Academic Progress

If the University has sent you an ‘At Risk’ notification it means that you have failed to meet the criteria for satisfactory performance during the relevant teaching period and you need to make some changes. Be assured that many students experience difficult semesters during their study and go on to successfully complete their degree. The University requires you to fill out a Return to Good Standing Plan, which will be sent to your student email, and you should make sure you fill this out thoughtfully and thoroughly. If you feel you’d like more support during this process, you can also book an ‘At Risk’ appointment and meet with University staff who can help you access additional services here. If you’re confused about this process, you can also get in touch with us here.

An ‘At Risk’ notice is determined once your results are published, so if you are awaiting results to be reviewed or changed, then the ‘At Risk’ notice will remain until the changes have been formalised. If you're awaiting a Special Consideration outcome, we suggest you still complete the Return to Good Standing Plan unless you know if Special Consideration has been granted. However, if you’ve been granted a Special Exam through Special Consideration and have received an ‘At Risk’ notice, we suggest you contact the University at academic-progress@unimelb.edu.au and explain you have been granted a Special Exam, so your results are not yet final.

The University’s Academic Progress website provides a comprehensive overview of what it means to be 'At Risk'.

The 'Show Cause' notice is sent to a student with their Student Record Card when they are being asked by the University to 'Show Cause' as to why they should not have their enrolment terminated if their progress has been unsatisfactory.

If you have received a ‘Show Cause’ notice from the University regarding your academic progress, it should be taken very seriously. The notice will be sent to you after the final release of results, and should contain instructions on how to access your Academic Progress portal. Please read these instructions carefully and follow them to download your Student Record Card. You will need the Student Record Card to adequately address the 'Show Cause' notice.

The University requires you to submit a written response to the CAPC, to set out reasons ('Show Cause') as to why you should not have your enrolment terminated. As intimidating as a ‘Show Cause’ notice may be, it is designed to assist you to work on ways to maximise your prospects of successfully completing your course. The University is aware of and concerned about a range of factors which can influence a student’s ability to study effectively.

Alongside this response you may also be asked to attend a CAPC meeting. We strongly encourage you to attend to ensure that there are no questions left unanswered and you have the best opportunity to explain your situation.

The University asks students to fill in an online survey to answer some key questions about their academic progress in the interests of trying to streamline the high volume of submissions these committees receive.

We do not believe this is sufficient on its own and encourage students to fill in the survey and attach a formal written response to the CAPC. While the survey provides some insight into your situation, a detailed written submission allows you to provide a more comprehensive response outlining not just what went wrong, but how you intend to address any issues in practical terms.

In your written submission, you should explain the circumstances that led to your current academic results and (most importantly) focus on what has or will change to improve your performance in future. It is a formal letter to the committee and should contain three main areas:

Checklist

The reason/s why you did not do well. Explain clearly and in detail the circumstances that have affected your studies. If you have supporting documentation or evidence then it is helpful to attach this, but it is not essential.

How you are addressing the circumstances that affected your performance. What steps are you taking to ensure you improve? These need to be achievable and realistic. Be specific.

What you would like the committee to allow you to do. For example, continue in your course, reduce your subject load to part-time, or take a leave of absence.

Download the checklist here

One of the ‘red flags’ or big concerns for a committee are signs that a student lacks engagement with the University generally. You need to reassure the committee that you are willing and able to do what it takes to succeed.

Your response should directly engage with any comments on your Student Record Card that relate to your academic progress. This record contains important information about your results, and any past progress issues, including recommendations and other outcomes from previous meetings. Considering and addressing any of the issues outlined in this record will help demonstrate to the committee that you appreciate the situation fully. If you have difficulty accessing the Academic Progress portal after following the directions in your 'Show Cause' notice, and have an approaching deadline, you should email the Academic Progress team at the University directly: academic-progress@unimelb.edu.au.

Read your Student Record Card carefully for anything that relates to academic progress so you can address this either in your letter or in the meeting. Look for a heading ‘Sanction(s)’, it will say something like:

If you did not respond to your ‘At Risk’ notification, it is really important you explain why, as well as provide some details about your situation. If you did respond to it, you need to outline how you implemented the recommendations or outline why they were perhaps not specific enough or helpful to you, explaining what you did instead.

We recommend using our template to get started.

The University’s Academic Progress website provides further information.

• Phone to make an appointment within the timeframes outlined in your email.
• Provide a detailed written submission including the questionnaire and personal statement:
  • If you are attending a CAPC meeting, lodge your submission at least two working days before your meeting.
  • If you are not attending a CAPC meeting, for your written submission to be considered it must be lodged one day prior to the meetings commencing.

The meeting is not intended to be a stressful experience, but it is normal to feel nervous as it is a formal meeting made up of academic staff from your faculty or school. The role of the committee is not to punish you, but to establish whether you have the capacity to finish your course and assist you with any strategies to improve in future semesters.

