Choosing your courses

5. Understanding mySI-net and ECPs

To save space, course information is often presented used abbreviations, codes or unique terminology. Here's what they mean:

Academic career

This refers to the academic level of a course (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate coursework etc.)

Building name

The building where the class is held. To find your way around campus, download the UQ Maps app or use the UQ maps database.

Building number

The building number where the class is held. All campus buildings are numbered.

Campus/location

The primary location where a course is taught. Not all classes are taught from this location (e.g. practicals, clinical-based learning, industry placements etc.)

Class

Each course offers a number of classes (e.g. lectures, tutorials etc.). Classes are usually abbreviated with a combination of 3 letters and a number (e.g. LEC1 is lecture 1).

Class status

Courses marked "Active" are available for enrolment.

Course code

Each course taught at the University is allocated an eight-character code.

The four letters describe the course discipline (e.g. ANCH for ancient history, MICR for microbiology, PHTY for physiotherapy etc.)
The four numbers uniquely identify the course. The first number identifies the level of the course (e.g. first year, second year etc.) and the remaining numbers are used for administrative purposes.

Please pay close attention to the first number in a course code:

1 ... first-level undergraduate
2 ... second-level undergraduate
3 ... third-level undergraduate
4 ... fourth-level undergraduate
5 ... fifth-level undergraduate
6 ... honours, graduate certificate or graduate diploma
7 ... master's by coursework
8 ... professional doctorate
9 ... MPhil, PhD or higher doctorate.

Make sure you choose courses that are at an appropriate level – especially if you are selecting elective courses from a different discipline, or if you are in your first year.

Contact hours

Class contact hours are abbreviated with a combination of letters and numbers:

Numbers represent the amount of time, and
Letters represent the type of class.

For example: '2L2P' means two hours (2) of lectures (L) and two hours (2) of practical work (P) each week.

Other letters you might encounter include:

Code	Description	Definition
CBL	Case-based learning	Active learning sessions where students are presented with a case or dilemma situated in an authentic context, which they are required to solve. Students are provided with background, situation and supporting data; they can work individually or as a group. The course coordinator takes on a facilitator’s role to guide learning rather than to dictate answers.
CCO	Clinical coaching	Clinical coaching is teaching and learning which takes place in a clinical context in small groups. It usually involves patients and, as such, clinical coaching enables development of professionalism as well as clinical skills and necessitates sensitivity, confidentiality, and discretion. Clinical coaching may involve presentation of a case, assessment, and discussion of the case with or without a clinician present.
CON	Contact	General contact hours
EXC	Excursion	Excursions are trips away from the University campus conducted for a group of students for purposes related to achieving the learning outcomes of the course or program.
EXM	Exam	Exams are paper or electronic-based (e-Assessment) timed activities.
FLD	Fieldwork	Fieldwork classes require students to engage in work activities related to the course at a predetermined location away from the university campus.
ICT	IT Computing	IT Sessions are based in a room with either a university computer on each desk or have seating space available for students to use their own personal devices.
LEC	Lecture	Lectures are typically instructor-led classes with structured content carried out in a large group. Lectures involve student-educator interaction and may also include student-student interaction.
PAS	Peer Assisted Study Session	PASS sessions are voluntary, small group-sessions designed to complement lectures, tutorials and other course materials. The sessions are run by PASS Leaders, who are high-achieving students who have recently completed the course.
PBL	Problem-based learning	PBL supports learning through an enquiry-guided method for students to solve a real-life problem. Students use ‘triggers’ derived from the problem to define their own learning outcome/objectives. There is a specific, guided methodology for implementing PBL.
PLA	Placement	Placement classes typically require students to participate in work-related experiences, usually in a location external to UQ.
PRA	Practical	Practicals are 'hands-on' classes which allow students to apply the theories learned in a course in practical situations. For example, in a science course, practicals may include conducting experiments in a laboratory.
SMR	Seminar	Seminars are similar to traditional lectures, but they typically involve more interaction between students and run longer than a traditional lecture.
STU	Studio	Studio classes are usually associated with design and architecture courses. Studios are held where students are required to undertake activities such as drawing and model making.
SYM	Symposium	Symposia are whole-cohort learning experiences in which experts (e.g., industry representatives, clinicians, or community elders) present information, and then students engage in a facilitated, interactive discussion with the presenters to explore a topic in depth. There may be one speaker, but ideally this format will feature a panel of presenters, or multiple individual speakers, with each offering unique perspectives. Active learning tools are used to help facilitate meaningful student engagement.
TBL	Team Based Learning	Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning and small group instructional strategy that provides students with opportunities to apply conceptual knowledge through a sequence of activities that includes individual work, teamwork and immediate feedback.
TUT	Tutorial	Tutorials are facilitated by a tutor and are run in relatively small groups of students. Tutorials allow group discussion of course content and assessment, and presentation and debate on themes and concepts related to the course. Many courses have one weekly tutorial.
WKS	Workshop	Workshops are focused on engaging students in active learning. They use a more practical, interactive approach than lectures and are usually held in larger groups than a tutorial. The format of a workshop is very flexible. They may involve discussion, interaction, haptic learning, presentation, and debate.

