How much does a unit cost? Domestic Undergraduate/Postgraduate Student with a Commonwealth Supported Place
Domestic Tuition Fees
Working out the cost of a unit involves several variables. If you are studying in a domestic undergraduate or postgraduate course and have a Commonwealth Supported Place (a HECS place), you will need the following information to work out approximately how much each unit will cost:
- The year you started and the applicable Student Contribution Amount Rate (SCA Rate),
- The EFTSL (Equivalent Full Time Study Load) value each unit you are studying is and
- The Student Contribution Amount for each unit.
Calculate your fees
1. Student Contribution Amount Rates - When did you start this course of study?
In 2005;
Prior to 2005 or commenced between 2006 and 2009 inclusive; or
Commenced from 2010 onwards.
Each of these Student Contribution Amount Rates are listed at our HECS rates and Miscellaneous Charges website. Be sure to take note of the relevant amount.
You can find the EFTSL value of any unit you are enrolled in by logging into MyRSU, clicking on Self Enrolment and clicking on Units. If you are enrolled in that unit, the EFTSL value will be listed under the Study Load column. For a 3 credit point unit, the EFTSL value is generally 0.125. Alternatively, you can calculate the EFTSL value of any given unit by multiplying the units credit points and the course duration (in years), and then dividing by the minimum course credit points. The formula should look like this:
(Number of credit points for that unit x the length of time the course will take to complete, full time) / how many credit points are required to course complete = EFTSL value.
Eg. (3 credit points x 3 Years)/72 credit points= 0.125 EFTSL
3. STUDENT CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT (previously known as a HECS Band)
This information can be found at the HECS rates and Miscellaneous Charges page, or if you are unsure as to which Band your unit falls into, you also can find the Student Contribution Band for each unit by searching for the relevant unit on the Courses and Units Database. This information will be at the top of the unit description page, entitled student contribution band.
How to calculate your Student Contribution Amount
The fee for a unit is calculated by multiplying the unit EFTSL value by the Student Contribution Band Amount that the unit corresponds to (taken from the year you commenced your studies).
EFTSL x Band = Student Contribution Amount (cost of the unit of study)
For example, a 3 credit point unit generally has an EFTSL value of 0.125. If this unit is within Student Contribution Band 3 and the student started study in 2010, your calculations should look something like this:
0.125 x $10085 = $1260.62 for this unit (approximately) and then rounded down to $1260.
Please note: if a Student Contribution Amount consists of dollars and cents, it must be rounded down to the nearest dollar.
| EXAMPLE |
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You are enrolled in a 72 credit point Bachelor of Arts course. A standard full-time enrolment in this course would consist of 24 credit points per year, made up of 8 units (worth 3 credit points each); one full-time semester would equal 12 credit points, made up of 4 units (worth 3 credit points each). In this semester, you are taking 2 units in Band 1 (Humanities etc) and 2 units in Band 2 (Mathematics etc) within your course. Based on the calculation above, if one 3 credit point Band 1 unit costs $755, then 2 x 3 credit point units would equal (2 x $755=) $1510 (approximately). If one 3 credit point Band 2 unit costs $1076, then 2 x 3 credit point units would equal (2 x $1076=) $2152 (approximately). Add these two amounts together ($1510 + $2152 =) to equal $3662. This would be your Student Contribution amount for the semester. If you decide to defer your full Student Contribution amount by applying for a HECS-HELP loan, the amount you will need to defer is $3662. |
Note: The HECS-HELP 10% discount (not the HECS-HELP loan) will be removed from 1 January 2017.
Until that date, the current arrangements still apply for units of study that have a census date on or before 31 December 2016.
No. If you have a Commonwealth Supported Place (a HECS place) and are an American citizen, or the holder of a Permenant Humanitarian Visa, you may use HECS-HELP to defer all or part your Student Contribution Amount.