The meetings are quite short, normally lasting anywhere from five to 15 minutes. They are generally held via Zoom. You are allowed to have a support person attend with you, and this can be a friend or family member. Your support person has no speaking rights and is purely there as a support for you.

The committee will consist of a minimum of three academic staff from your faculty and possibly an experienced professional staff member. The committee should have a copy of your Student Record Card, your written submission, and any supporting documents you provided. So, you will only need to address or summarise your main points or discuss anything that you may have forgotten in your written submission. The committee will ask you questions if they require further information.

The CAPC will conclude the meeting, thank you for attending and make a decision once you’ve vacated the meeting. If you decide not to provide a written submission and/or attend a meeting the committee will still meet and make a decision about your future enrolment. An outcome will be sent to your student email account no later than three business days after the conclusion of the meeting.

Our video should help you get a sense of what to expect in the meeting itself. While a lot of things have changed since we made it, the meeting process and the committee’s purpose are still the same. Unfortunately, with the switch to Zoom meetings we can no longer offer support by way of the Peer Support Program.

A Course Academic Progress Committee (CAPC) may:

1. impose conditions on the student’s enrolment or academic performance in the following teaching period
2. impose a probationary status on the student’s enrolment, which may include a requirement to undertake specified actions, such as attending workshops or meetings with designated staff intended to increase the student’s chance of academic success
3. require the student to undertake specified actions to increase their chances of academic success
4. revoke a scholarship that was awarded to the student
5. approve a period of leave of absence for the student
6. suspend the student’s enrolment for a specified period, or
7. terminate the student’s enrolment in the course.

You may be allowed to continue in your course with no restrictions on your enrolment, however, the CAPC may also recommend actions for you to take, including getting support from Academic Skills, Counselling, or Student Equity and Disability Support (SEDS). While these are only recommendations, it is in your best interests to take on any advice given to you, as failure to do so may negatively impact future decisions if you are required to attend a CAPC meeting again.

If you are an international student, the results of a CAPC meeting could potentially impact your visa. If you are in Australia on a student visa, it is very important not to breach any of the visa conditions. One condition of a student visa is ‘8202 – Meeting Course Requirements’, meaning you must maintain satisfactory attendance in your course and course progress for each study period as required by your education provider.

It is vital that all international students who are notified that they have not made satisfactory academic progress prepare carefully for the meeting and contact Stop 1 to speak to an International Student Advisor.

If the outcome of your CAPC meeting is to suspend your enrolment, the University must notify the Department of Home Affairs. In most cases a student can remain in Australia while suspended, however, this is not guaranteed. We suggest you ensure that you get advice from Stop 1 to understand how the suspension may impact your ability to stay in the country for the remainder of your course duration.

If the outcome of your CAPC meeting is to terminate your enrolment, the University must notify the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) and the Department of Home Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). This notification will likely result in the cancellation of your student visa and the requirement to leave the country. It may also affect your chances of obtaining another student visa to Australia for up to three years. To understand how this operates, and when this occurs, you need to read your outcome letter carefully and contact Stop 1 for advice.

The University’s Academic Progress website provides further information.

If you were unable to complete a subject or failed a subject due to special circumstances, you may be eligible to apply for Fee Remission. If granted, you would receive a refund or remission of fees. Fee Remission is a difficult process to pursue, so we suggest you read the information on our Fee Remission webpage carefully before applying.

If your progress has been impacted by ongoing circumstances, then you should consider registering for ongoing support. For example, if you have a known medical condition and it is likely to disrupt your ability to complete assessments during semester. There are many reasons why students may need academic adjustments in order to satisfy the subject requirements — perhaps your condition means you need extra time to complete an exam, or you’re unable meet the minimum attendance requirements during semester. Ongoing adjustments are the things to enable students to fully participate in their education in a more long-term way.

If you are registering for ongoing support, it is recommended that you apply for this as soon as possible to have adjustments put in place early. There can be specific deadlines for Alternative Exam Arrangements (AEA). You should contact Student Equity and Disability Services (SEDS) to understand what is required with an application in your situation. The later you leave it, the more difficult it may be for the University to put adjustments in place and provide you with an Academic Adjustment Plan (AAP). You might also want to read the information on our SEDS & Ongoing Suuport webpage too.

Appealing an CAPC decision is possible in some circumstances. To establish if this is the right path for you, you need to know why the CAPC made the decision that they did, as this is what you are arguing against when you lodge an appeal. The Academic Board Appeals Committee Secretary can provide you with a copy of the report made by the CAPC outlining the reasons for their decision. To obtain a copy of this report, you need to request it from the Academic Governance Unit by filling in this form.

Once you have obtained the report, we suggest you read our webpage on the appeals process here.

