Frequently asked questions

To ensure our School of Business degrees remain current and relevant and meet our accreditation requirements, the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Business will be changing from 2022.

Summary of changes, including how this might impact current students

Degree Name Changes:

From 2022 UOW will be changing the name of several Business degrees.

• For those students already enrolled before 2022, your degree name and course code remains unchanged. However, for 2022 new admissions or course transfers, the UOW Bachelor of Commerce (BCom - Course code: 710) will be changed to the UOW Bachelor of Business (BBUS - Course code: 3090).
• The current UOW Bachelor of Business (Course Code:325) will be called the UOW Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA-Course Code: 3091). Consistent with the current Bachelor of Business (Course Code:325), the new Bachelor of Business Administration does not have majors.
• This change will also impact all double degrees that include the Bachelor of Commerce, for example, a Bachelor of Arts – Bachelor of Commerce will be named a Bachelor of Arts – Bachelor of Business from 2022.
• For those students studying the Bachelor of Economics and Finance (Course code: 326) there will be no degree name change.

 Majors and Minors:

• The existing range of majors and minors available in the BCom (Course code 710) will be available in the new BBUS (Course Code 3090).
• As for any enrolment in the Bachelor of Business (Course code 325) commenced prior to 2022, the new Bachelor of Business Administration does not have majors.

Subject Changes:

• From 2022 onwards, all subjects that had a ‘COMM’ code will now have a ‘BUS’ code. This will not change the records for any subjects already completed, and the COMM/BUS prefix subjects are equivalent.
• Also from 2022, some subjects within first year (100 level) have also been reviewed as part of our cycle of continuous improvement. Please refer to the UOW Course Handbook if you have not completed all your first-year subjects to see if any of the changes affect your study.

First Year Core Structure Change:

• For students commencing in 2022, the first-year core structure has six mandatory core + 1 choice core + 3 electives. For those students already enrolled before 2022 and who have completed all first-year subjects as per your degree schedule, this change will not affect you. If you have not completed all first year subjects, please refer to the 2022 Bachelor of Business Course Handbook for further information. Please seek academic advice if you require further guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do these changes affect me?

For those students who commenced their degree before 2022, the degree name changes, structure and course code changes will not affect you. You may notice subject code changes for subjects you undertake in 2022 and onwards – for example, COMM391 is now called BUS 391. If you had been planning to change from one degree to another, you will only be able to transfer into the new course versions - the old course names/versions will not be available for enrolment. Please note, if you decide to transfer from your current course to a new course, you will be subject to the 2022 course fees.

Can I stay in my existing Bachelor of Business (Course code 325) and have a major shown on my testamur (degree)?

If you want a major shown on your testamur you will need to transfer into the new version of the Bachelor of Business (Course code: 3090). Please note, if you decide to transfer from Course code 325 to Course code 3090, you will be subject to the new 2022 course fees.

The subject code changes mean I will have a mix of BUS and COMM labelled subjects in my degree – will this affect my graduation?

No, these changes will not affect your eligibility to graduate while the subjects have had a code change, they are equivalent and will meet the degree graduation requirements.

I need to retake a COMM labelled subject as I did not pass the subject on the first attempt. How do I do this?

You will now complete the BUS labelled equivalent subject. For example, if you need to retake COMM121, you now enroll in BUS 121 for the second attempt.

How do I know which course/course code I am currently enrolled in?

In SOLS,  click on the ‘Enrolment Record’ section and your most current degree enrolment will show first. The first line under the effective date is the Course: which shows the course code number (for example: 710) and also the name of the degree (for example: Bachelor of Commerce).

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Student Services or make an appointment with a key contact.

The Faculty utilises the University SMP OnLine (SOLS) Tutorial System for enrolling in tutorials, seminars, workshops and/or computer labs. If your subject is not listed in SMP, enrolment in tutorials will usually take place at the first lecture.

Lectures are large, formal classes in which lecturers present course material to all students enrolled in a given subject. They commence in Week 1 of session immediately following Orientation Week.

Lectures in subjects are generally 2 hours in duration for undergraduate subjects and 3 hours for postgraduate subjects.

Depending on the size of an undergraduate class, lectures in the Faculty may be scheduled as:

• a 2 hour lecture weekly and a 2 hour repeat lecture covering the same material scheduled at another time in the same week, or
• 2 x 1 hour lectures weekly with repeat 2 x 1 hour lectures covering the same material at another time in the same week, or
• one 2 hour lecture weekly.

Tutorials/seminars are small classes of usually between 20 and 25 students in which material from lectures and readings can be discussed in more detail.

Tutorials/seminars are conducted by tutors who may not be the lecturer for the subject.

Rooms at the University are coded according to a building, floor and room number. For example:

• 14.G01 is located in Building 14 on the Ground Floor in Room 1
• 67.104 is located in Building 67 on the First Floor in Room 104, and

40.224 is located in Building 40 on the Second Floor in Room 224.

