Designated officer: Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Council approval: C01/24, 3 April 2001

Last amended: C01/88, 27 November 2001

Related policies:

• Award of Dean's Commendation Policy

Policy

1. A Dean's Commendation may be awarded to any student enrolled in a Masters degree by coursework program in recognition of academic excellence.

2. For the purposes of the award of a Dean's Commendation for a Masters Degree by Coursework, 'academic excellence' means the achievement of a Grade Point Average of 6.0 or better (see attachment on Calculation of Grade Point Average).

3. To be eligible for consideration the student must have undertaken at least two-thirds of their program of study at the University.

4. For those students who have been granted advanced standing on the basis of previous studies, their performance in those previous studies will not be taken into account in determining the award of a Dean's Commendation for a Masters Degree by Coursework.

5. The award of a Dean's Commendation for a Masters Degree by Coursework will be made by the relevant Dean in accordance with this Policy and will be advised to the Director, Student Affairs.

6. A notation stating the award of a Dean's Commendation for a Masters Degree by Coursework shall be included on the recipient's statement of academic record.

7. The award of a Dean's Commendation for a Masters Degree by Coursework will be notified to the Academic Board as soon as is practicable.

8. A Dean's Commendation for a Masters Degree by Coursework will be acknowledged at a Graduation Ceremony.

Calculation of Grade Point Average

A student's program Grade Point Average (GPA) shall be calculated by the summing up of the Grade Point for each course in which the student is enrolled, other than a course in which a Pass Ungraded or Fail are the only grades available, and then dividing the sum by the total number of courses attempted.

The following conversion from grades and grading notations shall apply for the purposes of calculating the program Grade Point Average:

• High Distinction (HD) 7
• Distinction (DN) 6
• Credit (CR) 5
• Pass (PS) 4
• Fail (FL) 0
• Fail - Absent (FA) 0
• Withdrawn - Fail (WF) 0

The following grade and grading notations shall not be included in the calculations:

• Pass Undgraded (PU)
• Withdrawn Without Penalty (WN)
• Incomplete (IN)
• Grade Pending (GP)
• Special Examination (SE)
• Supplementary Examination (SU)
• Not Examined (NE)
• Result Withheld (RW)
• Exemption (EX)