Requirements to Pass 

In order to pass this unit a student must: 

• Pass the final examination or final assessment task
• Achieve a Standard Numerical Grade (SNG) of 50 or more in the unit
• Attend at least 80% of scheduled classes

For further details about grading, please refer to the Grading Policy. 

Disruptions to Study (DTS)

Weekly Online Quizzes and Feedback - as we count the best 4 quizzes from a possible 12 quizzes, there is no need to submit a DTS if you miss a quiz.

Weekly Class Work and Feedback - as we count the best 8 home-works from a possible 12 home-works, there is no need to submit a DTS if you miss a tutorial.

Assignment - THREE submissions

- If you are unable to make the first submission of the assignment on time (due to a valid reason), you may submit a DTS. If your case is approved, the Unit Convenor will give you an appropriate extension. Assignments that are late without an approved DTS application will incur a penalty of 12.5% per 24 hour period. Late assignments need to be submitted via iLearn. You shouuld also notify your teacher of any late submissions. 

- If you are unable to make the second and/or third re-submissions of the assignment (due to a valid reason), you may submit a DTS. If you case is approved, the Unit Convenor will organise a time where all students will be allocated to sit for the re-submissions. No further extensions will be provided.

Final Examination

- If you are unable to sit for the final examination (due to a valid reason), you may submit a DTS. If your case is approved, the University will organise a supplementary examination for you.

Submission of Assessment Tasks 

Assessments must be submitted following instructions provided in class. Assessment tasks which have not been submitted as required will not be marked. They will be considered a non-submission and zero marks will be awarded.

Turnitin

Turnitin compares electronically submitted papers to a database of academic publications, internet sources and other papers that have been submitted into the system to identify matching text. It then produces an Originality Report which identifies text taken from other sources,and generates a similarity percentage to judge whether plagiarism has occurred (see Academic Honesty section below). 

Multiple submissions may be possible via Turnitin prior to the due date of an assessment and originality reports may be made available to students. In such cases they should be used to check work for plagiarism prior to a final submission.  As a general guideline, a similarity percentage of below 15% will probably indicate that plagiarism has not occurred. However, if there is a matching block of text then this could be considered plagiarism unless it has been correctly referenced. 

Where there is a requirement for assessment tasks to be submitted through Turnitin,it is the student's responsibility to ensure that work is submitted correctly prior to the due date. Hard copies will not be accepted unless indicated otherwise by a teaching staff member. Records in Turnitin will be taken as records of submission. For assistance submitting through Turnitin, you may approach your teacher, lodge a OneHelp Ticket, refer to the IT help page or seek assistance from Student Connect. 

Students should note that for a first time submission the Originality Report will be available immediately post submission but for any subsequent submissions it will take 24 hours for the report to be generated. This may be after the due date so students should plan their submission carefully. 

Missed Assessments

The University recognises that students may experience unexpected events and circumstances that adversely affect their academic performance in assessment activities, for example illness. In order to support students who have experienced a serious and unavoidable disruption, the University will provide affected students with an additional opportunity to demonstrate that they have met the learning outcomes of a unit. An additional opportunity provided under such circumstances is referred to as special consideration. 

The Disruption to Studies Policy applies only to serious and unavoidable disruptions that arise after a study period has commenced. Students with a pre-existing disability/health condition or prolonged adverse circumstances may be eligible for ongoing assistance and support. Such support may be sought through Campus Wellbeing and Support Services.

Serious and Unavoidable Disruption The University classifies a disruption as serious and unavoidable if it:

• could not have reasonably been anticipated, avoided or guarded against by the student; and
• was beyond the student's control; and
• caused substantial disruption to the student’s capacity for effective study and/or completion of required work; and
• occurred during an event critical study period and was at least three (3) consecutive days duration, and / or
• prevented completion of a final examination.

To be eligible for Special Consideration, a student must notify the University of a serious and unavoidable disruption within five (5) working days of the commencement of the disruption (Disruption to Studies notification).   All Disruption to Studies notifications are to be made online via the University’s Ask MQ system. A Disruption to Studies notification must be supported by documentary evidence. 

In submitting a Disruption to Studies notification, a student is acknowledging that they may be required to undertake additional work.  The time and date, deadline or format of any required extra assessible work as a result of a disruption to studies notification is not negotiable and in submitting a disruption to studies notification, a student is agreeing to make themselves available to complete any extra work as required.

Please refer to the Disruption to Studies Policy for further details.

