Selection for Outbound exchange

Topics covered on this page:

  • Due Dates for applications to be submitted to Student Centres
  • Approving applications
    • Undergraduate applications
    • Postgraduates by coursework
    • Postgraduates by research
    • Transfer Students
    • Calculating the weighted average
  • Approving Applications with conditions
  • Redirecting Students to Alternative Destinations
  • Rejecting Applications
  • Don't forget to...

 

Due Dates

Applications for exchange should be handed into Student Centres by the due dates in June/July for travel on exchange in semester 1 in the following year and November/December for travel on exchange in semester 2 the following year.

Dates by which you will be required to have applications assessed and delivered to Melbourne Global Mobility will be sent around to advisors a few weeks before. If there are delays with meeting deadlines, please contact Melbourne Global Mobility and it may be possible to make alternative arrangements.

Please note that we will request that applications for the University of California, the University of Michigan, and at the end of the year, graduate applications and Music at McGill University, will be assessed first because the due dates for applications to the host institutions are earlier.

If you have students doing two courses seeking credit in both courses on exchange please assess those applications first and send them as soon as possible to the second advisor.

 

Approving Applications

Below is a reminder of the eligibility criteria you need to keep in mind when assessing applications. Please read the list carefully to remind yourself of what is required. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact Melbourne Global Mobility.

To be eligible to participate in the Melbourne Global Mobility Exchange Program UNDERGRADUATE students must:

  • have completed one year of study and 75 points at the University of Melbourne at the time of applying (see note below about transferring students for exception to this);
  • have achieved a weighted average of at least 65% across the degree for which they are seeking credit while on exchange (You can approve someone with an average lower than that, see note below. Similarly it is necessary explain why you are not willing to approve a student to go on exchange, see below.);
  • be able to study the equivalent of at least a full-time load while overseas; and
  • be a 'good ambassador' for the University of Melbourne.

POSTGRADUATES by coursework have the same criteria except that they only need to have completed one semester of study and 37.5 points at the University of Melbourne in the degree for which they are seeking credit at the time of applying.

Where a student is embarking

POSTGRADUATE by research students should see Stuart Hibberd on an individual basis.

Students who TRANSFERRED from another institution and have received credit for their study at that institution towards their University of Melbourne degree may apply for exchange after only having completed one semester of study and 50 points at the University of Melbourne at the time of applying. It is the responsibility of the approving advisor to ensure that as a result of previous credit and potential credit from exchange the student will still be able to meet any requirements for the proportion of University of Melbourne content in the University of Melbourne degree.

CALCULATING THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE

This should be calculated for the degree(s) for which the student is seeking credit while away on exchange.

  • All 12.5 subjects
    Where a student has all 12.5 subjects you need only add up all results, including fails, and divide by the number of subjects to get the average since they all have equal weighting.
  • 12.5 subjects and more
    Where a student has subjects with a weighting of 12.5 points as well as 6.25 or 25 or 18.75 etc, multiply the mark received for a subject (including fails) by the points value of the subject to get a weighted score. Add these scores together and divide by the total points (including fails here also) that have been studied so far.

WEIGHTED AVERAGE and COMBINED DEGREE/DIPLOMA STUDENTS

In situations where a student is studying an undergraduate degree and a concurrent diploma, the exchange application could be assessed in the following ways:

  • seeking credit for the degree only, the average for the degree is considered and, if suitable, the student is approved;
  • seeking credit for the degree and the diploma, the degree-owning faculty advisor will assess the average and, if appropriate, approve it, then refer the application to diploma-owning faculty advisor to assess, and it appropriate, that person also will approve the application;
    • if, the application is not approved for the degree, the degree-owning faculty advisor may decide if it is appropriate to continue with the application for credit to the diploma only, this would depend if the student had sufficient credit available to do only diploma studies on exchange or if he/she was in good standing in the degree or dependent on an outcome from UPC;
    • if, the application is not approved for the diploma, the degree-owning faculty advisor may decide if it is appropriate to continue with the application for credit to the degree only, this would depend if the student had sufficient credit available to do only degree studies on exchange;
  • seeking credit for the diploma only, the degree-owning advisor may decide if it is appropriate to allow the application for credit to the diploma only, this may depend on the student's standing in the degree or an outcome from UPC, if it does proceed, the diploma-owning faculty advisor will assess the application and, if appropriate, approve it.

