What Are My Rights and Obligations as a Student?
Our Commitment to You
Whitley College is committed to providing the highest quality of educational opportunity for all our students.
We aim, within the limits of our resources, to provide the best facilities, courses and educational processes.
We maintain strong relationships with partner colleges within the Melbourne College of Divinity to ensure a still wider circle of opportunity.
We aim also to provide a safe place for students' self-expression, in intellectual and personal growth. Consequently we require of all students and staff a fundamental respect for the privacy and safety of each other. Together, we provide each person with the opportunity to work, learn and grow.
Attached to this notice is a statement of students' rights as affirmed across the whole of the Melbourne College of Divinity. These rights also apply to all who work and study within Whitley College.
If for any reason you feel that these rights have not been honoured, the people to contact are:
Principal of Whitley College Dr Frank Rees 9340 8010
Dean Dr Ross Langmead 9340 8021
External contact person Ms Lynda Turton (AH) 9387 8669
You can be assured that all enquiries will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence. These contact persons can explain to you other procedures available to you.
MCD Students' Rights
Right to Privacy
All personal information provided to the MCD (including your college) will be treated in confidence, and only used for the purpose for which it was given. Your file and computer database entries are only accessed by people who are entitled to do so, eg lecturers having a class list with names and emails. No-one associated with the MCD is permitted to share your personal information with anyone not entitled to it.
Right to the Highest Standards of Teaching and Learning
In order to protect the high academic standing of your MCD degree or diploma, all forms of cheating, plagiarism or other academic fraud (including illegitimate use of internet resources) are strictly forbidden, and anyone found engaging in them faces serious consequences. To assist with this, you are required to state on each assignment that it is your own work.
Right to be Treated Fairly
The right to be treated fairly is applicable to all academic and administrative matters. If you have a grievance about an administrative procedure or academic issue, you have five working days (longer for some serious matters) to lodge a complaint with the Dean of your college or with the MCD Registrar. You will not be disadvantaged by doing this, and in most cases can expect a resolution within ten working days.
Right to Be Safe, and to Feel Safe
Students have the right to be and feel safe in MCD environments. Harassment in any form – spiritual, sexual or discriminatory (eg on the grounds of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, theological outlook) – is wrong, and not permitted. Procedures are in place to deal promptly with situations which may arise. If anyone should wish to file a complaint they should contact one of the people listed above.
Once you have commenced a degree or diploma with the MCD, you are assured that MCD educational and financial resources are in place to see you through to its completion. If the highly unlikely situation arises that the MCD cannot deliver a course for which you have paid fees, these will be refunded, or you can transfer to another provider, nominated for this purpose by the MCD.
Detailed policies and procedures governing these matters can be found on the MCD website, www.mcd.unimelb.edu.au under ‘Policies for MCD student well-being’.
In addition to these rights, there are also obligations of all student members of the Whitley community.
Attendance
Attendance at all lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshops is compulsory. You are required to attend at least 80% of all classes in order to be permitted to pass. Students who fail to meet this attendance requirement will automatically fail, unless written approval is granted by the Dean, for example on the basis of a medical certificate.
Overseas students and all students receiving any form of assistance, including FEE-HELP, bursaries or scholarships, should note that the government requires evidence of attendance. Failure to comply with attendance requirements may lead to the cancellation of a visa, as well as to penalties of Whitley College staff.
Sending an Apology
If for any reason you are unable to attend a class, you should send an apology to your class teacher, usually by phone to the theological office or by email. If through unavoidable circumstances you find on the day of the class you cannot attend, an urgent message may be sent to the Whitley College office, to be passed on to the class teacher.
Punctuality
Attendance on time is a fundamental courtesy. So, too, is the submission of forms, enrolments, and other necessary applications. The College community can only proceed effectively when students assist the staff in this way.
Assessment
Students enrolled in a unit are required to complete all the assessment tasks for that unit and in the sequence in which they are set. Unless permission is granted to vary this requirement, by the Dean, students will not be permitted to sit for the final examination in a unit, or to submit the major essay or assignment, when previous assignments remain outstanding.
It is also essential to stress that assignments must be submitted on time. These are part of the continuing educational process of the unit. Maintaining the flow of the unit in this way contributes to the learning process.
Presentation of Assignments
There are clear guidelines for the presentation and format of assignments. These are explained in detail in this booklet - ‘Presentation of Assignments’ (page 125). Assignments not submitted in the required format may be marked down, especially after the first year of study.
Gender Inclusive Language
Whitley College seeks to be a genuinely inclusive community. Language which excludes women is, for many members of the community, a difficulty and undermines this objective. It is a requirement of the College that gender inclusive language is used in all teaching, written presentations and class presentations. This requirement applies to references to human beings, but does not prescribe language for God. Further information is provided in the ‘Presentation of Assignments’ information.
Withdrawing from a Class
If for some unforeseen reason you need to withdraw from a unit, it is essential that you first discuss this matter with your class teacher or, if necessary, the Dean. You also need to notify the Registrar so that the appropriate administrative procedures are carried out.
Withdrawal from a unit may be done without penalty, but only if this takes place before the Census dates for each semester, March 13 and August 14, 2009. In this case, fees will be refunded. No record of enrolment for those units will be recorded on transcripts. Approved withdrawals up to four weeks before the end of the semester will be recorded on transcripts as 'WD'.
All withdrawals in the last four weeks of the semester will be recorded automatically as 'Fails', unless determined otherwise by the Faculty. Students who do not notify the Registrar or Dean of their intention to withdraw and who do not complete the requirements for a unit will be regarded as having failed and a Fail will be entered on their transcripts.
Applying for Credit
You can apply for credit into some degree programs. This may be for degrees already completed or for units undertaken at another (non-MCD) institutions, such as a university. You should seek advice from a member of faculty before assuming that you will receive credit - especially before undertaking such a unit.
Then, to apply for credit, you should complete the relevant form, available from the Whitley College office and submit it to the office. Applications for credit must be made before August if you hope to receive that credit within the current academic year.
Intention to Complete your Degree
Students planning to complete the degree in the current year should notify the Registrar. The Melbourne College of Divinity will contact you regarding the process which leads to your graduation.