We strongly encourage you to contact us to discuss your appeal before you lodge it with the University. To assist us to help you, please prepare the following documents prior to contacting us:

• a draft letter of appeal. Please use this template.
• a copy of the CAPC Appeal Report
• the outcome email sent to you after your CAPC meeting, and
• your Student Record Card (which should be available in your Academic Progress portal, or you can get a copy sent to you from the Academic Progress team).

If you contact us before you have all of these documents, we will ask you to obtain them before we can provide further advice.

If you decide to appeal the CAPC’s decision, and if you’re dissatisfied with the University’s handling of your appeal, you can lodge a complaint with the National Student Ombudsman (NSO). The NSO is an external, free and independent service that works with students and higher education providers across Australia to resolve complaints. They do have considerable powers to investigate complaints and assess whether any decisions taken by a higher education provider are lawful, fair, and reasonable. The NSO's jurisdiction includes complaints about being denied an appeal to the Academic Board.

The Advocacy Service can guide you through the process of making your own complaint, or in some circumstances, we can lodge a complaint on your behalf.

We have more information on this on our National Student Ombudsman webpage.

If your advisory committee has identified that you are not progressing as expected in your candidature, either pre or post confirmation, intervention strategies should be implemented to help you get back on track. These may include:

• providing you with support
• advising you of a progress plan, and
• setting a reasonable deadline of around three months to complete the agreed tasks.

If changes to your candidature are recommended, your progress plan may be adjusted to support progress towards any agreed tasks.

The committee will also advise that you may be issued with a notice of unsatisfactory progress, and your enrolment may be terminated if the goals outlined for the period are not met.

You should only be advised your progress is unsatisfactory following a period of ‘At Risk’ where intervention strategies have failed to get your progress back on track and you have not demonstrated your capacity to complete your thesis within the maximum course duration.

If you receive a notice of unsatisfactory progress without having gone through an ‘At Risk’ process, advise us immediately when you contact us.

A notice can be issued:

• After an ‘At Risk’ period during an extension to probationary candidature, or
• after an 'At Risk' period following a progress review, where progress continues to be unsatisfactory,
• or if you fail to respond to an 'At Risk' notice in the required timeframe.

You will be sent an email stating your progress is unsatisfactory and that you should attend a Course Academic Progress Committee (CAPC) meeting. You have 10 business days to submit a written response to the CAPC regarding the unsatisfactory progress assessment.

In your written response, you should include:

1. An outline of the circumstances that have led to poor unsatisfactory progress,
2. Any supporting documentation that verifies the circumstances you have described that have impacted your ability to progress satisfactorily,
3. A detailed timeline of how you propose completing your research and thesis, including acknowledging any milestones you may need to meet (ethics approval, confirmation, etc.),
4. A detailed response to why you were not able to complete the tasks set out in your progress plan during the ‘At Risk’ phase,
5. A detailed outline of any support or intervention you might need from the University or the faculty.

Once you have put this together, you can send us a copy to review and provide feedback. Availability permitting, we may be able to attend as your support person at the progress hearing.

The CAPC meeting details will be sent to you separately and the meeting should take place within 20 business days from the date of the initial CAPC notice; your supervisors and advisory committee will also be invited. You can bring a support person to the meeting.

The CAPC can decide to either:

• Confirm that your progress is unsatisfactory and that the assessment by the advisory committee is correct, or
• Recommend an alternative option, e.g. Conversion to MPhil. If you do not take up this recommendation within 10 business days, you will be issued with a 'Show Cause' notice; or
• Recommend that your enrolment be terminated, and that the dean issue a ‘show cause’ notice only, or
• Withdraw the unsatisfactory progress and recommend an intervention, i.e. a period of ‘At Risk’ instead; or
• Recommend a leave of absence.

If the CAPC agree that you should be given 3 months to meet the progress requirements, an outcome notification will be sent including:

• the start and end dates of the three-month unsatisfactory progress period, and
• the progress requirements that your committee have identified to get you back on track.

During these periods of intervention, you can expect support from your supervisors.

Appealing a CAPC decision is possible. You have 20 working days counted from the date you receive the outcome to your CAPC hearing. We suggest you read our webpage on the appeals process here.

We strongly encourage you contact us to discuss your appeal before you lodge it with the University and well before the deadline.

We can assist you with any queries you may have and advise/support you through each step of the process.

If you decide to appeal the CAPC’s decision, and if you’re dissatisfied with the University’s handling of your appeal, you can lodge a complaint with the National Student Ombudsman (NSO). The NSO is an external, free and independent service that works with students and higher education providers across Australia to resolve complaints. They do have considerable powers to investigate complaints and assess whether any decisions taken by a higher education provider are lawful, fair, and reasonable. The NSO's jurisdiction includes complaints about being denied an appeal to the Academic Board.

The Advocacy Service can guide you through the process of making your own complaint, or in some circumstances, we can lodge a complaint on your behalf.

We have more information on this on our National Student Ombudsman webpage.