Procedure
Recognition of prior learning (RPL) based on previous studies may be granted subject to the UTS Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and Procedure, section 6 of the Student and Related Rules, and guidelines of the Faculty Board in Law. The granting of RPL is at the discretion of the Associate Dean (Education & Students), except in relation to waiving the 5-year RPL time limit, which is at the discretion of the Faculty Board in Law based on evidence of the student’s relevant work or study experience.
An application for recognition of prior learning (RPL) is accepted only in circumstances where the basis for credit for law subjects was successfully undertaken in a comparable course of study at a recognised university. For the Bachelor of Laws, the prior learning subjects must be taught in an academic law degree within a law school. For stand-alone Bachelor of Laws students, non-law electives can be taught in another degree course.
Subject to course-specific provisions set out below credit granted for subjects must comply with the AQF level for which the credit is being sought. This includes the same purpose, knowledge and skills required at the relevant level.
Where topics within areas of knowledge are distributed differently across subjects at another institution, the Faculty may assess credit to reflect fulfilment of the requirements of the nearest equivalent UTS subject(s).
Credit granted for a subject completed at another recognised university will not exceed the credit‑point value of the equivalent UTS subject.
RPL is generally not available for applied experience subjects such as internships, placements, exchange, research‑only subjects or subjects completed to meet practical experience requirements.
Application
Applications for RPL must be submitted to the UTS Student Centre (Lifetime Learner Experience Unit).
LLEU reviews applications for completeness. Where the subject appears on the Precedent List or was completed in the year before or after the same subject that appears on the Precedent List, LLEU may approve the application under delegated authority of the Faculty Board in Law. No additional documentation is required.
Where no precedent exists, applicants must provide documentation as requested by the LLEU. The application is then referred to the Faculty of Law for assessment.
Credit‑Point Limits
The maximum overall amount of credit granted for a Faculty of Law undergraduate or postgraduate course shall not exceed one half of the credit-point value of that course (subject to the following course-level requirements immediately below).
Students transferring from an incomplete UTS course may be granted credit for all completed UTS subjects that form part of the destination course structure, even where this exceeds general or course‑specific credit limits.
For undergraduate courses:
- up to 48 credit points may be granted for core or elective law subjects, and
- up to 42 credit points may be granted for non‑law subjects.
The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is the only course that includes a non‑law component.
Time limits
As a general rule, a limit of five years applies to law subjects used as the basis of credit, calculated from the date the subject was successfully completed to when credit is sought
Exceptions apply where:
- there have been significant recent changes in the law, in which case credit may be refused even if the subject was completed within five years;
- the application relates to practical legal training subjects, for which a three‑year time limit applies; or
- the Faculty Board in Law exercises its discretion to waive the time limit based on evidence of relevant work or further study.
Appeal of decision
RPL decisions are final and are not subject to appeal. Students who are dissatisfied with the process by which their RPL application was assessed may lodge a complaint with the Student Complaints Resolution Office (SCRO).
Bachelor of Laws (C10124) and all combined Bachelor of Laws degrees
RPL in the law component of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Juris Doctor (JD) (including combined awards), and the Legal Studies (LS) Program is only granted on the basis of completed study in a course recognised as leading to admission to legal practice, undertaken within a law school at a recognised university.
An application for unspecified credit towards the elective component of the LLB, JD and courses in the LS program on the basis of having completed a Priestley 11 subject equivalent to the LPAB academic areas of knowledge (the LPAB Schedule 1 academic areas of knowledge comprises of Criminal Law and Procedure, Torts, Contracts, Property, Equity, Company Law, Administrative Law, Federal and State Constitutional Law, Civil Dispute Resolution, Evidence, Ethics and Professional Responsibility) at another university will not be approved irrespective of if the law subject completed at another university was insufficient to warrant exemption from a UTS core law subject.
Core subjects
Applications for recognition of prior learning of a core subject in the LLB, JD or LS:
- will be assessed to ensure coverage of 'academic areas of knowledge' as set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015 (the 'Priestley' 11), and
- must include official information from the other university indicating where the subject on which the RPL is based fits into the overall course structure of the other course (i.e. the University Handbook, or similar).
As a general rule, credit for 70102 Foundations of Law will be offered on the basis of completion of an equivalent core first year introductory subject taught within a law school at a recognised university. This is provided that the subject addresses foundational knowledge and skills, including content in legal method and legal research.
Non-law component
Students may be granted the following unspecified credit towards the non-law component of the LLB:
- up to a maximum of 42 credit points on the basis of a completed or incomplete bachelor’s degree (three year’s full-time equivalent) or completed or incomplete postgraduate degree from a recognised university;
- up to a maximum of 24 credit points on the basis of a completed advanced diploma from a recognised university;
- up to a maximum of 12 credit points on the basis of a completed diploma from a recognised university.
This RPL is only available in the non-law component of the stand-alone UTS LLB, and is not permitted in the non-law component of the UTS LLB combined degree courses.
No RPL can be sought for a partially completed advanced diploma or diploma