Fee Structure

Undergraduate

The BTheol fee for 2008 is $698 per 15 point-unit.

A student who is an Australian citizen, or holds a permanent humanitarian visa, may take out a FEE-HELP loan to support his or her fees. The FEE-HELP loan is arranged directly with MCD, but forms and booklets are available from the UFT office.

Graduate and Postgraduate

All graduate and postgraduate students need to pay fees, whether up front or FEE-HELP, directly to the MCD office.

The coursework fee for 2008 is $936 per15 point-unit (Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, MTS, MDiv and coursework units taken for the MA, MTheol and MMin).

The fee for postgraduate research students (MA, MMin, MTheol and doctoral students) for 2008 is $7,260.00 per annum (full-time), or on a pro-rata basis.

New postgraduate students who are Australian citizens, or hold a permanent humanitarian visa, may take out a FEE-HELP loan to support their fees. Because FEE-HELP does not incur any loan fee for postgraduate students, the liability to be paid back through the taxation system will be the tuition fee charged for each unit.

Audit students

Audit students attend classes but may not submit work for assessment and do not obtain credit.

Audit Fee: 400.00 per unit.

Undergraduates who do not apply for FEE-HELP

Undergraduate students wishing to pay up front without taking out a FEE-HELP loan will still need to pay $698, but this will be paid to the UFT office, not to the MCD. There are no extra administrative fees involved.

First semester fees must be paid on enrolment. Fees for second semester may be paid at the same time or at the beginning of that semester. Accounts are not normally presented, but may be requested. Cheques should be made payable to the United Faculty of Theology.

FEE-HELP

Students in any MCD course who are Australian citizens, or hold a permanent humanitarian visa, can now have their tuition fees met by a loan from the Commonwealth Government. The scheme – brought in under the Higher Education Support Act (HESA, 2003) – is called the Higher Education Loan Program: FEE-HELP for short.

To apply for a FEE-HELP loan, you must fill in the Government form and send it to the MCD office. Forms and FEE-HELP information 2008 are available from RTI and MCD offices. Your fees will be paid to the MCD office by the Commonwealth, and your RTI will receive payment for your classes and library use.

Before you apply for a loan, please note carefully, the following:

a) For undergraduate courses (BTheol, AdvDipMin, DipMin) the Government adds 20% loan fee to your tax liability (eg, a unit costing $698 will incur a tax liability of $837.60 per unit). For graduates and postgraduate courses (GradCert, GradDips, Masters, Doctorates) only the amount borrowed is subject to repayment. Only take out a loan for complete units for which you are enrolled (eg, request a loan for one, two or three units but not fractions).

b) You must have a Tax File Number to apply for a FEE-HELP loan.

c) Your loan is repaid through the tax system. When your income reaches $39,825 (the 2007/8 figure) you pay a proportion back with your tax. The higher your income, the higher the repayment proportion, starting at 4%. Voluntary early repayments over $500 receive a discount of 10%. Your FEE-HELP tax liability goes up by CPI on June 1st each year. If someone with a FEE-HELP debt dies, only the repayment due in that tax year is billed: the rest is cancelled.

d) The Government requires that, before you sign the FEE-HELP form, you must read the FEE–HELP Information 2008 booklet so that you are aware of your obligations under the scheme. If you participate in FEE-HELP, your details will be listed in DEST’s Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS), and you will receive a Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN), which remains unique to you for life.

The administration at the MCD and RTI offices take your right to privacy seriously, and only use information you provide for the purpose for which you give it to us.

For further information:

Read the FEE–HELP information 2008 booklet

Visit the Going to Uni website at: www.goingtouni.gov.au

Call the FEE-HELP enquiry line on 1800 020 108.

All students

Notification and accreditation of Examination Results is conditional upon payment of outstanding fees.

Refund of Fees. No refund of fees will be made after the census date.

Administration Fee. Normally no administration fee is charged but in some circumstances a student may be required to pay an administration fee, eg. a student taking CPE for credit will be charged an administration fee, together with any fee that is due to the MCD; and a fee of $60 will be charged to those students who withdraw from a unit by the census date.

These fees are inclusive; there are no additional charges for library use or student amenities. Booklets of readings may be offered for sale at cost price for some units.

Certified Transcript Fee: A fee of $11 (includes GST) for enrolments since 1995, pre 1995 $22 (includes GST) will be incurred.

Late enrolment fee and refund of fees (Non FEE-HELP Students only)

Enrolment in all UFT units and courses must occur before:

A late fee of $50 will apply for all students for enrolments after the above dates.

Only in exceptional circumstances determined by the Dean will late changes to enrolment be permitted, but normally not after one clear week from the class commencement. Changes to enrolment must be made in writing. (Change of Enrolment Forms are available at the UFT Office and also on UFT & MCD websites).

Withdrawal from Units

Students who, for whatever reason, desire to withdraw their enrolment in any unit or the course as a whole must complete a Change of Enrolment form and inform the Lecturer(s) in the unit(s) concerned.

If a student withdraws from a class before the Census dates for each semester, no record of enrolment for the unit will be recorded on the transcript. Approved withdrawals up to four weeks before the end of the teaching semester will be recorded as a WD. Withdrawals in the last four weeks of the teaching semester will normally be recorded as a Fail.

Students who do not notify the UFT office of their intention to withdraw, and who do not complete the requirements for the unit will be regarded as having failed, and an ‘F’ will be entered on their transcript.

A student who withdraws from a unit prior to the census date will incur a $60 administration fee.

Austudy

Austudy is currently available for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Theology Degree (CRICOS 011489A ), the Diploma in Ministry (CRICOS 047446D), Advanced Diploma in Ministry (CRICOS 047445E), and for a combination of these awards. Note: The full time study load for BTheol is 4 units per semester (minimum for receiving Austudy is 3 units per semester). Students should consider this before withdrawing from a unit. Further information may be obtained from Austudy Offices, listed in the Melbourne White Pages (see Youth Allowance or Students under Centrelink-linking Australian Government Services). For further information please go to:

Website: www.centrelink.gov.au. For appointments and opening hours telephone 13 1021.