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After making the big decision to commit to this course I will be a Bachelor trained (four-year equivalent) Early Childhood Teacher. Job ready with confidence and practical experience, there are now more rewarding and inspiring career pathways and professional opportunities available to me, including early childhood teacher, educational leader, early years manager / children’s services manager and so much more.
Yes, successfully completing this course means I am eligible for Early Childhood teacher registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) - https://www.vit.vic.edu.au/register/how-to .
Designed to meet the needs of aspiring early years educators, employers, the sector, the government and the wider community, this course offers 9 Professional Terms with 2-4 units in each term. Units in each Professional Term run for approximately 8-9 weeks, and placement units may take a longer number of weeks.
I can expect the workload to be up to 150 hours per unit, per term. However, this number varies depending on the unit and assessments. Designed to be fully online, this course offers me greater flexibility to complete the work at times that best suit me, where I can determine my own study schedule. Furthermore, some assessments may also be completed within the 2-day symposium weekends each term. Ample support will be made available by both ACU, and the student’s workplace provider to assist me to fulfill the requirements of the course.
The assessments vary depending on the unit e.g., unit planning, creating parent pamphlets, essays, simulated workplace assignments. While a small number of units have an exam.
Symposium weekends will be held at both Melbourne and Ballarat ACU campuses. Dates for future symposiums can be obtained by emailing NSE.BEDECA@acu.edu.au
Face-to-face attendance is recommended for both days unless experiencing exceptional circumstances.
Each unit will recommend different readings, based on the unit focus. Look for the Unit Outline document that is provided for each unit (on the unit information CANVAS tile), at the end of the document is a list of recommended readings.
Deferral is not available for the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five Years) (Accelerated). However, I can apply for an interruption of studies if I have completed and achieved final grades for at least one professional term of the course. If I would like to withdraw from the course, I will need to let ACU know by contacting the Course Coordinator and email NSE.BEDECA@acu.edu.au and studentservicesedvic@acu.edu.au. If circumstances change, I can reapply for the course the following year if offered.
Postponement of enrolment is not available for this course. I will need to withdraw from the enrolled units prior to census date. If I withdraw from units after the census date, I may incur academic and financial penalties.
If I would like to withdraw from the course, I will need to let ACU know by contacting NSE.BEDECA@acu.edu.au and the Course Coordinator.
I will not be required to repay any course fees or funding received for the studies completed up to the time of withdrawal. However, I will need to withdraw from units prior to census date. Any withdrawals after census date means I may incur academic and financial penalties. I can reapply the following year if the course is offered and there are places available.
If I have already booked a period of annual leave longer than 2 weeks, prior to getting into the course, I will need to contact the course coordinator via email NSE.BEDECA@acu.edu.au to seek approval.
If I plan to take leave, this should not be during placement dates as these have been set and cannot be moved. I should also avoid taking leave over one of the symposium weekends. While on annual leave, it is expected that I will keep up with the weekly content as I will still need to submit the assessment tasks as scheduled in the Unit Outlines (being on leave will not be a valid reason for seeking a due date extension).
Yes, I will be able to apply for an extension if I meet the eligibility criteria. Please refer to Special Consideration policy and procedures.
If I happen to fail a unit there is a Supplementary Assessment, I will be contacted by the Lecturer in Charge of the Unit. Supplementary Assessment is only offered where a student has failed only one unit in the Professional Term, and that failed unit has a grade between 45-49% and is NOT a unit with a practicum/placement.
I can continue to study this course; however, I will incur a Commonwealth Support Places (CSP) gap payment or full fee payment for the unit I need to repeat. I can choose to re-enrol in the unit through the mainstream offering (12 weeks semester) or through the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five Years) Accelerated program when the unit is next offered. Once I have successfully passed all the required units, I will be eligible to course complete.
It would be difficult to make up a unit in this program due to the accelerated nature of it. However, the program has been designed so that there is an appropriate amount of support to assist me with achieving the best possible results. If concerned that I am falling behind in any of the units, ACU recommend I reach out to the available supports and course contacts for assistance. There is also an option to pause my study and return later if there are exceptional circumstances preventing me from continuing.
Please see the course study dates for 2024: Australian Catholic University (ACU)
The course map can be found here, which shows the terms I will be undertaking placement units (PEP).
