pay a balance (should not be more than 50% of fees owing) of fees by the census date (week 4) or later by arrangement.

Australia’s borders are currently closed to foreign nationals. Any changes and developments will depend on Government advice. We will need to follow all directives from the Department of Home Affairs, Department of Health and other Government agencies.

There is no visa requirement, but students will be assessed for GTE upon application. Redacted documentation requirements regarding certified documents.

Students are not required a COE or a visa to commence courses online. A CoE is only required when a student intends to apply for a visa to come onshore to continue studying in Australia.

The University is unable to make any guarantees about visa grant. Decisions on visa grant are at the sole discretion of the Department of Home Affairs and the University does not influence an outcome. The University will provide students with a written statement detailing any units studied and completed online, which students can then use as evidence of meeting the Genuine Temporary Entrant criteria when an application for a student visa is made.

The student may revert to study online with SCU through the Online arm of SCU Main Campus, who will be responsible for the provision of all aligned services to that student.

Click here for a complete list.

Both academic entry and GTE requirements remain the same. However, we understand that there may be a delay obtaining some of the required GTE documents. In such cases, students will be issued a conditional offer and the CoE once conditions of the offer are met.

GTE assessment will remain unchanged except that we will provide additional time for you to provide some evidentiary documents such as financial statements and employment letters, etc. Students will be required to meet minimum GTE requirements prior to commencing online. A CoE will be issued for session three as it is hoped that COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted by that time. The CoE will be conditional upon providing any outstanding documentation (such as financial statements, employment letters etc.), so students will pass GTE requirements upon provision of these outstanding documents.

GTE is assessed prior to an offer being made.

The Department of Home Affairs accepts only approved English Language Tests for the purpose of visa applications. Any alternative forms of English language testing that may, from time to time, be approved by the University may not meet the requirements of the Department of Home Affairs. We suggest that students check the Department’s Document Checklist Tool (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/web-evidentiary-tool) to ascertain whether or not they are required to provide evidence of English language proficiency and the acceptable tests.

The University has implemented a trial period of the Duolingo English Language Test as an alternative English Language Test. This trial period will be in place from Session 2, 2020 through to the end of Session 1, 2021. Students from EL1 and EL2 countries will be able to provide an official Duolingo test result to meet the University’s English Language requirement during this trial period. Students from EL3 countries are not eligible as this test is not recognised for visa purposes.

ELICOS students who intend to study through one of our preferred study partners will be able to undertake their ELICOS study online.

Students who commence a course online and complete units will be eligible for an official transcript from the university. Students will not be eligible for a completion letter as this only applies to the completion of a course.

Students who wish to apply for the subclass 485 Post Study Work Visa are required to meet the Australian Study Requirement. To meet the Australian Study Requirement, students must have completed either of the following prior to making an application for a Post Study Work Visa:
• a single eligible qualification that requires at least 2 academic years study, or
• more than 1 qualification that results in a total of at least 2 academic years study resulting in an eligible qualification.

Students must have completed their study in Australia, in a total of no less than 16 calendar months, while they held a visa authorising them to study.

Students must also meet the 2-year study requirement.

Two academic years of study equals 92 weeks that contribute towards 1 or more acceptable qualifications.

Two academic years study, or 92 weeks of registered study, is based on the duration of the course as registered by CRICOS.

Students can take longer to complete their course, but they will only be credited with the number of weeks that CRICOS determines as the standard duration. For example, if students take 92 weeks to successfully complete a course that CRICOS says should take 78 weeks, they will only receive credit for 78 weeks.

Only subjects successfully completed count toward the 2 academic years. Students cannot include failed subjects.

VIP agents will receive commission at the usual time, via the usual process for students who enrol using the online option whilst still in their home country. If the student subsequently receives a visa refusal, the agent will provide a credit note for the value of the commission paid against that student. Non-VIP agents will have their commission postponed to the session where the student physically enrols in the campus.

Where a student chooses not to enrol on campus once the online offshore option is removed, the agent will be able to claim/keep the commission paid but the student will not receive a refund.

Agents will be eligible for commission at their current agreed rate.

CIC Higher Education

Teaching for the current term is delivered fully online.

The next intakes are:

  • 11 January 2021

CIC has announced that they will allow for some offshore students to commence their studies online until such time international borders are open. For more information on the application & admissions process, visit here.

For any student offshore the January 2021 intake will be delivered online. For students onshore CIC will following Victorian Government and Health authority guidelines, and will only re-reopen the Campus if safe to do so.  For more information, please visit our COVID resources page here.

Yes. Please contact your local EduCo representative to place this request.

There are no changes at this time. Please check back for updates.

Yes! Offshore international students are allowed to commence their studies online in the January 2021 intake. Please see here for the application & admissions process.

Yes. The cost of studying online is the same as that of studying on campus however, please check back for updates.

Australia’s borders are currently closed to foreign nationals.

Yes, in order to commence studies online, the international offshore student must have gained a visa.

Click here for a complete list.