What is academic standing?
Academic standing is the key mechanism by which a student’s progress in their program is monitored at the conclusion of each term or semester.
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.
How academic standing is calculated
Undergraduate students
All students start with Good standing. If you pass 50% or more of the 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 across your postgraduate studies.
Research and non-award students
Academic standing is not calculated for research and non-award students.
When academic standing is calculated
For UNSW Sydney, academic standing is determined at the end of Terms 1, 2 and 3. For UNSW Canberra, academic standing is determined at the end of Semesters 1 and 2.
Results obtained in Summer Term/Semester are included in the calculation of your academic standing for Term/Semester 1.
Academic standing is calculated at the career level (i.e. undergraduate/postgraduate), not at the program level.
To find out how withheld grades affect academic standing, see the Results page.
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.