Changes were made to legislation in 2020 which impact Commonwealth Supported students and eligibility for FEE-HELP loans. Commencing 2022, Students are required to meet unit pass rates to remain eligible for Commonwealth Supported places and HELP loan assistance. Students have been notified via email; here’s some handy information for staff should you receive any enquiries.
The Government brought in a series of reforms for Higher Education under the Job Ready Graduates Package. One of these reforms is the low completion rate rule, which impacts students in Commonwealth Supported places and domestic fee paying students wanting to defer their fees to a FEE-HELP loan.
Commonwealth Supported places and HELP Loans will not be available to students with a low completion rate, meaning they fail more than half their units. Once a student gets their completion rate back above 50%, they may receive their Commonwealth Supported place and/or HELP loan back – if they’re eligible.
What’s a low completion rate?
A low completion rate is a fail rate of more than 50% after a fixed number of units have been completed. For Bachelor and Masters by coursework students this is after 8 units have been completed.
A student in a Commonwealth Supported place or with a HELP loan who has failed more than 50% of their units has three options:
- Pay the domestic student fee upfront in full
- Transfer to a different course (checking eligibility at Undergraduate Course Transfer)
- Apply to Withdraw from a unit without academic and financial penalty due to special circumstances if eligible. Students have until Teaching Census on 19 August to withdraw without academic and financial penalty.
Session 1 exam results were released on 7 July, and impacted students will be contacted shortly.
If your students need some reassurance or help with assignments and academic skills, please alert them to Macquarie’s free academic support:
- The Writing Centre – all you need to write clearly, express yourself and bring your ideas to life
- The Numeracy Centre – everything you need to nail your numbers
- Studiosity – 24/7 online writing and study assistance
- Macquarie University Library – that has too many resources to list here
or direct them to the Academic Progression Self Guidance Tool.
To learn more about how these changes may impact students, check out the Government’s FAQ for students.
Staff with queries can contact Gill Kirk, Executive Manager, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic – gill.kirk@mq.edu.au
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