Extensions & Late Submissions

To apply for an extension of time for submission of an assessment item, students must submit a Disruptions to Studies notification via ask.mq.edu.au.

Late submissions without an approved extension are possible but will be penalised at 20% per day up to 4 days (weekend inclusive). If a student submits an assessment task 5 or more days after the due date without grounds for special consideration (See Disruptions to Studies Policy) a record or submission will be made but the student will receive zero marks for the assessment task. 

Final Examinations and Final Assessment Tasks

Final exams and final assessments will typically take place in Week 6 or Monday of Week 7. All students enrolled in a teaching session are expected to ensure they are available up until and including Monday of Week 7 to undertake examinations. Passing the final exam or final assessment task is a requirement to pass this unit. 

Details of teaching session dates can be found on the Important Dates calendar. Due dated for assessments will be available in the unit guide and final examination timetables will be released to students prior to Week 5. 

Planning for an exam is very important. All students should be familiar with the Exam Rules. In addition, students should refer to the below links for other important examination related information. 

• Talk to your lecturer
• Revision tips
• What to bring with you
• What not to bring with you
• Where to get help
• Tips for Success

It is not uncommon for students to have two examinations in one day.

Conduct During Assessments and Examinations 

Students must adhere to the Student Code of Conduct and Academic Honesty Policy at all times. 

Students will be provided with instructions relating to conduct during in-class assessment tasks. For all examinations, students will be required to:

• provide photographic proof of identity for the duration of the examination. This must be visible at all times during the examination. 
• leave mobile phones, electronic devices, bags, computers, notes, books and similar items outside a final examination venue or in a designated space
• ensure any water brought into the examination room is in a clear and unmarked bottle
• obey all instructions provided by an Examination Supervisor
• refrain from communicating in any way with another student once they have entered the examination venue.

Students are NOT permitted:

• into an examination venue once one hour from the time of commencement (excluding any reading time) has elapsed
• to leave an examination venue before one hour from the time of commencement (excluding any reading time) has elapsed
• to be readmitted to an examination venue unless they were under approved supervision during the full period of their absence
• to obtain or attempt to obtain assistance in undertaking or completing the examination script
• to receive or attempt to receive assistance in undertaking or completing the examination script.

Students should also ensure they follow all requirements of the Final Examination Policy.

Supplementary Examinations

Supplementary final examinations are held during the scheduled Supplementary Final exam Period. This may fall in Week 7 or within the first week of the subsequent teaching term. Results for supplementary exams may not be available for up to two weeks following the supplementary examination. Students in their final term of study who undertake supplementary final exams should note that formal completion of their Diploma Program will not be possible until supplementary results are released and this may impact on their ability to enrol in subsequent programs of study on time.

Retention of Originals

It is the responsibility of the student to retain a copy of any work submitted and produce another copy of all work submitted if requested.  Copies should be retained until the end of the grade appeal period each term.

In the event that a student is asked to produce another copy of work submitted and is unable to do so, they may be awarded zero (0) for that particular assessment task.

The University may request and retain the originals of any documentation or evidence submitted to support notifications of disruptions to studies. Requests for original documentation will be sent to the applicant’s student email address within six (6) months of notification by the student. Students must retain all original documentation for the duration of this six (6) month period and must supply original documents to the University within ten (10) working days of such a request being made.

Contacting Teaching Staff and Obtaining Help and Feedback

Students may contact teaching staff at any time during the term by using the contact details provided in this guide.

For all university related correspondence, students are required to use their official Macquarie University student email account which may be accessed via the Macquarie University Student Portal. Inquiries from personal email accounts will not be attended to.

Students may seek additional feedback at any time during the term and general feedback about their performance in a unit up to 6 months following results release.

Scheduled Class Time & Timetables

Weekly face to face  contact for this unit will be 8 hours, consisting of 3 weekly meetings (40 hours per term). 

Students will be able to enrol in their classes and view their personal timetable via eStudent and may also view general timetable information via Macquarie University's Timetable page. 

If any scheduled class falls on a public holiday a make-up lesson may be scheduled. Where appropriate, the instructor may instead organise an online make-up lesson which would require students to access online learning materials and/or complete activities outside of class rather than attending a make-up lesson. Scheduled make-up days will be announced in class and attendance will be taken taken for both for face to face and online make-up lessons.

Attendance Requirements - All students

All students are required to attend at least 80% of scheduled class time to pass this unit.  

Attendance will be monitored in each lesson & students will be able to see their attendance records for a unit via iLearn.  

