ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE

A more detailed description of each task is given below.

Tutorial Submissions

Each week, a set of exercises will be made available online. All the questions will be discussed during your tutorial class. You are expected to submit answers to the online tutorial question(s) on ilearn before 12 noon on the Monday of the following week. Your submission will be marked by your tutor (out of 1 mark). There will be 10 exercises worth 1 mark each. It is possible to achieve 12 marks.

Assignments

There are 3 assignments.

1. The first assignment requires you to apply and develop your understanding of data modeling concepts and submit a professionally presented document demonstrating the use of data modeling skills. The document must be prepared using a standard word processor such as Word and a CASE tool such as Power Designer.
2. The second assignment assesses your ability to design a database and provide interactive queries.
3. The third assignment requires you to work in pairs to research a given database-related topic and present your findings to the class. 

The first two will be submitted and marked online. The third assignment will be marked in the tutorial class by your tutor.

You are encouraged to:

• set your personal deadline earlier than the actual one;
• keep backups of all your important files;
• make sure that no-one else picks up your printouts.

If you cannot submit on time because of illness or other circumstances, please contact the lecturer before the due date.

No extensions will be granted. Late assignments will be accepted up to 72 hours after the submission deadline.  There will be a deduction of 20%* of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 40% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved. 

Final Examination

For this unit, a final examination will test your learning and knowledge of learning outcomes #1, #2, #3 and #4. The final examination accounts for 45% of the final mark.

Regarding the examination process, note that

• you must attend all required classes and submit all required assessment, otherwise the Executive Dean of the Faculty or delegated authority has the power to refuse permission to attend the final examination.
• the University Examination period in for Second Half Year is mid November to mid December.
• you are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable.
• the timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of examinations.
• no early examinations for individuals or groups of students will be set. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is the final day of the official examination period.
• the only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration.

Standards

Four standards, namely Developing, Functional, Proficient, and Advanced, summarize as many different levels of achievement. Each standard is precisely defined to help students know what kind of performance is expected to deserve a certain grade. Typically, Developing corresponds PC, Functional is for P, Proficient for Cr, and Advanced covers D and HD. The standards corresponding to the learning outcomes and criteria of this unit are given below:

Grading

For each task, those standards translate into a mark and the different component marks are added up. You will then be given a grade that reflects your achievement in the unit. The following description of the different grades is still in draft form and therefore not official as yet

• Fail (F): does not provide evidence of attainment of all learning outcomes. There is missing or partial or superficial or faulty understanding and application of the fundamental concepts in the field of study; and incomplete, confusing or lacking communication of ideas in ways that give little attention to the conventions of the discipline.
• Pass (P): provides sufficient evidence of the achievement of learning outcomes. There is demonstration of understanding and application of fundamental concepts of the field of study; and communication of information and ideas adequately in terms of the conventions of the discipline. The learning attainment is considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable in relation to the specified outcomes.
• Credit (Cr): provides evidence of learning that goes beyond replication of content knowledge or skills relevant to the learning outcomes. There is demonstration of substantial understanding of fundamental concepts in the field of study and the ability to apply these concepts in a variety of contexts; plus communication of ideas fluently and clearly in terms of the conventions of the discipline.
• Distinction (D): provides evidence of integration and evaluation of critical ideas, principles and theories, distinctive insight and ability in applying relevant skills and concepts in relation to learning outcomes. There is demonstration of frequent originality in defining and analysing issues or problems and providing solutions; and the use of means of communication appropriate to the discipline and the audience.
• High Distinction (HD): provides consistent evidence of deep and critical understanding in relation to the learning outcomes. There is substantial originality and insight in identifying, generating and communicating competing arguments, perspectives or problem solving approaches; critical evaluation of problems, their solutions and their implications; creativity in application.

In particular, you will pass the unit if you,

• submit a satisfactory (>= 50% of possible marks) attempt at all three assignments (except where a disruption has been approved)
• attend 80% of workshops (except where a disruption has been approved)
• perform at a functional level or above in final exam

ISYS114 is taught via lectures, tutorials and practicals. The feedback that you receive also plays an important role in your learning. Make sure you read the feedback you are given, attend lectures which provide assignment feedback and compare your solution with sample solutions provided.

Lectures are used to introduce new material, provide motivation and context for your study, guide you in what is important to learn and explain more difficult concepts.

Tutorials and practicals are small group classes which give you the opportunity to interact with your peers and with a tutor who has a sound knowledge of the subject. This also gives you a chance to practice your technology skills.

You have many opportunities to seek for and to receive feedback. During lectures, you are encouraged to ask the lecturer questions to clarify anything you might not be sure of. You may also arrange to meet with your tutor or the lecturer or attend the consultation hours of any tutor. Each week, you will be given activities and problems to solve in the tutorials and practicals. This will at times involve contributing to a group of students and presenting solutions to the class. The final assignment involves working in pairs and giving a presentation in your tutorial class.  The comments and the solutions provided will help you to understand the material in the unit, prepare you for the work in assignments as well as for the final exam. It is important that you keep up with these problems every week. Assignments have been especially designed to deliver continuous feedback on your work.

Each week you should:

• Attend lectures, take notes, ask questions
• Attend your tutorial/practical and seek feedback from your tutor on your work
• Read assigned reading material (ideally before the lecture), add to your notes and prepare questions for your lecturer or tutor
• Start working on any assignments immediately after they have been released. 

Lecture notes are made available each week but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or reading of the textbook or other additional material.

Classes

Lectures

There are 2 hours of lectures per week.

1. Day Lecture : Thursday 3-5 pm in W5A/230 Price Theatre.
2. Evening Lectures: Wednesday 6-8 pm in W5A T1 Theatre.

Each week you should attend two hours of lectures (or watch the recorded lecture after the Thursday class), and a 2 hour Workshop (including a tutorial and a practical). For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

Note that tutorials and practicals commence in week 2.

Please note that you are required to submit tutorial work each week, required to submit two assignments and give a presentation in the workshop (assignment 3) and expected to attend most of the tutorials and practicals. Failure to do so may result in you failing the unit.

Resources to assist your learning

iLecture

Digital recordings of lectures are available at  http://content.echo.mq.edu.au:8080/ess/portal/section/ISYS114_SHFYR_2014. Read instructions here.

Textbook

The textbook for ISYS114 this semester is:

Modern Database Management Global Edition 11^th edition, Jeffrey A. Hoffer, V. Ramesh, Heikki Topi ISBN: ISBN 9780273779285

Technology

MS Word, PowerDesigner, Oracle

Websites

The web page for this unit can be found at  http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/course/view.php?id=17512

Discussion Boards

The unit makes use of discussion boards hosted within iLearn. Please post questions of general interest there (for example, about assessment tasks), they are monitored by the staff on the unit.

Staff-Student Liaison Committee

The Department has established a Staff-Student Liaison Committee at each level (100, 200, 300) to provide all students studying a Computing unit the opportunity to discuss related issues or problems with both students and staff.

100-Level Liaison Meeting The committee meets three times during the semester. For each meeting, an agenda is issued and minutes are taken. These are posted on the web at http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/units/100-liaison

If you have exhausted all other avenues, then you should consult the Director of Teaching (Dr. Christophe Doche) or the Head of Department (Prof. Bernard Mans). You are entitled to have your concerns raised, discussed and resolved.

Student Support Services

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.

Topic List (Note: The dates below indicate the day and evening lectures every week).