Student Contribution calculations

The official amount of your Student Contribution is recorded on your electronic Statement of Account (eSOA), however you can work out your fees in advance. The amount you pay depends on which student contribution band your units of study are in and the credit points or Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL) for that unit of study. For units that have 0 credit points, or 0 EFTSL, you do not pay a student contribution.

To calculate your student contribution you will need:

  • Student Contribution bands for each unit you are studying
  • EFTSL for each unit your are studying
  • Student Contribution calculator

Student Contribution bands for each unit you are studying


The student contribution amounts for Commonwealth Supported Places are calculated on a per unit basis, dependant on the units discipline area and not on the course you are enrolled in.

To find out the Student Contribution Band for each unit you are studying you will need to visit the unit page for each unit in the UWS Handbook using the UWS Unit Search. On the Handbook unit search page, simply type in your unit code and select the most recent version of your unit. At the top to the unit page you will see that units discipline, Student Contribution Band and its credit point value.

For example:
Unit 100100, French 101 is in the discipline of Languages and has a student contribution band of 1. The unit listing also shows you that the unit is worth 10 credit points (cp).

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EFTSL for each unit you are studying


At UWS, the student load value for each unit is indicated by credit points. A specified total number of credit points is required to complete each course.

The number of credit points required for you to successfully complete your course can be found on your courses handbook page

As mentioned above, you can find the credit point value of your units on each unit’s handbook page.  

The Equivalent Full Time Student Load for one year of full time study in all courses of study at UWS except UWSCollege is 80 credit points. This means that:

80 credit points = 1 EFTSL
40 credit points = 0.5 EFTSL
30 credit points = 0.375 EFTSL
20 credit points = 0.25 EFTSL
10 credit points = 0.125 EFTSL

For example:
Unit 100100, French 101 has a credit point value of 10, and an EFTSL of 0.125.

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Student Contribution Calculator


The formula for determining your student contribution amount for a unit of study is:

Student Contribution Band amount for a place for that unit of study.
multiplied by
the EFTSL of the unit

All student contribution amounts are rounded down to the nearest dollar.

For example:
$5,868.00 (Student Contribution Band 1 2013 amount for a place) x 0.125 EFTSL = $733.50 (100% student contribution for that unit of study). With rounding, the amount you would pay is $733.00. Depending on your citizenship status you may be eligible for a discount.

To make it easier for you, we have developed a student contribution fee calculator to help you work out what your contribution amount is per unit.

» 2013 student contribution calculator [MS Excel 88Kb] (opens in a new window)

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