Coordinating unit

The University department responsible for administering the course.

The coordinating unit will usually be a school and the school's name is often abbreviated.

Pay close attention to school names. The school that administers a course will be different to the faculty that administers your program. During the semester you may need to contact your school.

Coordinator

This is the person who is primarily responsible for designing, planning and teaching a course.

Please note that course coordinators are responsible for teaching – they aren't responsible for administrative areas such as timetabling, or dropping a course, or academic progression.

Talk to administrative staff in your school office or faculty office about these areas.

Day

The day of the week when the class is held.

Enrolled

The number of students enrolled in a course. Courses with large enrolment numbers will have a greater number of classes timetabled in order to accommodate all students.

Instruction mode

The words "in person" and "external" refer to types of attendance at the University.

An in-person course may incorporate some aspects of online delivery (e.g. online lectures, options for online tutorials, digital assessment) but requires students to engage in in-person learning or assessment at a UQ campus or other location at some point.
External courses are delivered entirely online, and students must participate online for all learning and assessment.

Location

The campus or other site where a class is held.

Prerequisites, companions and incompatibles

You can’t enrol in a course if you haven’t passed its prerequisites, or if you've studied an incompatible course:

Prerequisites are the assumed knowledge requirements for a course. They have to be completed before you enrol.
Two or more courses are incompatible if their content is very similar, or if it substantially overlaps.
Companions are a pair of courses (or a group of courses) that should be studied together. Companion courses can either be studied all together in the same semester, or in separate semesters (i.e. one companion can be studied before another).
See an example from the catalogue

Restrictions

This means a course is restricted to students who are enrolled in one of the listed programs.

Room

The room number where the class is held. The first digit typically refers to the floor number (e.g. room number 715 is on floor seven).

Semester offered

Some courses aren't offered each semester or each year. Check mySI-net or the program and course catalogue to confirm a course's availability for enrolment.

Sem 1	A course undertaken completely in Semester 1
Sem 2	A course undertaken completely in Semester 2
Sem 1 or 2	A course that may be undertaken in either semester
Int	Internal
Ext	External
NOT 2021	The course will not be offered in the specified year
Year	A course undertaken over two semesters
Sum	A course taught in Summer Semester

Session

The specific dates a course is taught. Courses may be offered during a standard Semester or a teaching period.

Session information also includes the census date for a course.

Start/End

A class's start time and finish time. Classes usually finish 10 minutes early, so you can get to your next class on time.

Units

Each course is rated in terms of units, which reflect the amount of effort required to complete it, including both class contact and private study.

A hashtag (#) is sometimes used to represent the word "unit". Most courses are 2 units (#2) each.

Weeks taught

The specific week numbers when a course is taught. Semester 1 and Semester 2 are usually 13 weeks long.

Consult the academic calendar to work out what week it is. Week 1 begins with the first day of classes (i.e. Orientation Week is not counted as Week 1).

Please note some courses are taught in non-standard teaching periods or in intensive mode – go to 'Session' for the exact dates a course is taught.

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