Postgraduate Credit and Micro-Credentials

 

UNSW Canberra allows students who have successfully completed approved professional education courses (PEC) to use those courses to complete study in eligible postgraduate programs in one of two ways:

1. Study for Professional Practice. Prior successful completion of 12 days of approved PECs may count toward one component of this course — ZEIT8900 Professional Practice.

2. Credit towards Micro-credential Postgraduate Courses. Selected five‐day PECs may be used as direct credit into specified micro‐credential postgraduate courses.

 

1. Study for ZEIT8900 Professional Practice

Students who have successfully completed a minimum of 12 days of approved PECs may use those courses to complete study in post graduate course ZEIT8900 Professional Practice which has two main components:

• prior successful completion of 12 days of approved PEC, and
• an essay in approved form to explore issues related to the professional practice.

NOTE: ZEIT8900 Professional Practice, being a postgraduate course, requires payment.

What is an approved Professional Education course?

An approved Professional Education course is one that:

• contains at least one day (at least 6 hours) of course work;
• is delivered by a presenter, or presenters, that would be eligible for an appointment at an Australian University;
• is assessed by at least one hour of examinations for every three days of work; and
• is able to be verified by inspection of course and assessment materials.

If a PEC is approved, it will be mentioned in the course description. 

How is previous study recognised?

Students seeking to obtain recognition for successful completion of approved PECs are to contact the Director of Postgraduate Studies within the School of Engineering and IT. With approval of the School, students may then manually enrol in ZEIT8900 Professional Practice. Students then engage with Director of Postgraduate Studies to agree a topic for their essay—the essay is submitted by the end of the relevant session and a mark is recorded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. 

Eligible programs:

Master of Capability Management

Master of Cyber Security

Master of Cyber Security Operations

Master of Cyber Security, Strategy and Diplomacy

Master of Space Engineering

Master of Space Operations

Master of Systems Engineering

In each of these programs, ZEIT8900 - Professional Practice can be chosen as an elective.

External Course Recognition

A Professional Education course or other short course offered by a provider other than UNSW Canberra may be considered for inclusion in the list of approved Professional Educations courses providing it meets the criteria for an approved Professional Education courses. If the course in question is not already listed on the list of approved Professional Education courses an application may be made to the relevant school. An application of approval must contain at least the following:

• evidence of the number of hours of work;
• evidence that the presenter(s) would be eligible for appointment at an Australian University (a brief CV of each presenter is required providing qualifications, background, and experience);
• evidence of the assessment for the course (must be at least one hour of examination for three days of course work), including copies of previous tests and marking criteria; and
• a copy of the course materials (course notes, and text)

 

Does the opportunity for credit expire?

The regulations governing UNSW Canberra postgraduate programs specify that credit towards a postgraduate program expires after a certain period. Currently this period is ten years.  

 

2. Credit towards Micro-credential Postgraduate Courses

In addition to offering credit for attendance at 12 days of accredited PEC, UNSW Canberra offers directed credit from specified PEC into selected mainstream postgraduate courses (called micro-credential courses).

What is a micro-credential course?

Within a postgraduate program, each postgraduate course is worth 6 units of credit (UOC). At UNSW Canberra, selected 6-UOC courses are associated with two 3-UOC micro-credential courses that comprise the theoretical (‘knowledge’) and practical (‘project’) components, respectively, of a parent 6-UOC course.  

How do five-day PECs relate to micro-credential courses?

Each 3-UOC ‘knowledge’ course has a corresponding five-day PEC. A student who wishes to obtain recognition of successful completion of the five-day PEC must complete the assessment requirements of the PEC (receiving a Certificate of Successful Completion), enrol in the corresponding 3-UOC ‘knowledge’ micro-credential course (no fees apply), and complete a final assessment while enrolled as either a non-award or postgraduate coursework student.

How do micro-credential courses contribute to a postgraduate program?

Each ‘knowledge’ micro-credential course is a prerequisite for a ‘project’ micro-credential course which provides the practical component of the parent 6-UOC course and completes the required course learning outcomes of that parent course. Within a program, both 3-UOC courses must be completed in combination in order to achieve the total learning outcomes of the parent 6-UOC course. 

Table 1. Micro-credential courses for UNSW Canberra programs

Parent course (6 UOC each)	Micro-credential courses (3 UOC each)	Prerequisite
ZEIT8226  Systems Engineering Practice	ZEIT8238  Systems Engineering Knowledge	School Consent
	ZEIT8239  Systems Engineering Project	ZEIT8238
ZEIT8230  Requirements Practice	ZEIT8240  Requirements Practice Knowledge	School Consent
	ZEIT8241 Requirements Practice Project	ZEIT8240
ZEIT8305  Systems Thinking and Modelling	ZEIT8244  Systems Thinking and Modelling Knowledge	School Consent
	ZEIT8245 Systems Thinking and Modelling Project	ZEIT8244
ZEIT8231  Test and Evaluation	ZEIT8246  Test and Evaluation Knowledge	School Consent
	ZEIT8247  Test and Evaluation Project	ZEIT8246
ZEIT8219 Satellite Communication	ZEIT8242  Satellite Communication Knowledge	School Consent
	ZEIT8243  Satellite Communication Project	ZEIT8242

 

Table 2. Micro-credential courses and equivalent PECs

Micro-credential course (3 UOC each)		UNSW Canberra five-day PEC
ZEIT8238  Systems Engineering Knowledge	=	Systems Engineering Practice
ZEIT8240  Requirements Practice Knowledge	=	Requirements Practice
ZEIT8244  Systems Thinking and Modelling Knowledge	=	Systems Thinking and Modelling Practice
ZEIT8246  Test and Evaluation Knowledge	=	Test and Evaluation Practice
ZEIT8242  Satellite Communication Knowledge	=	Satellite Communications | Advanced

 

Are there restrictions on the use of micro-credential courses?

All micro-credential courses have an exclusion of the equivalent 6-UOC equivalent course to prevent students repeating the same 6-UOC combination—for example, students completing the combination of ZEIT8238 Systems Engineering Knowledge (3 UOC) and ZEIT8239 Systems Engineering Project (3 UOC) would be excluded from enrolling in the parent ZEIT8226 Systems Engineering Practice (6UOC).