Session 2 Learning and Teaching Update
The decision has been made to conduct study online for the remainder of Session 2 for all units WITHOUT mandatory on-campus learning activities. Exams for Session 2 will also be online where possible to do so.
This is due to the extension of the lockdown orders and to provide certainty around arrangements for the remainder of Session 2. We hope to return to campus beyond Session 2 as soon as it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Some classes/teaching activities cannot be moved online and must be taught on campus. You should already know if you are in one of these classes/teaching activities and your unit convenor will provide you with more information via iLearn. If you want to confirm, see the list of units with mandatory on-campus classes/teaching activities.
Visit the MQ COVID-19 information page for more detail.
Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lauren Gorfinkel
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above and permission by special approval
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
The objective of this unit is to develop practical public relations and social media skills, including: strategy writing, budgeting and professional presentations. The focus will be on employee, volunteer, and member strategies for engaging with key publics outside of the organisation. Students will work in small teams to establish their own PR agency, which will pitch for the business of commercial and not-for-profit organisations. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Please note that the University and the Faculty of Arts have launched a new assessment policy effective as of 1 July 2021. This new policy particularly affects LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS.
The Faculty policy in relation to late assessment submissions is as follows:
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests, etc.
To be very clear:
These are serious penalties that will substantially alter your final grade and even determine whether you pass or fail this unit. Please make every effort to submit your assignment by the due date.
If you find you cannot submit your assignment on time, please apply for Special Consideration through AskMQ. Make sure you read Macquarie University's policy regarding Special Consideration requests before you apply:
https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Internal Communications Project | 40% | No | 23:59 10/09/2021 |
PR Strategy - Part 2 Strategy Report | 30% | No | 23:59 29/10/2021 |
PR Strategy - Part 1 Strategy Pitch | 30% | No | Week 11 or 12, during your tutorial |
Assessment Type 1: Work-integrated task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 24 hours
Due: 23:59 10/09/2021
Weighting: 40%
For this assignment you will submit two posts designed to be shared on your client's intranet, internal social media feed or internal newsletter as part of an ongoing internal communications strategy designed to keep employees, volunteers or members up-to-date with what is happening around your broader client project. You are encouraged to utilize a range of forms such as written text, images, infographics, and short videos. You will also submit a brief rationale explaining the internal communications strategy. Refer to iLearn for further information.
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22 hours
Due: 23:59 29/10/2021
Weighting: 30%
Your consultancy will develop a comprehensive PR strategy report (communications plan) for your client. You will be marked on your sections of the report. Refer to iLearn for further information.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22 hours
Due: Week 11 or 12, during your tutorial
Weighting: 30%
Your consultancy will present your PR strategy to your client. You will be marked on your part in the online delivery, including your spoken delivery, slides and script. Refer to iLearn for further information.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Live lectures will run via Zoom from weeks 1-12. Lectures will mainly be delivered in an interview format with industry experts. The questions are carefully selected to guide you on important considerations that can be applied to your assessment tasks as well as provide key insights into the industry. Recordings will be made available after the lecture.
Tutorials
You are expected to attend a 1-hour tutorial each week either online or on campus.
Tutorials begin in week 2. However, you will be invited to sign up to your client group from Week 1. The client briefs will be available from Week 1 so as soon as you are organised in a team and assigned a client you will be able to get started on your group project.
Client meetings and engagement
Once you have your client brief in Week 1 or 2 and have met your team you will be able to email your client to introduce yourselves. It is recommended that each team choose one person to be the client liaison officer.
Initial briefing meetings with clients via Zoom (or face-to-face if applicable) should be arranged by each group to take place during class time where possible, preferably during Week 3, but may vary depending on client availability.
You are encouraged to organise your own Zoom meetings and engage in email correspondence with your client throughout the semester. At the initial briefing meeting please discuss their communication preferences as well as availability/unavailability times. Do understand that this is subject to change and your ability to remain flexible will demonstrate a key professional skill. If you are having trouble contacting your client please let your tutor know as early as possible. Occasionally things come up for clients that may take time away from their ability to participate in this project, which we must understand. Please ask your tutor for guidance around this early on if it becomes an issue.
Presentations to clients will be held via Zoom (or on campus if applicable) during normal tutorial times in weeks 11 and 12. This is where you pitch your idea to your client. Presentations will be recorded so that the client and tutor can maintain a copy for further reference. Ideally, your client will provide some feedback on your pitch before submitting your final strategy document. However, by maintaining regular contact with your client across the semester (ideally once a week for the first 6 weeks) you should be getting feedback from the client along the way so that you know whether your team is on the right track. The pitch and final document should not come as a big surprise to them in terms of the overall direction but you can 'wow' them with the way you package the idea.
Readings
Readings, including recommended chapters, articles, books, and other resources will be available electronically on iLearn under the Leganto tab.
Out-of-class commitment
MMCC3090 is a 3 credit point unit. This means that you should allocate approximately 10 hours of study per week for this unit (including in non-teaching weeks).
Roughly speaking each week this time should be spent on:
Assessment preparation includes such activities as:
While you will have some time in class to meet, discuss, and work on your strategy with your team members, you will likely need more time to work directly with your team members outside of tutorials. This may be done face-to-face (if applicable) and/or via collaborative online tools.
Online Collaboration Tools
A private Facebook Group will be set up for this class where you will be encouraged to participate in a 6-Week Facebook Challenge which will help propel your project work forward.
You may also like to create a Facebook Group for your own team to share ideas.
Regular Zoom consultations with your team and client (as mutually agreed) can also be beneficial.
It is also recommended you familiarise yourself with online collaboration tools like Google Docs/Drive as you develop a shared Presentation Slide Deck and Strategy Report document that can be updated as you go along.
Professional Presentation/Design Tools
Some extra support in the use of industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud tools (e.g. InDesign, Illustrator, Rush) will be available for students in this unit which you can use to develop a professional report, pitch deck, social media posts and other collateral.
As students come to this unit with different skill sets we would most appreciate you being open to sharing your relevant skills and resources with your classmates. You may decide to have different team members focus on advancing skills in different programs according to your roles in the project which may, in turn, help to enhance your group's overall presentation.
Feedback in this Unit
Feedback in this unit to individuals, groups, and the class/cohort may be made available in multiple forms, including:
Samples of past assessments, as well as detailed marking rubrics for all assessment tasks, will be made available on iLearn.
Please don't hesitate to request feedback as you need it.
Emails
Generally, student emails will be replied to within 48 business hours. Students should not expect emails to be returned on weekends and after hours. If you are having trouble contacting your client, please inform your tutor.
Students should ensure that they can receive emails sent to their MQ email addresses.
This unit will make extensive use of iLearn https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/. Required readings, comprehensive information on assessment tasks and important announcements will be posted to iLearn. Make sure you check iLearn and your Macquarie University email account regularly during this unit.
For technical support go to: http://mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/informatics/help
For student quick guides on the use of iLearn go to: http://mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/guides.htm
Week 1 Creating your PR/social media agency
Week 2 How to engage your employees: best-practice internal communications
Week 3 How to write a professional PR strategy report
Week 4 Creativity and idea generation - practical techniques for generating ideas
Week 5 Training your team to engage with the media
Week 6 How to build fruitful connections: influencers, partnerships and collaborations
Week 7 How to tell your story across platforms
Week 8 How to frame your research to sell your PR and social media strategy
Week 9 How to pitch with passion
Week 10 How to measure and monitor success, analytics 101
Week 11 How to create meaningful online and offline events
Week 12 Career insights: how to step up in a constantly shifting industry
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook