AUT - Progressing through your qualification
- ArionWhere applying and enrolled students can access AUT course information, check your enrolment status, make fee payments, update your personal details and view your academic results.
- AUTOnlineOnline access to course resources and learning activities through AUT's central learning management system.
- UnicentralUniCentral is the AUT University Student Portal. Here you will find useful information about you as a student and quicklinks to all the important online systems you will need to use while studying at AUT University.
Progressing through your qualification
The following explains the different types of papers you’ll have to complete to gain your qualification and lets you know what to do if you want to change or withdraw from papers. You can also access information about graduation.
- Types of papers
- Majors, minors and specialisations
- Choosing your papers
- Enrolling in papers
- Changing papers
- Withdrawing from papers or programmes
- Completing your qualification and graduating
Types of papers
All programmes of study at AUT have at least some papers which must be completed successfully if you are to progress through the programme to complete your qualification. These are referred to as compulsory papers, core papers, pre-requisites or co-requisites. Papers that are not compulsory are referred to as optional or elective papers.
Information about the requirements of your chosen programme will be available online or in printed handbooks that you will have access to when you have enrolled.
What are compulsory papers?
These are papers that students in a programme must complete in order to progress through and complete their qualification. Papers may be compulsory for a whole programme, or just for a particular major, minor or specialisation.
What are core papers?
Core papers are those that all students in a programme must complete in order to progress through and complete a qualification.
What are pre-requisites?
Prerequisites are papers that must be completed before you can enrol in a more advanced paper in a particular subject area.
What are co-requisites?
Co-requisites are papers that must be completed at the same time as others (i.e. during the same semester).
What are optional papers?
Options or optional papers are a set of papers within a compulsory element of a programme from which students must choose one or more. For example, to complete the first year compulsory elements of a programme, students may be required to select two out of a possible four options. See Choosing your papers below.
What are elective papers?
You have greater choice about elective papers, subject to their availability and fit within your timetable. They may be papers that sit within your chosen programme or major, or in a completely different subject that you are interested in. See Choosing your papers below.
Majors, minors and specialisations
What is a major?
Most degrees require you to specialise in an area of study. This is your major, which you choose from those on offer within your degree, and which normally makes up at least one third of your degree study (120 points). You may choose one or more majors as the main focus of study within your degree. However, not all degrees offer majors.
What is a minor?
A minor is a short sequence of papers, usually over at least two levels in a subject area. If you are interested in a subject area, but don’t wish to study it in as much depth as you would need for a major, you may be able to complete a minor in that subject. However, not all degrees offer minors.
What is a specialisation?
A specialisation is a coherent group of related papers in a particular area of study, usually within a postgraduate qualification.
The Study areas section of this site offers more detail about degree types and structures.
Choosing your papers
You may have a clear idea of what you want to study, or your papers may be prescribed by the regulations for your chosen programme. If not, you may wish to seek advice on planning your study from designated advisors within your programme department or faculty. They can help you make sure your choices enable you to complete your programme within the minimum time, and that you cover all the compulsory requirements. Your programme administrator will be able to refer you to the right person.
You can find a list of the papers that make up your chosen programme by going to Study areas, choosing your subject and then choosing your programme.
Visit Study areas.
In some cases, papers are also listed in AUTOnline.
To find information about elective papers from outside your programme, or other subjects you are interested in, search by paper code or key word at the Arion paper search.
Enrolling in papers
Every year, and in some cases every semester that you are enrolled at the University, you will need to enrol in the papers that make up your programme of study. Enrolment methods vary depending on the department or faculty administering your programme, and the nature of that programme.
Where the papers in your programme are all compulsory and only offered once per year, your enrolment may be completed for you by your programme administrator.
Where there are choices for you to make, the enrolment process may be an online or a manual one. You will receive information from your programme department, along with guidelines on how to complete your enrolment or re-enrolment process.
Changing papers
If you wish to change which papers you are enrolled in, it is a good idea to discuss your thoughts with your academic advisor or programme administrator first and consider any possible impacts on:
- Your student allowance or loan
- The time it will take to complete your programme
- Your academic record
You should also consider the impact of any additional charges or loss of fees. For more information, see the AUT Refund Policy. 
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If you decide to go ahead with the change, you must notify the University by completing a Paper and Programme Amendment Form and submitting it to your programme administrator promptly.
Paper and Programme Amendment Form
Withdrawing from papers or programmes
Many students, at some stage of their University experience, may encounter academic, personal or financial difficulties that may result in their wish to withdraw from their studies.
If you are seriously considering withdrawing from your enrolment in a programme or paper for some reason, or just don’t feel like continuing, it is a good idea to discuss your thoughts with your programme leader or other academic advisor before finalising your decision.
The University has a number of services to support students who are experiencing difficulties of all kinds, and may be able to support you to continue and succeed in your programme.
If you do decide to go ahead with your withdrawal, you must notify the University by completing a Paper and Programme Amendment Form and submitting it to your programme administrator promptly.
Paper and Programme Amendment Form
Completing your qualification and graduating
To complete your qualification, you must have passed all the compulsory requirements for your programme and completed the total number of points required for the qualification (normally 120 points per equivalent full-time year).
The Graduation section of this site offers detailed information about completing your qualification, applying to graduate and participating in the graduation ceremony. See Graduation.