Determining minimum (normal) time for a course of study 010-07010020

The duration of payment is related to the length of the course that is currently being undertaken. Therefore, it is important to determine the normal length of a particular course. The normal length of a course is also known as minimum time (that is, the minimum time in which the course would be expected to be completed).

The student may be allowed some additional time to complete a course, and this is known as allowable or reasonable time. Normal or minimum time to complete a course must be ascertained first in order to determine allowable/reasonable time for the course.

The normal (minimum) duration of the course is often identified by the educational provider handbook, website, or other written documentation (for example, 'a two-year diploma in Marketing', 'the University offers this course over four years', etc.).

Some educational providers (particularly Technical and Further Education (TAFE institutions and private providers) do not identify the minimum duration of a course but will articulate the minimum requirements for completion (for example, Certificate IV in Accounting requires the completion of 620 hours' worth of study at NSW TAFE). This completion requirement can be extrapolated to work out the minimum duration by dividing the total completion hours by the normal amount of full-time study. The normal amount of full time study for TAFE courses is articulated in extra of Assessing study load requirements. For face-to-face students, the resulting number of weeks is then divided by the number of study periods for the course to give the total number of study periods required for completion of the course in minimum time. For distance education students the number of weeks would be calculated. The calculation results should be rounded up to the nearest whole study period for face-to-face students and the nearest week for distance education students.

Minimum time is the length of time a student undertaking the standard full-time study load for a course would normally take to complete that course.

Note: minimum time is not the shortest period in which a student can finish a course; it is the standard period to complete it. A student may choose to undertake a greater than normal study load and so complete the course earlier, but many students follow the standard study load.

When making an unfavourable decision, speak to the customer:

• explain the decision
• give them a chance to provide more information, and
• advise their review and appeal rights

Make 2 genuine attempts to contact a customer before finalising the decision.