Assessment guide

Assignments are the means used to assess if you have reached the learning outcomes for the unit. The criteria by which the assignment will be marked are made clear in each case. As a rough guide 10 marks is equivalent to about 10 hours quality work.

Evidence of wide and comprehensive reading is required, drawing on journals, international examples, thought pieces and reports. All ideas much be cited to the source / author. See notes on academic honesty in the Unit Guide.

AI assessments and learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasing emerging in education and professional domains. The University acknowledges both the potential and the risks when using Chat GPT and similar Generative AI tools to enhance learning and teaching. Our first obligation is to develop students' ethical and practical awareness to use these tools honestly and responsibly. Generative AI tools are no substitute for learning and mastering the content in your unit. If a student uses Chat GPT or other Generative AI tools in their assessment and there is evidence to support this they may be in breach of the University’s Academic Integrity Policy and can be subject to a misconduct investigation (refer to https://students.mq.edu.au/support/care-reporting/academic-misconduct).

Submitting assignments:

All assignments must be submitted electronically on the iLearn site.

Each assignment has a separate upload site. The assignment site will usually be a ‘Turnitin’, where your work is reviewed for similarity to websites, articles or other students’ work. If you have not given credit for ideas used to the author or source you will be penalised (failure of the assignment and reporting to a disciplinary committee to determine whether you have breached the University’s Academic Integrity Policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity). See information on academic honesty on the iLearn site and techniques on how to avoid common plagiarism errors (https://www.students.mq.edu.au/public/download.jsp?id=201272).

You do not need an assignment cover sheet for electronic submission to ENVS8525, it is understood that you are signing a declaration of honesty. Be sure to add your name, title of work and unit to your work.

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.

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. 

• Late Submissions will be accepted for assessments 1 and  2, and standard late penalties apply, as above. 
• Late submissions will not be accepted unless Special Consideration is granted for Assessment 3.

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 https://connect.mq.edu.au.

Delivery of the unit

The unit is delivered via face to face and in a block mode format. Combined lecture and workshop activities will be carried out across 6 full-day sessions in the Winter Vacation period.

Workshops commence at 11:00 AM and conclude at 6:00PM. 

Learning and teaching involves:

• Background reading by the students to provide you with the foundational knowledge of the forthcoming workshop
• Lectures to introduce theories and 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
• 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 and working with people of different skills and cultural perspectives.

Students are expected to:

• Read set readings in advance for classes (there are optional readings for those who want to explore the literature more deeply)
• Participate in workshop activities in small groups
• Follow current developments concerning sustainable development in the media/ internationally (students should use the News forum on the ilearn page to post articles or media of interest).