Being Excluded From Your Program / Appealing your exclusion.
Download Being Excluded pdf file here
Being recommended for exclusion from your Program is no joke. If you do not act, you will lose your place in the Program. If you are an International student, exclusion will also lead to action by the Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC) to cancel your visa and force you to leave Australia. The good news is that many students who appeal against exclusion are successful and complete their studies.
Recent Changes to Exclusion Policy
In 2007 RMIT is introducing changes to the appeals process for students who are recommended for exclusion. These changes affect the rights of all students facing exclusion by making it more difficult to appeal. If you would like to work with others to try and win back your avenues for appeal and help other students, ask the Student Union how to become involved in the campaign.
Have you received a letter from your Department stating that:
‘You have been recommended for exclusion from your Program’?
Exclusion means you are unable to return to your Program for one year because your current academic progress has been unsatisfactory. You will only be allowed to return for the following year if your Head of Department or School or Program Director agrees.
Appealing Your Results
Did you fail any subject you believe you should have passed? You may be recommended for exclusion because you failed 40%+ of your course load, or you failed a subject for the second time. Before appealing against a recommendation to exclude you, it might be possible to appeal against assessment results. If this is the case, you should first appeal to the Student Progress Committee or, if you satisfy the formal grounds of appeal to the Portfolio Appeals Committee. You have 20 workings days after the official release of results in order to do this. For more information, see http://www.su.rmit.edu.au/rights/appeal.html.
Appealing the Exclusion Recommendation
It is your right to appeal against your Exclusion recommendation. Each year the Student Union assists dozens of students to successfully appeal against Exclusion. If you do not appeal your Exclusion recommendation, exclusion will be automatic.
You can only be excluded if RMIT has followed the correct procedures
Every year schools and Portfolios in RMIT make mistakes and some students are recommended for exclusion without their school having gone through the correct procedure. This is why it’s important to understand the procedures and challenge exclusion recommendations if you wish to stay in your program.
Exclusion Can Only Occur After You Have Been Declared to have Unsatisfactory Academic Progress for two semesters
You should have been officially placed “At Risk” and invited to attend a meeting with the Student Progress Committee in your school to discuss your academic progress and formulate an Academic Improvement Plan at the preliminary stage. Note that these two semesters no longer have to be consecutive, except for students who are recommended for exclusion for academic progress in 2007. If you do not meet any of these criteria, the school technically cannot place you ‘At Risk’
After RMIT changed its policy in 2007, there are new criteria for Unsatisfactory Academic Performance, which are the same criteria for being placed “At Risk”.
* Failure to satisfactorily complete 40%+ of enrolled course load in a semester
* Failure of a course for a second time
* Failure to meet the conditions of an Academic Improvement Plan
* Current progress will not enable you to complete the program in the maximum time. (Maximum time is the normal duration of your Program, plus 50 per cent extra time.)
* Failure to meet progress requirements set out in the ESOS Act or other legislation that affects your student visa.
* For vocational courses, deemed “not yet competent” in a module or course
* For trainees/ apprentices, failure to meet timeline in the training plan.
* Attended less than 80% of scheduled contact hours.
(See the Student Rights ‘At Risk’ flyer for more details).
Re-enrolment
You must enroll for the next year if you intend to appeal against the exclusion recommendation. The RMIT Staff Enrolment Guide states “Students awaiting the outcome of appeals against results, or appeals against exclusion must be permitted to re-enroll, subject to the outcome of their appeal”. If you do have problems on re-enrolment day, contact a Student Rights Officer, your Program Coordinator or Head of School immediately. If you do not re-enroll you may lose your place regardless of the outcome of your appeal.
How Do I Appeal My Exclusion Recommendation?
If you haven’t already been to see a Student Rights Officer, contact the Student Union to book into a workshop on how to appeal your exclusion.
1. “Show Cause” to the Student Progress Committee in your School
The Student Progress Committee will ask you to ‘show cause’ in writing. See the Student Rights flyer on ‘How to Write a Letter’. Write a letter outlining why you believe you should be able to stay in your program. In your appeal letter include:
* What the problems have been during the semester you were ‘At Risk’.
* What you have done or plan to do about these problems.
* How you plan to study successfully in future.
* What support you will get to help you through any ongoing problems
* If there are issues you need to resolve with RMIT, state what you need RMIT to do to resolve them (for example you might need improved support for a disability, or for an incorrect result to be amended).
Questions to ask yourself when writing your appeal letter...
* What problems have got in the way of my academic success this year or in the past couple of years?
* When I attended my Academic Progress meetings, did the Department or School ever refer me to Student Services or give me advice about my studies? (If not, this is a problem. RMIT has a legal responsibility towards international students to do this). If I did not go, why not, and would I go now?
* What can I do to help myself stay in this Program?
* What can I do to prove to the Department that I do want to stay in this Program?
* Am I in the wrong Program?
Collect all necessary documents to support your case.
Always keep the originals of important documents and only submit photocopies in your application. Get letters of support from family members, friends or counsellors, medical certificates from doctors, your Special Consideration application(s), police reports or letters from anyone else who can explain how any personal problems have affected your ability to study. Think about how you can document any change in approach to your studies, for instance by contacting the Study and Learning Centre. The Student Union can help you to gather the necessary information and paperwork to give your appeal a better chance of success.