Download recommended acceptance/rejection text for email notification. (50KB doc)
Download an excel spreadsheet that has been set up to do this.



THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE IN ISIS
Here is a tip for easily getting a weighted average in ISIS without having to add up all subjects for each student:
1. Access Student Snapshot ENQ screen;
2. Enter student number and retrieve;
3. Scroll down to Parent SSP section;
4. Look at the line for the course code in which the student is enrolled; and
5. The "Course Weighted" field shows the average for the entire course.

Students with AVERAGES LOWER THAN 65% can be approved but the Student Centre must justify the decision. It is not sufficient to say that you support the application. You must explain why and generally it must be a reason beyond the control of the student. An example of approving students to go on exchange in this situation is because they suffered an illness in a previous semester which reduced their average but their marks before and since that time have been good. This is not the only reason, so if you are not sure please don't hesitate to call MGM to discuss.

NOTE: the weighted average is NOT rounded up when approving or rejecting applications. If the result is 64.87% then that is the result and it does not get rounded up to allow the student to go. They must achieve a minimum of 65% to be approved to go on exchange.

 

Approving with Conditions

You can approve applications and impose conditions. There are two types of conditions:

  • those necessary to enable the student to be able to go and receive appropriate credit from the exchange, for example "must not do more than 25 points at third year next semester", in this case the student can only do a limited number of points before his/her exchange so that he/she will have sufficient points available while on exchange; or
  • those that are imposed, sometimes as a result of an appeal by the student, in cases where a student is borderline or has asked for special consideration with an average lower than 65% and it is intended that they should prove that they are capable academically in the following semester before they go on exchange. In the past such conditions have included "must maintain an average of 65% next semester".

If you impose conditions you must notify the student in writing what those conditions are and give us a copy of the email. You must also monitor that the conditions are fulfilled, early in the semester, in the case of the first type of condition, so that students can change their enrolment in time, if need be. MGM will monitor the second type of conditions.

We do not encourage the use of the second type of condition because all the work in getting the student to the partner institution is usually completed and, if the student fails to meet the conditions, he/she must be withdrawn from the exchange. The condition can be used, however, in deserving cases.

Download the recommended text for the email notification. (40KB doc)

 

Redirecting Students to Alternative Destinations

In the past faculties have approved students to go on exchange but have specified that they can not attend specific destinations on the student's preference list. Faculties have the authority to redirect students to alternative destinations based on the opinion of the appropriate academic, such as your Associate Dean (International) or (Academic Services) or equivalent, at the time when the application is approved.

Denying a student access to certain destinations may involve consideration of such things as choice of course, institution, language where appropriate and an interview may be requested with the student if necessary. Students have been refused permission to attend certain partner institutions because they are not thought to be strong enough academically (or linguistically in foreign language institutions) to succeed or to provide a good impression of the University of Melbourne.

 

Rejecting Applications

Where you have rejected an application please send the applicant an email explaining why you have done so. If necessary the student can then contact you for further information. Please copy Melbourne Global Mobility into that email.

Download the recommended text for the email. (25KB doc)

 

Before you return your list of applications to MGM, please don't forget to:

  • check that you have submitted all reviews as complete;
  • advisors for the degrees have received notification of outcomes for diplomas;
  • you have sent outcomes to all students on your list with a copy to MGM;
  • you have signed and delivered all hard copy versions of the study plans to MGM; and
  • the list of applications is presented as requested.

Please feel free to contact Melbourne Global Mobility if you have any problems getting all your applications to us by these dates or need anything clarified.

 

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