Academic Standing

Academic standing indicates your current progress toward completion of your program.

The purpose of specifying your academic standing is to alert you and your program authority as early as possible to any problem that may negatively impact your progress.

Academic standing is only calculated for undergraduates and postgraduates. It is not calculated for research and non-award students.

Term 1 - Rule change due to COVID-19

 

Given the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 global pandemic, any course failed in Term 1 of 2020:

  • will not be recorded on your transcript,
  • will not affect your WAM
  • and will not be included in the calculation of your academic standing.

Academic standing for Term 1 will be calculated but no student will move to Suspension or Exclusion.

What about results from Summer Term? Results from Summer Term are included in the calculation of your academic standing for Term 1. If you did not perform well in Summer Term, it is possible you will be assigned an academic standing level of Provisional Suspension or Provisional Exclusion. If you are assigned a Provisional standing level, further poor performance may result in Suspension or Exclusion.

If you are returning from Suspension in Term 1 of 2020 and do not have enrolment which can be calculated for academic standing purposes (due to the rule outlined above), you will be assigned a standing level of Provisional Suspension.


Academic standing indicates your current progress toward completion of your program.

The purpose of specifying your academic standing is to alert you and your program authority as early as possible to any problem that may negatively impact your progress.

Academic standing is only calculated for undergraduates and postgraduates. It is not calculated for research and non-award students.

Term 2 - Rule change due to COVID-19

 

For Term 2 2020, failed courses will appear on your official UNSW transcript and be included in the calculation of both your WAM and academic standing, in line with standard practice.

However, given the continuing uncertainty, students will not be academically suspended or excluded at the end of Term 2.  Students whose T2 results would normally have placed them on academic Suspension or Exclusion will instead, be given an academic standing level of Provisional Suspension or Provisional Exclusion.

If you have an academic standing level of provisional suspension or provisional exclusion, you are permitted to continue studying in Term 3 but must seek academic advice, as further fails in Term 3 may result in you being suspended or excluded.

How academic standing is calculated

Undergraduate students

All students start with Good standing. If you pass more than half of units attempted, your standing remains as Good.

Academic standing is calculated using the percentage of load passed in the current term/semester as well as your academic standing at the end of the previous term/semester.

Postgraduate students

Academic standing is calculated based on the cumulative number of failures.

Research and non-award students

Academic standing is not calculated for research and non-award students.

When academic standing is calculated

UNSW Sydney

Your academic standing is determined at the end of Terms 1, 2 and 3.

Results obtained in Summer Term are included in the calculation of your academic standing for Term 1.

Academic standing is calculated at the career level (i.e. undergraduate/postgraduate), not at the program level.

Your academic standing is determined by two factors:

  • Your academic standing at the end of the previous standard term
  • Your academic achievement in the current standard term.

To find out how withheld grades affect academic standing, see the Your Results page.

UNSW Canberra

UNSW Canberra operate on a two-semester calendar. Academic standing is calculated at the end of Semesters 1 and 2.

View your academic standing

Your standing is displayed with your results in myUNSW.

The Results Summary screen in myUNSW allows you to view your results and academic standing for a given term/semester.

During the assessment period, the Results Summary screen only permit you to view results for the most recently completed term/semester.

Your term/semester statistics and academic standing are only available once all results for the term/semester are released.

What the different levels of academic standing mean

Academic standing has many levels. All students start with Good standing but continued poor progress can lead to other standing levels being assigned, each with its own implications for your progress toward completion of your program.

Refer to the relevant information below to find out more about academic standing.

Support and how to appeal

The pages below direct you to support services and explain the appeals process for Suspension and Exclusion levels.


Academic advising

With early intervention from an academic advisor, and assistance from student support services, the more serious consequences of continued poor performance can be prevented.


How to appeal

Find out how you can appeal against Suspension or Exclusion.