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Rescission of an Award/Correction of an Award Procedure

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Section 1 - Overview

(1) These Procedures are made under the Graduation Rule and establish procedures to:

  1. rescind an Award when:
    1. a Graduate applies to have their Award rescinded;
    2. an administrative error has resulted in the conferral of an award for which the Student was not eligible; or
    3. a Student or former Student is in breach of a rule or policy of the University where rescission of an award is a penalty for such a breach; and
  2. to correct an Award when details are incorrect.
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Section 2 - Scope

(2) These Procedures apply to:

  1. all awards conferred by the University; and
  2. UNE Representatives involved in the administration and approval of a rescission of an award or correction of an award conferred by the University.

(3) These procedures do not apply to honorary awards. Please refer to the Honorary Titles and Awards Rule.

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Section 3 - Procedures

Rescission of Award

(4) A Graduate who wishes to relinquish an Award shall apply in writing to Student Experience. All documents issued by the University that attest to the conferral of the award should accompany the application. If the documents are not available the person must provide a statutory declaration stating that the documents are destroyed or no longer available.

(5) When it has been identified (by the Graduation Officer, Head of School, Faculty or Research Services) that a Student or former Student has been admitted to an Award incorrectly as a result of an administration error the Recommendation of Rescission of Award Form must be completed. Attempts must be made to retrieve all documents issued by the University that attest to the conferral of the award. The Head of School, Faculty or Research Services must inform the Graduation Officer if they have been unable to retrieve the documents.

(6) For a rescission of an award under clause 5 of this Procedure the Recommendation of Rescission of an Award Form will be forwarded to either the Deputy Vice-Chancellor or Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research  for endorsement.

(7) For a rescission of an award as a result of a penalty applied in breach of a University rule or policy the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer (after review of the case) must ratify the decision to rescind the award before submitting the Recommendation of Rescission of an Award Form to Council for approval.

(8) All recommendations for a rescission of an award by the Council must be submitted to the University Secretariat.

Determination by Council

(9) Upon receipt of a Recommendation of Rescission of an Award Form, Council will resolve either that:

  1. the award is rescinded, with rescission taking effect immediately; or
  2. the award is not rescinded.

(10) If the resolution of Council differs from any recommendations for rescission then the Council shall provide a short statement of reasons for that resolution.

No Further Internal Appeal

(11) The decision of Council is final and conclusive and is not subject to any appeal within the University. A person who seeks to appeal the Council’s decision to rescind an award must do so through an external authority.

Notification to Recipient

(12) The University Secretary (or delegate) shall, within seven working days of the Council resolution, notify the person of that resolution, and if the award is rescinded advise:

  1. the date on which the rescission took effect or is to take effect in accordance with the resolution of Council;
  2. that they are required to:
    1. return to the University within ten (10) working days of the date of the notice, the documentation that attests to the conferral of the award including the original Testamur, completion and conferral Academic Record (Transcript) and the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS) (if not already provided);
    2. no longer cite or imply that they are a recipient of the award that has been rescinded;
    3. take steps to notify any current employers, educational institutions, professional registration bodies or associations or others as applicable, that the award has been rescinded; and
  3. the University, in accordance with the Privacy Management Rule relating to disclosure and use of Student personal information, may notify parties with a legitimate interest in knowing that information, that the award has been rescinded.

Amendment of Recipient's Record

(13) The University Secretary (or delegate) will advise the relevant sections of the University, including the Advancement, Communications, and Events Directorate, Student Experience and/or Research Services, and direct them that all relevant records of the University relating to the recipient are to be amended to reflect the rescission of award. The University Secretariat will forward the original Testamur (if obtained by the University) to the Graduation Officer who will destroy the document.

Correction of an Award

(14) When it has been identified that a Graduate has been admitted to an award where one or more details of the award are incorrect (e.g. name, title of award, major) the Graduation Officer will obtain the relevant documentation from the graduate and prepare the Recommendation of Correction of Award Form and forward to either the Deputy Vice-Chancellor or Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research for approval. The act of signing the Form will mark the date the award listed in the document is corrected.

(15) The Recommendation of Correction of Award Form will be returned to the Graduation Officer who will then issue a new Testamur.

(16) Prior to every Council meeting the Executive Principal Student Experience, will provide a report to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor) on the fixing of the seal of the University on replacement Testamurs. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor will forward the report to Council for noting.

Records Management

(17) Records relating to any action or decision made under these Procedures must be recorded in accordance with the Records Management Rule.

Authority and Compliance

(18) The Director Governance and University Secretary is the Procedure Administrator pursuant to the University's Graduation Rule makes these procedures.

(19) UNE Representatives and Students must observe these Procedures in relation to University matters.

(20) These Procedures operate as and from the Effective Date.

(21) Previous Procedures relating to Rescission of an Award are replaced and have no further operation from the Effective Date of this new Procedure.