Understanding your academic standing

Find answers to some common questions about your academic standing.

Session 3 results are not included in your academic standing calculation. However, units undertaken in Session 3 will contribute towards your WAM and course requirements.

If your academic standing is Pending at the Session 3 Census Date, you are permitted to remain in any enrolled units for Session 3. If your standing is later changed to Academic Pause or Exclusion before the end of Session 3, you will not be withdrawn from these units.

When you transfer to a new course, your previous academic standing will be applied to that course at the start of the commencing study period.

We understand that your current course may not be right for you and changing courses may mean that you are more successful in your studies. You will be eligible to apply for a new course towards the end of your Academic Pause.

Refer to the table below for the earliest date that you will be eligible to apply for a course transfer.

Academic Pause due
to results from

You are
on pause for

Earliest date to apply for a new course

Status you will
return on

Session 1Session 2 and Session 1 the following yearDay after census for Session 1Probation
Session 2Session 1 and Session 2 of the following yearDay after census for Session 2Probation
Undergraduate courses

Domestic students may apply to change courses either through internal course transfer or via the Universities Admission Centre (UAC). Admission through UAC is competitive and based on academic merit.

International students may apply to change course either through internal course transfer or via Macquarie International. Admission through Macquarie International is competitive and based on academic merit.

Postgraduate courses

Domestic and international students should refer to the ‘How to apply’ website for further information on the application process. Admission is competitive and based on academic merit.

If your academic standing cannot be calculated due to incomplete grades, your Probation standing will carry over to the next study period.

If a grade is still showing as incomplete two weeks after you have submitted your final assessment, please submit an AskMQ enquiry with the subject line "Incomplete Grade".

If you are admitted into concurrent degrees, your academic standing will be calculated from the combined study load of both courses.

A Special Circumstance (SC) grade was used for some study periods during 2020 – more information about this can be found on our grading systems page. Units with an SC grade do not count towards the calculation of your academic standing.