Course Guides

On this page:

• Definition of ‘Program’ and ‘Course’
• Why use Course Guides?
• Sticking to What’s Published in the Course Guide
• Writing a Course Guide
• Changing Assessment Tasks in a Course Guide

At RMIT, the term ‘program’ refers to the entire qualification in which a student is enrolled (for example, degree, diploma, and certificate). Programs are referred to as ‘courses’ in most other Australian universities.

The term ‘course’ refers to the individual components of study that comprise a qualification. Courses may be referred to as ‘subjects’ or ‘units’ in other Australian universities.

A Course Guide describes to students the learning objectives, learning activities and assessment tasks in the course you are teaching. It is a way of formally documenting and clearly communicating to students your experience in, knowledge about, approach to and intentions for teaching the course.

Each Course Guide includes summary explanations of relevant RMIT policies and procedures, such as those about plagiarism, student feedback, student progress, and Special Consideration.

Students should receive a copy of the Course Guide no later than the first class of the semester in which the course is offered.

A Course Guide also assists in ensuring that:

• Students have an overview of the course so they can appreciate how learning activities and assessment tasks form a coherent learning experience that helps them achieve the learning outcomes of the course
• Students understand the expectations you have of them
• Students can plan their work and organise their workload over the duration of the course
• You design, develop and deliver the course in a way that gives it the best chance of delivering the outcomes you intend for your students.

A Course Guide is a formal brief or specification of the whole course representing RMIT’s and your course team’s undertaking to your students.

Unclear or ambiguous expression in a Course Guide, and changes to content or assessment, should not be taken lightly as these represent a change in certainty of process and expectations for students who are studying the course. In the past, students have lodged complaints with the University – which have been upheld – around incidents and negative learning experiences related to these issues.

A guiding principle in writing a Course Guide is to ensure that the learning activities and assessments are designed and implemented to provide your students with every chance of developing the capabilities and achieving the learning outcomes specified for the course.

A second guiding principle is to write the Course Guide directly to your students. For example, use the second person – ‘Your first assessment task is …’

Aim to be clear and concise, including important details for your students. Try not to make the Course Guide too long.

For detailed guidelines on writing course guides at RMIT, refer to the Course Guide Guidelines on the RMIT website.

Changes should not be made to the form or forms of assessment prescribed in any Course Guide during the conduct of the course unless:

• Students enrolled in the course have received notice in writing of the proposed change
• Not less than 70 percent of students enrolled in the course approve of the change
• The change is approved by the Head of School.