Deferment of Acceptance of Offer

Policy and Guidelines

http://www.canberra.edu.au/uc/policies/acad/defer_pl.html

Legislative Basis & Authority
Guidelines
Restrictions
Procedures

4.1
Applying for a Deferment

4.2
Taking up a Defered Offer of Place
Appeals
Review

1. Legislative Basis and Authority

As this policy relates to deferment of acceptance of offer, the limitations of the Statutes and Rules of the University do not apply as the individuals concerned have not accepted an offer and are therefore not 'students' of the University.

Deferment of acceptance of offer is an administrative process (not an academic one) therefore the process is determined by the Vice-Chancellor.

It should be noted that the procedures and guidelines for deferment of continuing enrolment (described as 'leave of absence' within the current student information system) remain unaffected by this revised policy.

2. Guidelines

An applicant for admission may seek deferment of Acceptance of Offer. The applicant's intention to defer should be communicated by the date for accepting the Offer of Place.
Deferment of Acceptance of Offer forms part of the normal Admissions planning and offer acceptance processes and should therefore be administered by the Admissions Office.
Deferment is for one academic year. Deferment cannot normally be for less than one year.
Deferment is automatic, that is, it does not require approval.
Scholarships cannot be awarded to a deferred applicant though they can reapply for scholarships when they take up their Offer of Place and they will be considered with other acceptors at that time.
Offers of accommodation in student residences will not be made to a deferred applicant though they can reapply for accommodation when they take up their Offer of Place and will be considered with other acceptors at that time.

3. Restrictions

Applicants with a deferred status are guaranteed enrolment in the following year subject to:

Their eligibility for admission not changing eg. exclusion or expulsion from studies undertaken elsewhere.
The University still offering the course to which they seek admission. Where the University no longer offers the course for admission, the applicant may be offered a place in another comparable course of his or her choice provided he or she would have been eligible for admission when the initial offer of place was made.
The fee type status of the applicant remaining unchanged ie. if they were initially offered a HECS liable place they remain HECS liable and if they were offered a fee-paying place they remain fee paying.
A person intending to take up his or her deferred Offer of Place is required to advise the appropriate authority by the closing date for new applications for admission. A person who has a deferred Offer of Place but who wishes to obtain admission to a different course must apply for admission in the usual way and be considered with other applicants.
The option to defer acceptance to a course is only available once for that course.

4. Procedures

Detailed operational procedures will be developed by the Corporate Services Division and will adhere to the following general process.

4.1 Applying for a Deferment

The applicant's intention to defer needs to be communicated to the University's Admissions Office by the date for accepting the Offer of Place.
A place made available by an applicant deferring Acceptance of Offer may be re-allocated in the next appropriate offer round. Faculty Offer Managers and the Planning & Statistics section should be kept informed but their approval is not necessary. An applicant made an Offer of Place in the final round of offers can still be granted a deferment even though the Offer may not be re-allocated.
Appropriate records will be kept to enable applicants with a deferred status to take up their offer in the following year and to enable reports to be prepared for the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee and other stakeholders within the University. (See section on Review)

4.2 Taking up a Deferred Offer of Place

Applicants with a deferred status:

Will be advised that they need to confirm their intention to accept their Offer of Place by the closing date for applications for admission for the following year.
Will have their Acceptance of Offer processed appropriately and recorded as 'authorised' on the current student information system without further consideration (subject to the restrictions listed above).
Will be subject to the same enrolment processes eg. course enrolment advisory sessions, fee payment, subject registration etc. as other new students.

5. Appeals

Should any applicant or student consider that they have been disadvantaged by the application of this policy he or she should have an avenue for appeal. Even though applicants are not yet students of the University the existing Student Grievance Procedures will apply for this purpose.

6. Review

This revised policy is a significant departure from the University's previous position of no deferment of acceptance of offer. Even though the policy guidelines have been developed to minimise the cost to the University it is important that the value of the revised policy be established through periodic reviews.

Information and statistics on the numbers of applicants seeking deferment of acceptance of offer should be available from the University's management information systems. Similarly information on the return rate of deferred acceptors and their subsequent performance in their studies should be available with minimal effort.

On an annual basis this information will be made available to the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee by the Executive Director, Corporate Services Division, to enable assessment of the success (or otherwise) of this policy. The information provided should contain the following -

the numbers of deferred applicants, their Universities Admission Index (or equivalent rank), and the course from which they deferred,
the number of offers made to other applicants as a result of the place being made available, their Universities Admission Index (or equivalent rank), and the acceptance rate for those offers,
the numbers of deferred applicants who subsequently take up their Offer of Place and their performance in their first year of study (as a Grade Point Average)

This policy was approved by the Vice-Chancellor on 10 December 1998 following advice from the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee (Meeting No. 98/17 - 15 September).

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srh@adminserver.canberra.edu.au

Content Custodian: Stephen HARDING
Last Modified: Thursday, 18 December 1998