Where a student is present for a part of a lesson (for example arrives late, leaves early, leaves the class frequently or for lengthy periods, engages in inappropriate or unrelated activities or does not participate actively in the majority of the lesson) the teacher reserves the right to mark a student absent for that part of the lesson.

Because of the intensive nature of this program, students should be aware that their attendance in this unit may fall below 80% relatively quickly. 

In cases of unavoidable non-attendance due to illness or circumstances beyond control, students should lodge a Disruption to Studies Notification via ask.mq.edu.au within 5 working days and supply relevant supporting documentation, even if they have not missed a formal assessment task. This will ensure that that appropriate records of unavoidable absences can be made. 

For further information on attendance, please refer to the Attendance and Study Load Policy. 

iLearn

iLearn is Macquarie's online learning management system and a principal resource which will be used throughout the term. Students should access iLearn at least 3 times per week as it will contain important information including: 

• Announcements - Teaching staff will communicate to the class using iLearn announcements. 
• A link to the unit guide for the unit and staff contact details
• Lecture notes and recordings where available
• Learning and teaching activities and resources
• Assessment information
• Tutorial questions and solutions
• Assessment submission tools such as Turnitin
• Other relevant material

For any technical or support issues using iLearn, please contact the IT helpdesk (Ph. 02 9850 4357) or lodge a ticket using OneHelp. 

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

The required textbook in WECO111 is:

• Gans, J., King, S., & Mankiw, N. G. Principles of Microeconomics: Australia and New Zealand Edition, Cengage Learning

The Co-op bookstore has these books and it is recommended that students purchase a copy of this. A copy of this book has been placed in the reserve section of the library. The publisher provides a range of support material for the textbook, including a website. Information on accessing this material is provided in the introduction to the text. The website material includes trial questions and quizzes. You may find it useful to devote some limited time to these questions and quizzes. They will give you some feedback on how your understanding is progressing. Note however that the bulk of your study time, outside of the classroom, should be devoted to studying 

Additional References

Your recommended textbook will be more than adequate for this unit. Listed below are a series of other texts on microeconomics that you should feel free to consult if you wish. These books cover most of the material covered in your textbook, but each one does so in its own unique way. You may choose to consult these books if you feel that a slightly different presentation of the material might aid your understanding. These books have been placed in the reserve section of the library:

McEachern, W., Microeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction, Cengage Learning

Stiglitz, J., Introductory Microeconomics: Australian Edition, Wiley

Parkin, M., Microeconomics: Australia in the Global Economy, Pearson

McTaggart, Findlay and Parkin, Principles of Microeconomics, Pearson Education, Australia.

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Technology Used and Required

Unit Web Page The unit uses the learning management system (iLearn) that can be accessed via iLearn.mq.edu.au. The lecture slides for each week’s lecture will be posted on the unit web page, before the lecture. You will find it useful to download the slides prior to the lecture, and bring them to the lecture. The web page is also used to post important notices from time to time. You should check this web page regularly. The unit web page has the facility to allow peer to peer discussion. The unit web page also allows students to put questions to an Online-Tutor. The Online-Tutor will attempt to answer your questions in a timely manner.

Learning and Teaching Activities

Lessons - (2 hours for each topic)

Lessons are intended to provide an overview of the key concepts explored in the unit. Students are expected to read the relevant chapters before each lesson. Independent learning WECO111 relies heavily on independent learning where students read the relevant chapter, revise lesson notes and prepare answers to the  questions.

Home-work Discussion – (1 hour for each topic)

Home-work discussions constitute a critical learning experience of this unit and students must attend. Group work is an essential part of this learning. In WECO111 we emphasise peer-to-peer learning by working as a group through the exercises and learning from others. Your teacher's role is to help you understand the material. Ask your teacher for guidance on how to approach questions and problems.

After the classes – the learning continues. At the end of each teaching day, review your home-work notes, compare your answers to those of friends, members of your group and the discussion board. Note that model answers will not be provided. You get the answers by engaging in all the above activities.

The curriculum has been transformed by integrating the threshold concepts of economics. Each topic will revolve around the threshold concepts of economics. Students are not to consider the unit as a series of 13 topics of content. Rather, students will be trained to master the eight threshold concepts of economics. The Topic Content each week is simply to highlight the utilisation of one or more of the eight Threshold Concepts of economics. While each topic engages more than one threshold concept, the main threshold concept for each topic has been underlined in bold. The corresponding chapter readings will be provided on iLearn.

* The Unit Schedule is subject to change depending on the lecture pace. Any alterations will be advised via iLearn.

Contact details of teachers are updated.