Definitions

Accrediting authority	Refers to the organisation designated by or under legislation of the Commonwealth or appropriate state or territory government to accredit persons or organisations to offer education or training services to Australian students.
Compulsory study period	A compulsory study period is one in which the student must enrol unless granted a deferment or suspension from enrolment or leave of absence under Standard 9 (Deferring, suspending or cancelling the student’s enrolment). A compulsory study period does not include periods in which the student can elect to undertake additional studies. See also ‘Study period’.
Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)	A document, provided electronically, which is issued by the registered provider to intending overseas students and which must accompany their application for a student visa. It confirms the overseas student’s eligibility to enrol in the particular course of the registered provider.
Course	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Course credit	Exemption from enrolment in a particular part of the course as a result of previous study, experience or recognition of a competency currently held. Includes academic credit and recognition of prior learning.
Course progress	The measure of advancement within a course towards the completion of that course irrespective of whether course completion is identified through academic merit or skill based competencies.
CRICOS	The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) is the register prescribed under section 14A of the ESOS Act.
Critical incident	A traumatic event, or the threat of such (within or outside Australia), which causes extreme stress, fear or injury.
Designated State authority (DSA)	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Enrolment	Where the student has been issued with a CoE to confirm acceptance by the registered provider and is occupying a place in the CRICOS registered course for which the student was accepted and is progressing towards the completion of the course requirements. The period of enrolment includes scheduled breaks between study periods.
ESOS agency	Has the meaning given by section 6C of the ESOS Act.
Intending overseas student	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Marketing	Promotion of the provider and its courses and facilities to prospective overseas students and their parents or guardians, agents, international organisations and other interested parties such as alumni.
Migration agent	A person registered as a migration agent as per section 286 of the Migration Act 1958.
Mode of study	Includes attendance face-to-face in a classroom, supervised study on the registered provider’s campus, distance learning, online learning and work-based learning.
Overseas student	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Principal course of study	The principal course of study refers to the main course of study to be undertaken by an overseas student where a student visa has been issued for multiple courses of study. The principal course of study would normally be the final course of study where the overseas student arrives in Australia with a student visa that covers multiple courses.
PRISMS	The Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS) is the system used to process information given to the Secretary of DET by registered providers.
Provider	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Provider default	Where the registered provider fails to provide a course or ceases to provide a course to an overseas student within the meaning of section 46A of the ESOS Act.
Recruitment	The pre-enrolment processes of engaging and assisting overseas students (or parent or guardian if the overseas student is under 18) to apply for a place in a course with a provider leading up to the formal enrolment, including assistance with administrative issues and the issuing of a CoE for an application for a student visa.
Registered provider	As defined in section 5 of the ESOS Act, the registered provider for a course for a location means a provider that is registered to provide the course at the location.
Scheduled course contact hours	The hours for which students enrolled in the course are scheduled to attend classes, course-related information sessions, supervised study sessions, mandatory and supervised work-based training and examinations.
Self-accrediting provider	Self-accrediting institutions are established by or under relevant Commonwealth or state or territory government legislation with the authority to accredit their own courses.
State	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Student	Means an overseas student (or intending overseas student) as the context requires.
Student contact officer	Employee(s) of the registered provider deemed to have an appropriate level of skill, knowledge and expertise who is able to provide advice to overseas students on a range of matters.
Student default	Where an overseas student does not start a course or withdraws from a course as defined in section 47A(2) of the ESOS Act.
Student visa	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Study period	A discrete period of study within a course, namely term, semester, trimester, short course of similar or lesser duration, or as otherwise defined by the registered provider as long as that period does not exceed six months. See also ‘Compulsory study period’.
Tuition fees	Has the meaning given in the ESOS Act.
Unit	A discrete component of study within a course; the term includes ‘subject’ and ‘module’.

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