Unit completion

To pass this unit students need to:

• Achieve an overall minimum grade of 50%
• Make a serious attempt at all assessments
• It is highly advised that students attend the face to face block practical class in the mid-session break which is assessed in the 'Outbreak Investigations' assessment

Assessment submission 

Assessments must be submitted via iLearn by 11:55 pm on their due date. 

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 7^th day (including weekends). After the 7^th 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 

• Emerging infectious diseases in the media - YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
• Outbreak investigations - YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
• Conversation style article - YES, Standard Late Penalty applies

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.

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 - this is preferable for queries that directly relate to unit content, unit activities, or assessments. Queries can also be sent via email to the unit email biol3130@mq.edu.au. 
• Email unit convenors directly for more serious matters of an individual nature and that do not directly relate to unit content, unit activities, or assessments. 

LEARNING AND TEACHING MODEL

This unit is delivered in a flipped classroom mode where students are required to do pre-class tasks which outlined in iLearn for each week. Completing these tasks before weekly SGTAs will ensure that you get the best from the unit.

Online seminar (beginning week 1)

Knowledge of emerging infectious diseases are gained through students listening to the Patient Zero podcasts and other pre-recorded material from experts in the field. The seminar sessions will then extend concepts in the pre-lecture activities and provide an opportunity for a Q & A session. Guest speakers represent the best in their fields and are giving their time freely. So please do your best to attend the Q&A sessions with a guest or panel.

Small group teaching activities (refer to timetable for block scheduling for BIOX3130)

The weekly 2-hour SGTAs will be delivered in three full day block session for BIOX3130 students. In these classes students consolidate material from pre-recorded learnings and seminars through small group activities and problem-based learning.

Practicals – (refer to timetable for block scheduling)

Attending the block practical session in the mid-session break allows students to meet ULO4 which is assessed in Outbreak Investigations. The practical session provides learnings and data essential to the case study assessment. A role will be taken to record attendance and to identify your participation in these classes.

Dress for laboratory sessions

• You must wear sturdy shoes that cover your feet.
• You must wear a lab coat in every practical to protect your clothes
• You MUST bring your own lab coat to every class. We will no longer provide disposable lab coats as these are not environmentally friendly. 
• Although the material that we will use has been rendered non-infectious good laboratory practice of wearing protective clothing when working with organisms that potentially cause disease is required. ALWAYS wash hands before leaving laboratory.
• PLEASE NOTE
  • NO COAT = NO CLASS 
  • Inappropriate shoes = no laboratory access

Students will continue to sanitise surfaces before and after use. Students are requested to minimise the risk of spreading COVID to themselves and others in accordance with the university and NSW Health guidelines: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs and https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe. 

RESOURCES

There is no required text book for BIOL3130 Emerging Infectious Disease Ecology. We will provide references to many research papers that will assist with unit themes. 

COVID Information

Students will continue to sanitise surfaces before and after use. Students are requested to minimise the risk of spreading COVID to themselves and others 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. 

BIOL3130 was delivered for the first time in 2022 and students rated the unit very highly. As part of unit development and a more authentic approach to the subject matter we have removed the exam this year and distributed marks across three assessments.