All subject codes at the University of Wollongong are alpha-numeric. This means that they have either 3 or 4 letters followed by 3 numbers. You can identify if a subject belongs to a discipline and School or the Faculty by the letters in the subject code: 

The numbers in the subject code signify the level of study:

You can see all the subjects being offered by a School or Faculty in the Subject Database.

Credit points are gained by successful completion of subjects. Most of our Faculty subjects are worth 6 credit points. Students undertaking the Bachelor of Business, the Bachelor of Business Administration,
the Bachelor of Commerce or the Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) must complete at least 144 credit points where students completing the Bachelor of Laws (Direct Entry) must complete at least 180 credit points. 

There are 9 subjects which make up the core of the Bachelor of Business and the Bachelor of Commerce. These subjects are compulsory and common to all students studying a Bachelor of Business or a Bachelor of Commerce:

ACCY111: Accounting Fundamentals In Society

COMM101: Principles of Responsible Business

COMM121: Statistics for Business

ECON100: Economic Essentials for Business

FIN111: Introductory Principles of Finance

MGNT110: Introduction to Management

MARK101: Marketing Principles

Plus at least one subject from the following:

OPS113: Business Oriented Information Systems

ACCY112: Accounting In Organisations

ECON102: Economics and Society

MGNT102: Business Communications

Plus one capstone subject

COMM331: Integrative Business Capstone

Some subjects have prerequisites. A pre-requisite is a requirement which must be completed before enrolling in the next level of subject e.g. completing ACCY111 before progressing to ACCY112.

A corequisite is a subject that must be taken at the same time as another subject.

A major is a sequence of subjects which make up the main area of study in a degree. Majors consist of 8 subjects totalling 48 credit points. The majors available in the Bachelor of Business and the Bachelor of Commerce are:

Accountancy
Business Analytics
Business Law
Economics
Finance
Financial Planning
Human Resource Management
International Business
Management
Marketing
Public Relations
Sport Marketing and Management
Supply Chain Management

What are the changes to UOW undergraduate Business degrees?

A minor is a sequence of subjects which make up a secondary area of study in a degree. Minors in the Faculty of Business and Law consist of 4 subjects totalling 24 credit points. There are 12 minors available in the Faculty of Business and Law.

The University also offers a minor in International Studies.

If you are a new domestic student seeking credit for your studies you should register for the Academic Advice Day held in January or February for Autumn session or July for Spring session via the Get Started website. Remember to bring your original Transcript for staff from the Faculty (Head of Students) to assess.

If you are a new international student seeking credit for your studies attend the Academic Advice Day held in February for Autumn session or July for Spring session. Remember to bring your original Transcript for staff from the Faculty (Head of Students) to assess.

If you are a current student seeking credit for your studies you should enquire at Student Central with your original Transcript on hand.

Many second and third year subjects offered by the Faculty of Business and Law have prerequisites. Students who have enrolled in a subject but do not meet the prerequisites for that subject will show a "provisional" enrolment status. In order to have the provisional status removed from your academic record, you should either withdraw from the subject or, if you wish to apply for a waiver of the prerequisite, seek approval through SOLS.

Current students may want to:

• change campus of enrolment
• transfer from a single degree to a double degree (add a course)
• transfer from a double degree to a single degree (remove a course)
• transfer into a different degree

In these situations, students are required to take the transfer procedure steps:

1. Refer to the table below for session of intake and degree specific information
2. Check the release of results date for the current session
3. Once you have received your results, complete a 

   Course Transfer Form

4. Print an enrolment record from SOLS and attach it to the form
5. Submit the completed form and enrolment record to Student Central
6. Once the application has been assessed, successful and unsuccessful students will be notified of the outcome via SOLSMail.

Transferring into the Bachelor of Laws

All students should familiarise themselves with key dates throughout each session. For example, there are deadlines relating to:

Subject outlines are available via Moodle subjects sites.

Plagiarism means using the ideas of someone else without giving them proper credit. There are penalties for plagiarising so you must be aware of what it means and how to avoid it. More information can be obtained from the Academic Integrity Policy webpage.

Staff and students must comply with copyright laws. It is important that you are aware of what you can copy and how much you can copy. More information can be obtained from the Copyright & Disclaimer website.

The University provides a number of services for students experiencing difficulties or requiring assistance with their studies. If you are experiencing problems, you are encouraged to seek advice from any of the following services:

• Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS)
• Learning Development Centre
• Student Support Coordinators (SSC)
• Disability Advisers
• Counselling services

Students looking for information about legal studies subjects and enrolment can visit the Law FAQs webpage.

It is a common misunderstanding that studying business is all about maths which is just not true. Our degrees are about application, not just the maths. In our lectures, we concentrate on common scenarios faced by individuals, businesses and industry, analyse that problem using common statistical tools, then come up with solutions. Even students studying accounting, involved 30% numeracy while the other 70% is about logic and analytical thinking.