IMPORTANT INFORMATION: CHANGES TO THE CERTIFICATE IV AND DIPLOMA

I’m writing to let you know about some important upcoming changes to the Certificate IV at the CCP. As of January 2016 we are in what is called the “Transition” phase for the qualifications we offer:

• CUV40411-Certificate IV in Photo Imaging is superseded by
 CUA41115-Certificate IV in Photography and Photo Imaging

• CUV50411-Diploma of Photo Imaging is superseded by
CUA50915-Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

The Transition period is eighteen months, and so will end in July 2017, after Term 2. At that point the superseded qualifications (CUV40411 and CUV50411) will expire from our scope of registration.

What this means for current CCP students:

• Students who commenced studies in Term 1 or Term 2 2016 have already started the “new” Cert IV qualification, CUA41115.
- These students are not affected by the Transition period.
 
• Students who undertook courses before 2016 can complete the qualification they started. But these students must complete the “old” qualification by Term 2 2017 or they will be transitioned to the new award.
- For Certificate IV students in this group, there is little change between the old and new Certificate. But we recommend completing the old qualification within the Transition period.
- For Diploma students in this group, there are more significant changes. We strongly recommend completing the old Diploma within the Transition period.

* In the new Diploma, Digital Imaging 3 will become a core subject. Therefore if you do not wish to undertake Digital Imaging 3, you will need to complete the Diploma by the end of Term 2 2017.

* In the new Diploma elective subject choices will be more prescribed. Instead of choosing any five electives, you will choose electives as follows: Two “Group A” subjects, two “Group B” subjects and one “Group C” subject. Hence your study plan may be adversely affected if you do not complete the Diploma by the end of Term 2 2017.

Please see the new course structure to see what these changes look like.

If you’d like any further advice on this transition, please contact the CCP and Aaron or I will only be too pleased to help. If necessary we can make a specific time to catch up.

It’s part of what I do here to relocate this information and to incorporate the changes into our curriculum so as to ensure your continued progression through each qualification. I have included the current course structure as well as the new course structure so you can compare both awards.

Cheers and all the best and I hope to see you here to complete your studies soon.
Gavin Blake
CCP Director

Background:
(Only if you want to get into the weeds of academic administration)

Qualifications (Certificates and Diplomas) are made up of building blocks called “competencies”. These are nationally-recognised units of study. So if you study at the CCP and move to Victoria, RMIT won’t know what “Introduction to Photography” is but they will understand the competencies CUAPHI302 and CUAPPR403.

Competencies and qualifications are bundled together under the umbrella of “Training Packages”. What we teach at the CCP is part of the Visual Arts Training Package.

Every four years that training package is updated to continuously reflect the changing industry and relevance in education. Competencies may be modified more frequently but this creates small changes at the subject level only.

Updates to training packages can be minor or major. Updates may include changes to the number of competencies, the mix of core and elective competencies, and the “packaging rules” for how elective competencies are permitted to be chosen.

Now that I have completed the mapping of the new awards, I can tell you that essentially there is little change to the Certificate IV. The number and mix of subjects has not changed.

However the changes to the Diploma are more significant. The overall number of subjects is the same but Digital Imaging 3 will now be a core class. So there is still a total of nine subjects but there will be four core units plus five electives.

And Diploma educational pathways will be more prescribed. Instead of choosing any five elective subjects you will need to select given numbers of electives from “Groups A, B and C” as indicated on the new award flow chart.