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 (e.g. in a rubric) will be made available when the assessment tasks are released to you on iLearn. 

Submission of Assessments

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

You should always check that you have uploaded the correct file. If you have a problem, please email the Unit Convenor with your correct file. You must also keep a copy of your assessments until the end of semester in case there is a problem with your submission. It is your responsibility to ensure that you can provide a copy of your assessment if requested.

Marking of Assessments

Assignments will usually be marked through Turnitin with grades provided through Gradebook on iLearn. Please do not submit your assessments via email or in hard copy unless requested (e.g. a sketch or drawing).

We aim to return your assessment grades and feedback within two to three weeks of the date that you submitted it. We appreciate your patience and will advise you through iLearn when your marked assessments and feedback are available for viewing.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration. 

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted 

• Sustainability plan evaluation – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
• Sustainability index and data report - YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
• In class quizzes - NO, unless Special Consideration is Granted 

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 evidence (e.g. medical certificate - see advice for Special Consideration requests). The final decision regarding the granting of an extension lies with the unit convenor. Permission for extensions must be sought before the due date unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please 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 able to accommodate your circumstance if you follow this advice.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must:

• Attempt all assessments, and
• Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%

The content is based on a fortnightly workshop program that commences in Week 1 and is supported by core readings.

There is a mandatory full day field trip in the Sydney area. An exemption for attendance may be granted to students due to COVID or other exceptional reasons. Approval must be sought and is to be granted in advance of Week 4.

The unit is delivered with a mixture of lectures and workshops. The teaching process includes:

• Background reading by the students
• Lectures to introduce basic concepts
• Interactive group sessions to provide opportunities for experiential learning on tasks and through discussion with other class members (preparation is essential)
• Talks from guest lecturers that introduce innovations in science and technology used to make cities sustainable and the policy and planning to facilitate change
• A field trip to appreciate the practical, technical and socio-ecological aspects of sustainable cities.
• Assignments that require students to practice key skills, including critical and integrative thinking and communicating through diverse forms including 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 group activities;
• Read set readings in advance for classes; and
• Follow current developments about sustainable cities in the media/ internationally.

Methods of Communication

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. In response to student feedback we have swapped the order of assessment tasks to provide more time for positive group dynamics to develop.