We understand that choosing to study for a bachelor’s degree is a big decision and can seem overwhelming. As such, we’ve provided a glossary to some common university terms that you may come across:

Award: A qualification that will be conferred on a student upon successful completion of an award program.

Bachelor degree: A bachelor degree gives you the theoretical and practical knowledge and skills for professional work. Bachelor degrees are considered undergraduate qualifications, and in Australia are considered Level 7 under the Australian Qualifications Framework.

Capstone: A final course until that you must complete at the end of your program. This practically based capstone course integrates outcomes of your self-directed journey and is where you will complete your employer-ready portfolio.

Census: This is your key enrolment and HELP loan application deadline. It’s important because if you miss the census date you might have to pay for study that you don’t want or need to do

Course: A unit of study with specified learning outcomes that may be a component of a program. A course is generally 12 credit points.

Course coordinator: Your course coordinator ensures your course is run to the highest standard. They are the academic experts who wrote and developed most of the course content. They are here to assist and oversee how the course runs including but not limited to assessment moderation and grades release, publishing results, and reviewing extension requests for approval.

Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP): A CSP is a subsidised higher education place that is subsidised by the Australian Government. This means part of your fees are paid by the government and the remaining part is paid by you. This is known as your ‘student contribution’.

Credit points: A measure of study load that will be represented by a numerical value that must be assigned to a course.

Experiential learning: Experiential learning refers to the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as learning through reflection on doing. This course will focus on practically applying the skills you’ve gained to various tasks and projects. You’ll work on a virtual industry project and demonstrate industry-ready skills upon completion of the program.

Major: A series of eight or more courses in an area of specialisation within a bachelor degree program.

Minor: A series of four courses in the same subject or area of specialisation.

Program: A curriculum of study that will provide a structured approach for you to achieve defined learning outcomes and may lead to one or more awards and must have at least one program offering. At RMIT Online, a program is made up of multiple courses.

SSAF: A Student Services and Amenities fee based on your enrolment load, which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT Online student.

Student success advisor: provides personalised non-academic study support and will equip you with study tips and online resources. They also offer advice and referral to the relevant RMIT services, ensuring you receive responses and outcomes in a timely manner. They will be your #1 RMIT supporter throughout your studies.

Tutor/online facilitator: A facilitator for your learning in the online environment. This could be through driving your engagement and conversation through discussions, hosting weekly webinars, and providing you with feedback and feed forward on your assessments so that you can adequately prepare for the next assignment.

Onboarding webinar: A live video session hosted by the Student Success team before your first study term begins. The purpose of this webinar is to outline key information you need to be aware of, support services available through RMIT, and study tips that will enable success in your program.

Webinar: A live online video session hosted by your Online Facilitator where they will share their industry experiences, guide you through the course material, and prepare you for upcoming assessments. Your Online Facilitator will inform you of webinar dates and times, and recordings will be available after each live session if you’re unable to make it.

For other definitions of key academic dates, please see our FAQs, under ‘What do each of my key dates for my program mean?’

FAQ

Eligibility and entry requirements

Payment and fees

Technical support

Corporate and prepaid enrolment support ​

Credentials and qualifications

Deferrals and withdrawals

Support, mentorship, and project submission

Credit pathways