Assessment Criteria

Assessment at Macquarie University is standards-based, as outlined in the Assessment Policy. This means that your work will be assessed against clear criteria, and these criteria will be made available when the assessment tasks are released to you on iLearn. 

Submission of Assessments

All assignments must be submitted online through Turnitin unless otherwise indicated. Links for the submission of each assignment will be available on iLearn.​ 

Marking of Assessments

Assignments will be marked through Turnitin with grades and feedback provided through GradeMark. Please do not submit your assignments via email or in hard copy.

We aim to return your assignments with feedback within two to three weeks of the date that you submit your assignment, and before your next assignment is due. We appreciate your patience and will advise you through iLearn when your marked assignments and feedback are available for viewing.

Penalties for Late Assessments

The penalty for late submission of assessments in this unit is ten percent (10 %) of the assessment value per day, calculated from the due time and date. This means that if the assignment is worth a total of 30 marks (or 30 % of the unit) you will lose 3 marks for each day late. This is a hefty penalty designed to make you aware of the importance of organising yourself around assessment due dates. The penalty will be applied over weekdays and weekends unless you have been granted an extension prior to the due date.

Extensions for Assessments

To obtain an extension for an assessment task, you will need to follow the formal process as outlined in the Special Consideration Policy, and you must provide appropriate supporting documentation (e.g. medical certificate - see advice for Special Consideration requests). The final decision regarding the granting of an extension and/or a late penalty lies with the unit convenor. Permission for extension must be sought well before the due date unless this is absolutely impossible. Let us know of problems in advance or as soon as possible, not after the event: we are likely to be much more sympathetic and flexible in our requirements if you follow this advice.

Class schedule and organisation

The class timetable can be found through the Timetable portal. 

The unit is delivered by face to face interaction in block mode sessions. This means all day sessions spread over the semester. The teaching process includes:

• Background reading by the students
• Short presentations to introduce basic concepts
• Practical workshop sessions to provide opportunities for experiential learning on tasks and through discussion with other class members (preparation is essential)
• Student presentations of tasks prepared in advance
• Talks from guest lecturers that convey the practice of sustainability and the ways change is facilitated
• A field trip to appreciate the practical, technical and socio-political aspects of sustainability.
• Assignments that require students to practice key skills, including critical and integrative thinking, taking a systems perspective, listening to stakeholders, and communicating through diverse forms including digital stories, writing and presenting in a logical and clearly argued manner.
• Assignments provide opportunities for presenting in different formats, working with people of different skills and cultural perspectives.

Students are expected to:

• participate in workshop activities in small groups;
• read set readings in advance for classes; and
• follow current developments with regard to sustainable development in the media/ internationally.

Resources to start you off 

Good books that give an overview of sustainable development

• Baker S. 2016 Sustainable Development London: Routledge
• Blewitt J. 2018 (3rd ed) Understanding Sustainable Development  London Earthscan Routledge

At the outset students can review the following:

• United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 The Future We Want, UN  http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/  This document is the consensus of aspirations from Rio + 20 intergovernmental meeting on sustainable development UNCSD
• The Sustainable Development Goals 2015 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300  
• NOTE: the UN has a website on sustainable development - a rich source of information. http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
• Countries have filed Voluntary National Review Reports on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals  https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates
• Targets and Indicators for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals can be found in the UN Document Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313