Accredited Professional Development Courses
Students may enrol in single Units of a higher education course (such as the Bachelor of Accounting) without enrolling in the full course.
These Accredited Professional Development (APD) Courses offer students the ability to:
- update or upgrade their professional knowledge and qualifications in a specific area; or
- attempt a Unit at a higher education level as a potential pathway to a degree course
APD Units are fully accredited¹ and may be commenced at any time. However, students will be required to undertake study at an undergraduate level and will be expected to submit assessments and / or participate in assessment activities according to the Cengage Education Term and Unit schedules.
Once all assessments for an APD course are completed successfully, the student will be issued with a Certificate of Completion². This certificate will enable the student to apply for Advanced Standing upon application for enrolment in a degree³.
¹ Department of Education and Training, NSW.
² If assessments are not attempted or not completed successfully, a Certificate of Participation only will be issued.
³ Advanced Standing is granted for studies completed within seven years of the date of application for Recognition of Prior Learning.
First level Units
First level Units of the Bachelor of Accounting introduce students to the principles and concepts of accounting, finance and law. Relevant areas of management are also introduced, such as organisational behaviour, project management, statistics and macroeconomics. The aim is to provide a solid theoretical and practical basis for the more analytical and investigative learning that characterise levels two and three. In other words, first level units are about developing core knowledge and skills, andproviding a broad framework of understanding.
Second level Units
The second level Units of the course expand on the introductory concepts introduced in level one, and cover more advanced concepts, especially in financial, managerial and corporate accounting. Assessment activities are more demanding, and students are expected to integrate their learning across strands and disciplines. Second level Units are about expanding the knowledge base and synthesising concepts and principles.
Third Level Units
Third level Units extend students further by requiring detailed analysis of complex accounting, legal and managerial issues. Level three Units require the consolidation of previous learning, interpretation of case study materials, and analysis of scenarios. The successful completion of third level Units entails a thorough acquaintance with the bodies of knowledge that constitute the field of accounting, and, just as important, the commercial and social environments in which accountants and finance professionals practise.