Academic Records Policy

1. Purpose

1.1 The Academic Records Policy (the policy) outlines the format and content, provision, management and requirements for official academic records (as defined in Schedule 1, Student Rules).

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to all staff, students and affiliates and refers to all official academic records produced by the university.

2.2 The following are out of scope of this policy:

awards from antecedent institutions
Australian Higher Education Graduation Statements (AHEGS) for awards conferred before 18 August 2010
clinical/professional placements or experience statements (these are held by relevant faculties in accordance with the State Records Act 1998 (NSW) and the Records Management Policy)
certificates and digital badges for short forms of learning, including microcredentials (refer Short Forms of Learning Policy).

3. Principles

3.1 The accuracy, authenticity and security of official academic records is of primary reputational significance to UTS, its students and graduates.

3.2 Falsification of any official academic records or false claims about conferral of awards damages the reputation of the university and its graduates. Any people who falsify these documents may be prosecuted under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

3.3 UTS is committed to providing graduates with accurate and up-to-date qualification verification, and to managing false claims, while also meeting privacy obligations.

4. Policy statements

Provision of official academic records

4.1 Official academic records under the scope of this policy are managed and produced under the authority of the Director, Student Administration in the Lifetime Learner Experience Unit (LLEU).

4.2 Academic transcripts are provided to students after the conferral of an award and on request in line with LLEU guidelines and procedures (refer Academic record).

4.3 AHEGS are provided to students after the conferral of an award and on request in line with LLEU guidelines and procedures (refer AHEGS and testamur and My eQuals).

4.4 Original testamurs are distinct legal documents produced in original form only once for each course from which a student graduates.

4.5 Uncollected original testamurs and AHEGS are retained for 12 months, after which they are destroyed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW) and the Records Management Policy.

4.6 In addition to the provisions in this policy, LLEU will provide additional opportunities to students for the issue, collection and general availability (digital or print) of official academic records. These will be published on the public website (refer Academic record).

4.7 Official academic records may be withheld in line with Rule 4.4.1(7) and Rule 16.3.1(7).

Format and content of official academic records

4.8 The general and student-specific content of official academic records are decided based on the requirements of the Department of Education (refer Guidelines for the presentation of AHEGS), industry best practice and UTS rules, policies and delegations.

4.9 Testamurs are approved and issued, and replacement testamurs re-issued, in line with the Delegations and Rule 13.9.

4.10 The Director, Student Administration approves changes as appropriate to the academic transcript and AHEGS in line with the Delegations.

4.11 Official academic records may be available in print and digital format in line with this policy and LLEU guidelines and procedures (refer Academic record and My eQuals).

4.12 LLEU is responsible for keeping a register of formats and stationery used for official academic records. The register will document the dates when specific formats were used and when changeovers occurred.

4.13 Official academic records use the English (Roman) character set with standard English punctuation marks.

4.14 Additional provisions for courses taught in languages other than English are approved by the Director, Student Administration and made publicly available.

Verification of academic records to third parties

4.15 To maintain the integrity of UTS qualifications and academic records, and ensure risks are mitigated, verification of qualifications or authenticity of documents will be facilitated in line with procedures and guidelines approved by the Director, Student Administration.

4.16 Copies of official academic records may be provided or disclosed to external organisations or third parties in line with the Privacy Policy, the Privacy Management Plan (PDF) (available at Privacy regulations) and the procedures for managing academic records approved by the Director, Student Administration.

4.17 Students, former students and alumni may request to control or limit access to their academic records in line with LLEU procedures and guidelines (refer My eQuals).

Maintenance of personal details

4.18 Students are required to keep their details up to date in line with Rule 2.3.9.

4.19 Requests to amend personal student information recorded on official academic records will be handled in line with the Privacy Policy, the Privacy Management Plan (PDF) (available at Privacy regulations) and procedures on Amending inaccurate information and Personal details.

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Policy owner: The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students) is responsible for the enforcement of and compliance with this policy, ensuring that its principles and statements are observed.

5.2 Policy contact: The Director, Student Administration is the primary point of contact for advice on implementing and administering this policy.

6. Definitions

These definitions apply for this policy and all associated procedures. These are in addition to the definitions outlined in Schedule 1, Student Rules. Definitions in the singular also include the plural meaning of the word.

Antecedent institution means former institutions which were amalgamated with or subsumed by UTS and where separate records are maintained, including:

New South Wales Institute of Technology (NSWIT) (1965 to 1987)
Sydney College of the Arts — School of Design (SCA) (before 1988)
Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education (KCAE) (1974 to 1989)
Balmain Teachers College (BTC) (1946 to 1970)
William Balmain College of Advanced Education (WBC) (1971 to 1973)
Sydney College of Advanced Education (SCAE): Institute of Technical and Adult Teacher Education (ITATE) (1980 to 1989)
Australian College of Acupuncture (APA) (before 1992).

Official academic record (also academic record) is defined in Schedule 1, Student Rules and includes the academic transcript, the testamur and the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS). The Vice-Chancellor is the signatory on official academic records (as of April 2023).

Verification means the fulfilment of a request to confirm UTS qualifications and student records with a third party as to whether:

a person is a graduate of the university
a document that purports to be either a UTS testamur, a UTS academic record, a UTS AHEGS or any other UTS document is an authentic UTS document, and
the contents of any of the above UTS documents are consistent with UTS official records.

Approval information

Policy contact	Director, Student Administration
Approval authority	Vice-Chancellor
Review date	2024
File number	UR18/558
Superseded documents	Academic Records Vice-Chancellor’s Directive (UR15/1372)

Version history

Version	Approved by	Approval date	Effective date	Sections modified
1.0	Vice-Chancellor	29/03/2018	23/04/2018	New policy.
1.1	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	09/03/2021	08/04/2021	Amendments to reflect updates resulting from the Policy Impact Project (2020) and to refer to short forms of learning.
2.0	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	30/09/2021	09/11/2021	Amendments following scheduled three-year review and key portfolio changes under Fit for 2027 project.
2.1	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	18/04/2023	19/04/2023	Amendments to reflect new position of Director, Student Administration in the Lifetime Learner Experience Unit.
2.2	Deputy Director, Corporate Governance (Delegation 3.14.2)	29/11/2023	12/12/2023	Minor change as a result of the introduction of a digital badge for short forms of learning.