If your appeal to the Student Progress Committee is successful, then you have escaped exclusion and can return to your Program. You will be sent an email explaining what to do about your enrolment for the next year and outlining the recommendations the Committee made about your enrolment - for example: meetings you should have with
your Program Coordinator, seeking support from the RMIT Study and Learning Centre.
2. If this is not successful, you will need to appeal to the University Appeals Committee.
It is highly advisable to seek the support of a Student Rights Officer at this stage. You will receive notification from RMIT’s Academic Registrar’s Office that you are being recommended for exclusion. Fill in the “Application to Appeal to University Appeals
Committee” form. You have twenty (20) working days to lodge appeal applications to the UAC after receiving the Exclusion letter, and your appeal will be heard within twenty working days of lodging your application. The application form is available on the RMIT Student Union homepage http://www.su.rmit.edu.au/rights/appeal.html.
You must attach your appeal letter and other documents at the time you send in the form.
A student may appeal against a decision to exclude on one or more of the following grounds:
(a) There is evidence that the decision was made on the basis of personal bias or ill will; and/or
(b) There was a breach of this policy or another relevant University Statute or Regulation in the handling of the exclusion process; and/or
(c) There is evidence that the penalty of exclusion is unreasonable, excessive or inappropriate; and/or
(d) There is new, relevant evidence that was not available at the time the student was required to show cause why they should not be excluded.
Be careful with how you word your appeal letter because the University is introducing a new screening process that aims to weed out appeal applicants who don’t meet the grounds.
Lodge your appeal application, appeal letter and all supporting documentation with the Academic Registrar’s Office. Remember to check your student email regularly as changes to policy mean that RMIT will now no longer be obliged to notify students via mail.
3. Preparing for your University appeal
The Committee must give you at least five (5) working days notice of the venue, date and time of your hearing. Tell a Student Rights Officer as soon as you have these details.
Prepare a statement of how you will present your case. When preparing, keep in mind that the University Appeals Committee need to be convinced by you that you will be able to succeed in your studies if they uphold your appeal. Be prepared for questions about your study habits, workload outside of university, and number of hours you spend studying. It is highly advisable that you go to your own hearing and are not on holidays on the date of your appeal.
You have the right to be represented by another person such as a Student Rights Officer. You can also take witnesses or an interpreter if necessary. It is highly advisable that you seek the Student Union’s support. The role of the Student Rights Officer is to support you and empower you to win your own case. They can assist you to present your case if you do not feel confident or if there are breaches of policy that require complex interpretation.
Discussion about your case and decision making will happen ‘in camera’ meaning that you and the School representative won’t be in the room when the
Committee makes its decision about your appeal.
What Happens If I Am Excluded?
* You are only excluded from a particular Program/ Programs therefore you can apply for admission to other Programs at RMIT or elsewhere.
* You are only excluded from your Program(s) for 12 months.
* After 12 months you are not automatically readmitted. During your ‘excluded’ year you should make an appointment with your Head of Department (around August) to discuss readmission. She/he normally has the final say, but a Student Rights Officer may be able to assist you in this process.
International Students
As we said above it is a condition of student visas that you maintain satisfactory progress- so if you are excluded, the Immigration Department will take this as proof that you have not met a visa condition. This means your visa will be cancelled. We strongly recommend that if exclusion gets to the stage of being reported to the Department of Immigration, you seek expert advice from a migration agent, and contact International Student Information and Support (ISIS). In many cases things do not have to get to this stage, and there are many excellent strategies available for resolving your problems within RMIT.
If you are an international student:
* Lodge an appeal so that you have a chance to resolve your problems with RMIT and
* Make sure that you see a Student Rights Officer for expert help and advice about your case.
TAFE Students
Due to recent changes in RMIT policy in 2007, there are now certain criteria that relate specifically to the exclusion of TAFE students. TAFE students specifically need to know about the ‘At Risk’ criteria relating to attendance, competency and timelines (outlined above).
Free & Confidential Student Services
These are central City numbers - advise the person which campus you are from.
Counselling 9925 4365
Campus Nurse Service 9925 2297
Careers & Employment 9925 2078
Housing Advisory Unit 9925 2963
Disability Liaison Unit 9925 1089
TTY 9925 3673
Study and learning Centre 9925 3600
Student Complaints Manager 9925 5292
International Student Information and Support
9925 2963
Check out the HUB on your campus for additional drop in times.
Secretary, University Appeals Committee
Kerri Vienna
9925 8964
kerri.vienna@rmit.edu.au
Building: 88
Level: 8
Important Policies and Procedures
Academic Progress and Appeals
University Appeals Regulation 5.4.4 – The University Appeals Committee
Other Useful Student Rights Leaflets
Appeals against Assessment
Being At Risk
International Students
How to Defer or take a Leave of Absence.
How to write a letter
Disclaimer: The information on this website is a general guide only. RMIT is a very complex
environment, and there are often a number of different rules which apply.
For Additional Assistance drop into a Student Union Front Office to speak with a Student Liaison Officer:
City Higher Ed: Building 8, Level 3, ph. 9925 5004
Tivoli (Business): Building 108, Level 3, ph. 9925 5647
Carlton Campus: Building 57, Level 4, ph. 9925 4769
Brunswick: Building 514, Level 2, ph. 9925 9478
Bundoora students can book an appointment with a Student Rights Officer at Building 202, Level 2, ph. 9925 7226
Or send detailed information regarding your case to student.rights@rmit.edu.au
Any enquiries, call 9925 5004
If required, an appointment will be made for you with a Student Rights Officer
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