If I cannot commit to these placement dates, ACU strongly advises that I withdraw from the course and reapply the following year (if offered). If I choose to proceed with the course and then cannot complete the placement, this will impact course progression and access to funding.
Each placement day requires 7.6 hours of teaching time, this is a placement requirement (a lunch break is additional to this time). I will be required to mirror supervising teachers shifts throughout the placement.
For all placement days that are not full weeks (e.g., 1 day, 2 days or 3 days), I can choose which days to attend, however it must be within the week specified. Where 5 days of placement is specified, I must complete full time blocks. While any placement days that fall on a public holiday must be made up.
All students in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five Years) (Accelerated) program are only required to pay the Student Amenities Fee of approximately $312 per calendar year.
All other course fees are covered by DET. This means no cost will be accumulated under HECS-HELP loan unless I opt to pay the Student Amenities Fee via HECS-HELP.
Funds will be paid to my organisations to support backfilling of my role while on placement (80 days) over the course of this degree, so I can continue to receive a wage, eliminating the need to take leave for the full duration of placements. Please note financial support cannot be provided if I am employed as a casual educator.
Note: The Project Officer will liaise directly with employers, providing information about how the invoicing process works.
As part of this course, I will be reimbursed up to $1000 for technology or study related costs. Please refer to the Knowledge Article for further information. You will be able to claim for the reimbursement after course commencement post census date. An e-form will be circulated for you to lodge your claim.
For students who have a regional postcode, funds are available to support travel to Melbourne and accommodation costs. Metro students can claim up to $31 for their travel expenses per symposium . Please refer to the Knowledge Article for further information
If I enrol in this course, am I eligible for a Department of Education scholarship through the DE Scholarship Program for Early Childhood?
The Australian Catholic University Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five Years) (Accelerated) program includes financial support packages funded by DE to cover:
As such, students enrolled in this course are not eligible for a DE scholarship through the Early Childhood Scholarship Program for the duration of their course.
I am currently receiving an Early Childhood Scholarship from ET and am interested in transferring into the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Birth to Five Years) (Accelerated) program. If my transfer is successful, what happens to my scholarship?
If I have received an Early Childhood Scholarship from ET and transfer into the ACU Accelerated program, I will need to contact BUSY At Work for specific advice on how this transfer might impact on any milestone payments I have already received. Contact BUSY At Work by phone at 1300 161 396 or email EC.Financial.Support@education.vic.gov.au
To enrol in the course please view this video to find a step-by-step guide on how to enrol.
If I experience any difficulty with enrolment, or need assistance, I can contact AskACU, or studentservicesedvic@acu.edu.au
The following services are available to support students with enrolment:
Enrolment questions and support: studentservicesedvic@acu.edu.au
AskACU: https://acu.service-now.com/askacu
When I reach the Course Fees section of the enrolment process, I should select ‘up-front payment.’ After selecting this option, the Faculty will be invoiced for my fees.
No, the accelerated course is designed to consider the study already completed in a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. Students do not need to apply for credit.
No, LANTITE is not a compulsory requirement for this course.
A VIT registered mentor will be supplied by my organisation. A Mentor Teacher supports me during the duration of the course, helps set goals, manage time, and unpack ideas about the unit materials. If my organisation cannot provide a mentor ACU can outsource this to The Front Project.
Students will complete 80 days of placement.
The first placement (30 days) will be undertaken in my current workplace. The other 3 placements need to be undertaken in other approved early childhood education and care settings.
I will need to contact ACU’s Project Officer through NSE.BEDECA@acu.edu.au and they will contact my Service Provider to discuss.
The placement dates are fixed, they cannot be changed for any circumstances (the only exception is in the case where there are multiple students completing placement within the same service).
On each placement I am required to have a degree qualified supervising teacher to monitor my progress and complete the final report assessment. It is preferred that my supervising teacher works in the same room where I complete the placement.
The following services are available to support students with system access issues:
ACU system access issues: https://acu.service-now.com/askacu
CANVAS LMS system access issues: https://cases.canvaslms.com/liveagentchat
Students can call Ask ACU on 1300 275 228, other than this all enquiries need to be sent via email.
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