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University and Chancellor's Medals - HE Student Award Procedure

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Section 1 - Preamble

(1) Charles Darwin University (‘the University’, ‘CDU’) takes pride in the achievement of students and is committed to providing high quality educational experiences and graduate outcomes. Each year the University celebrates the success of students at graduation and formally recognises the most meritorious students from Higher Education (HE) by awarding University and Chancellor’s Medals.

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Section 2 - Purpose

(2) This procedure outlines the process for selecting and awarding the University and Chancellor’s Medals to HE students.

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Section 3 - Scope

(3) This procedure applies to HE students at the University who:

  1. are eligible to graduate at the first graduation ceremony scheduled in the academic year; or
  2. have graduated at the last graduation ceremony of the previous academic year.

(4) Vocational Education and Training students will have University and Chancellor’s Medals awarded in accordance with the University and Chancellor's Medals - VET Student Award Procedure.

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Section 4 - Procedure

University Medal

(5) The University Medal is to be awarded to the undergraduate HE student(s) with the highest overall Grade Point Average (GPA) over 6.5, subject to eligibility criteria.

Eligibility criteria

(6) To be eligible for consideration of the University Medal, HE students must meet the following criteria:

  1. be a meritorious candidate for the award with no formal pending or determined misconduct;
  2. be eligible to graduate from an HE Bachelor degree program requiring a minimum of 240 credit points;
  3. have completed a minimum of two thirds (2/3) of the requirements detailed in the program of learning structure from HE units at the University; and
  4. have completed a minimum of 120 credit points from graded, HE units.

Chancellor’s Medal

(7) The Chancellor’s medal is awarded to HE students with the highest overall Grade Point Average over 6.5 in each Faculty, subject to eligibility criteria.

Eligibility criteria

(8) To be eligible for consideration of the Chancellor’s Medal, HE students must meet the following criteria:

  1. be a meritorious candidate for the award with no formal pending or determined misconduct;
  2. have completed at least 80 credit points from a HE program of learning and be eligible to graduate;
  3. have at least 50% of graded units constituting the student’s program of learning; and
  4. not be the recipient of the University Medal for the same program of learning.

(9) A student who will not be eligible to receive a Chancellor’s Medal if they:

  1. are graduating from an integrated course; and
  2. have previously been awarded a Chancellor’s Medal for a nested course within the same course nest.

Selection process

(10) Following the grade release date, the University will identify and rank potential award recipients with a GPA of 6.5 or higher for consideration of University and Chancellor’s Medals.

(11) The Director Student and Academic Services will select and chair a Selection Panel to review the list of potential award recipients and assess their eligibility against the criteria for the respective medal and ensure that the GPA has been calculated correctly according to the criteria outlined below.

Calculation of Grade Point Average

(12) The GPA will be calculated in accordance with the Grading Policy, however the grades for some credit transfers will be included:

  1. Where a student has received credit transfer from a program of learning with a partner organisation that is a Table ‘A’ provider in accordance with the Higher Education Support Act 2003, and the credit is comprised of accredited core units or specialist electives, the grade from the awarding partner organisation will be reviewed, to ensure it has been correctly calculated and counted towards the GPA.

(13) Where a student’s academic record incorporates a nested program of learning that has been completed at the University, the total academic record making up the program of learning will be used to calculate the GPA.

Confirmation of award recipients

(14) The Chair of the Selection Panel will review the confirmed list of potential award recipients and award each Medal to the student with the highest ranked GPA.

  1. Two or more Medals may be awarded where it is not possible to distinguish between two or more students’ GPAs.

Awarding of medals

(15) The successful recipients of the University Medal or Chancellor’s Medal will be advised in writing and invited to attend the University graduation ceremony to be presented with a medal.

  1. University and Chancellor’s Medals will generally be presented at the first graduation ceremony scheduled in the academic year.
  2. Award recipients will have their achievement recognised on their Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS) and noted within the graduation program.
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Section 5 - Non-Compliance

(16) Non-compliance with Governance Documents is considered a breach of the Code of Conduct - Employees or the Code of Conduct - Students, as applicable, and is treated seriously by the University. Reports of concerns about non-compliance will be managed in accordance with the applicable disciplinary procedures outlined in the Charles Darwin University and Union Enterprise Agreement 2022 and the Code of Conduct - Students.

(17) Complaints may be raised in accordance with the Complaints and Grievance Policy and Procedure - Employees and Complaints Policy - Students.

(18) All staff members have an individual responsibility to raise any suspicion, allegation or report of fraud or corruption in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Control Policy and Whistleblower Reporting (Improper Conduct) Procedure.