Department of Educational Studies (Early Childhood) Assessment Presentation & Submission Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines when you submit each assignment:

• Allow a left and right-hand margin of at least 2cm in all assignments.
• Please type all assignments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.
• All assessments must be submitted through Turnitin in .doc or .pdf format for submission.
• It is the onus of the student to ensure that all assessments are successfully submitted through Turnitin.
• Faculty assignment cover sheets are NOT required for this unit.

Draft Submissions & Turnitin Originality Reports

• Students may use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit.
• Students are strongly encouraged to upload a draft copy of each assessment to Turnitin at least one week prior to the due date to obtain an Originality Report.
• The Originality Report provides students with a similarity index that may indicate if plagiarism has occurred. Students will be able to make amendments to their drafts prior to their final submission on the due date.
• Generally, one Originality Report is generated every 24 hours up to the due date.

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

• Students must retain a copy of all assignments before submission, and retain the copy until your final grade for the subject has been received;
• Marks will be deducted if you submit your assessment late (refer to the ‘late assessments’ section below for more details);
• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, no assessment will be accepted after the date that the assessment has been returned to other students.
• If an assessment is considered to be below passing standard, another staff member on the unit will provide a second opinion. No failed assessment may be re-submitted.

Final Submissions

• Students are responsible for checking that their submission has been successful and has been submitted by the due date and time.
• Late submissions due to last minute technical difficulties will incur a lateness penalty.*

Assignment extensions and late penalties

Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ at https://ask.mq.edu.au as a "Disruption to Studies" request before the submission date. Students who experience a disruption to their studies through ill-health or misadventure are able to apply for this request. Extensions can only be granted if they meet the Disruption to Studies policy and are submitted via ask.mq.edu.au. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained.

In general, there should be no need for extensions except through illness or misadventure that would be categorised as unavoidable disruption according to the University definition of same, and currently available at:

https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration/disruption-to-studies

Late submissions without extension will receive a penalty of 5% reduction of the total possible mark for each day late (including weekends and public holidays). You are reminded that submitting even just 1 day late could be the difference between passing and failing a unit. Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed.

No assessable work will be accepted after the return/release of marked work on the same topic. If a student is still permitted to submit on the basis of unavoidable disruption, an alternative topic may be set. 

Students should keep an electronic file of all assessments. Claims regarding "lost" assessments cannot be made if the file cannot be produced. It is also advisable to keep an electronic file of all drafts and the final submission on a USB untouched/unopened after submission. This can be used to demonstrate easily that the assessment has not been amended after the submission date.

·       Please notify the unit coordinator of your intention to request an extension (via Dialogue in iLearn), however, an extension will only be granted on receipt of the completed form submitted through ask.mq.edu.au, plus documentation.

·       Emails are not appropriate means of extension requests.

·       It is essential that you plan ahead and organise your study time effectively. Poor time management is not grounds for an extension

Department of Educational Studies (Early Childhood) Academic Honesty Guidelines:  

All assignments should cite and provide full bibliographical details of all material that you have used to inform or support your ideas. At the Institute of Early Childhood, students are required to use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing procedures. Full details about how to cite and reference correctly can be found in Perrin (2015) and in the Academic Honesty Handbook.

The following guide can be purchased from the Co-op Bookshop. This is a required text: 

Perrin, R. (2015). Pocket guide to APA style (5th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Confidentiality

Students must respect the need for sensitivity and confidentially and ensure that privacy obligations are met. There should be nothing in assessment submissions that identifies a centre or school. Use only the first name for children, families and staff. Do not record details that enable identification of the site, and of the adults or children.

Electronic Communication

During semester time, staff may contact students using the following ways:

• Dialogue function on iLearn

• Official MQ Student Email Address

It is the students responsibility to check all electronic communication on a regular weekly basis.

Resources

The information in this Unit Guide must be read in conjunction with the following documents that are available for download from iLearn:

• Assessments, Readings & Study Guide

• Academic Honesty Handbook ​

**Withdrawing from this PG Unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice by writing to des.pg@mq.edu.au before doing so.