What you need to know about Show Cause

What is a Show Cause?

A show cause is an alert sent to students who are not meeting their course progression requirements. Keep reading to find out why you may have received a Show Cause and what you need to do about it.

Don’t panic if you have received one! You’ll have a chance to tell your side of the story and gain additional support if you need it.

Why did I receive a Show Cause?

• You received poor or unsatisfactory results for three successive teaching periods (Section 10 Course Progression Rules).
• You displayed unethical or unprofessional conduct, as determined by your Course Coordinator (Section 21 General Rules).

Under the Course Progression Rules, meeting satisfactory course progress includes:

• passing at least half of the credit points you attempted,
• satisfying course rules relating to minimum grades,
• meeting other conditions set by the Course Coordinator, and;
• completing your course within the maximum time allowable.

If you haven’t met these requirements, you will receive a Show Cause.

What you need to do

A Show Cause requires a written response explaining why you believe you should be permitted to continue studying your degree. At Advocacy & Welfare, we can help you form this response.

It is very important that you submit your written response within the time frame specified in the Show Cause notice. If you do not respond, you will be automatically excluded from studying your course for 12 months.

The written response needs to include:

• Any reasons why you have not met the course requirements; and
• What changes and strategies you have implemented since receiving your results, which would allow you to successfully complete your studies.

If there have been medical, family or personal reasons why your study has fallen behind, you will need to provide some evidence supporting that. You will need to explain why and how these circumstances have affected your ability to study. If study skills and time management issues occurred, say so. Honesty is key.

Support is available

There is a whole range of support available to UNE students. You can use these to get your study back on track. It is highly recommended that you use the support services so that you can demonstrate this in your response.

We already compiled the A-Z of UNE Student Support, head here to check them out. These are some examples of what kind of support can be provided:

• Free counselling is available to all UNE students – this can be used for lots of reasons, including mental health, or navigating difficult life circumstances. Study Gym Sessions can be used to help get time management and study skills under your belt.
• Student Access & Inclusion can help you navigate ongoing illness, disability, unreliable internet and Defence Reservists, just to name a few!
• The Academic Skills Office can help you learn invaluable study and writing skills, time management and referencing techniques.

How Advocacy & Welfare can help

If you’ve received a Show Cause notice and need help responding, get in touch with us. We can have a confidential discussion with you about your circumstances, and help you formulate your response. We can put you in touch with UNE support services that best suit your circumstances. We can also help you appeal your exclusion if you did not respond in time.

We can be contacted at advocacy@une.edu.au or on (02) 6773 3116. If you’re on campus, feel free to visit our office in the Arcade, to the north of Café Life.

For more Advocacy & Welfare updates you can find us on social media.

Instagram: @AdvocacyWelfare
Facebook: AdvocacyWelfareUNE

Or if you’re looking to connect with more UNE students check out the Student Social Directory