Your marks will be displayed at iLearn, including your practical class and tutorial class attendance records.  It is your responsibility to regularly verify that the marks and attendance records displayed at iLearn (Tools -> Grades) are correct. 

Attendance at practical classes: 

• The practical classes are a participation hurdle and failure to participate in any of the four practical classes will result in you failing CBMS107.  If you are unable to attend a practical class, please contact the Unit Convenor, Damian Moran (damian.moran@mq.edu.au) immediately.  In addition, you must submit a Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au to justify your absence.
• Please note that if you miss your practical class, we are not required to offer you a catch up class.

Attendance at the final exam*: 

• The final exam is a hurdle assessment.  If you are/were unable to attend the final exam, you must immediately submit a Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au.

Attendance at tutorial classes: 

• The tutorial classes are a participation hurdle and failure to participate in at least 10 of the 13 weekly tutorials will result in you failing CBMS107.  If you are unable to attend a tutorial class, please contact the Unit Convenor, Damian Moran (damian.moran@mq.edu.au) immediately.  In addition, you must submit a Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au to justify your absence.

Final grade: 

• Your final grade will be based on the mark from the aggregation of your individual assessments (practical, quizzes, mid-session test, final exam), noting that you must satisfy all hurdles (practical classes & final exam) to pass CBMS107 overall.

* Information on Supplementary Exams:  If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session.  By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments.  Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. You can check the supplementary exam information page on FSE101 in iLearn (bit.ly/FSESupp) for dates, and approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

The final CBMS107 examination is a hurdle.  If you are given a second opportunity to sit the final examination as a result of failing to meet the minimum mark required, you will be offered that chance during the supplementary examination period and will be notified of the exact day and time after the publication of final results for the unit.

Communication

• Information will also be sent by email to your student email account on a frequent basis.
• In addition to email communication, the CBMS107 iLearn site will be used to communicate important information to you.
• We cannot overstate the importance of checking your email and the CBMS107 iLearn site regularly.

Classes

See https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2018 for class times and locations.

• Lectures:

While we hope that you will join us for lectures, it is important to note that lectures will be live streamed, as well as recorded (available at the CBMS107 iLearn site).  Lectures will be used to emphasise key points and concepts.  Where possible, studying lecture materials before coming to class will help you get the most out of the lectures. 

• Tutorials: 

During tutorials, the problems assigned (available at the CBMS107 iLearn site) will be discussed.  We recommend that you work on the tutorial problem sets before coming to class, so that you can take full advantage of the exercises. 

• Practicals: 

​The practical classes for CBMS107 are run in E7B320 and E7B308 (14SCO room 308).  Safety glasses, laboratory coats and disposable gloves are supplied.  You will not be allowed to enter the laboratory unless you are wearing enclosed footwear.  We cannot guarantee that the lab coats that we supply are in good condition, as they are shared across the unit.  We recommend that you consider purchasing your own laboratory coat, particularly if you are a science major. 

Teaching and Learning Strategy

CBMS107 is a 3 credit point half year unit and will require an average of 10 hours of work per week (contact hours plus self study time).  For students with weak chemistry backgrounds, more time than the 10 hours per week will probably be necessary to perform satisfactorily in this unit.

CBMS107 consists of 3 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial every week, and a 4 hour practical class every 3^rd week.  CBMS107 is designed to introduce you to the principles of the molecular sciences, including developing an understanding of the practical skills required to undertake simple chemistry experiments in an efficient and safe manner.  The lecture material, tutorials and laboratories complement each other, and along with quizzes (in-class and on-line), have been developed to increase your understanding of the topics so you can achieve the learning outcomes. 

The unit expectation is that you will:

·        Attend all lectures or when not possible listen to the recorded lectures

·        Attend all tutorials and attempt the set exercises

·        Demonstrate reasonable competence in all practical preparation exercises and attend each practical class

·        Actively engage in the practical and coursework assessment tasks

·        Spend an average of no less than 3 hours per week of private study in addition to class contact

If you prepare and attend all components of the unit and work consistently and continuously throughout the semester, you should be able to develop a strong understanding of the general chemistry and organic chemistry presented, and perform satisfactorily in this unit.  Students who try to memorise just before exams typically do not do well in this unit.  Instead a deeper understanding of the concepts is required. 

·        Lectures will be presented formally, although quizzes and general questions may be asked in class, demonstrations provided, and examples of problems worked through, to strengthen and increase understanding of the concepts.  Most lecture material will be available at the unit iLearn site, while other material will be provided in the lecture class.  Based on observations of related units, we know that students fall behind and perform poorly if they do not attend the lecture classes.  Learning is an active process, and as such, you must engage with the material.

·        Tutorials are run to assist your understanding of the course material.  Attempting the questions before the tutorial class to identify areas that need assistance is highly recommended.  Attendance records will be kept.  While tutorials do not contribute formally to your mark, anonymous teaching evaluations from past students have identified tutorials as a valuable learning tool.

·        Practical classes are designed to develop basic laboratory skills, general safety practices and critical and analytical thought.  Pre-practical questions are designed to make sure you are ready for the practical work and have grasped the relevant theory and necessary safety practices.  In-lab work is designed to teach you to appropriately record your experimental observations and to present your calculations in a detailed manner.  Post-lab exercises assess your understanding of the theory behind the experiments conducted, with sets of related problems.

• The final examination hurdle has been amended:  The final exam is a hurdle assessment and you will need to get >= 40% in the final exam to meet the hurdle.  In the event that you make a serious first attempt at the final exam, you will be provided with an opportunity to sit a new final exam.  The faculty define a serious attempt as a mark of 10% below the hurdle, which in this instance is a mark between 30-40%. You will NOT be given a second attempt to pass the exam if you get below 30% in your first attempt. 
• A hurdle requirement has been introduced for tutorial class participation:  The tutorial classes are a participation hurdle and failure to participate in at least 10 of the weekly tutorials will result in you failing CBMS107.  If you are unable to attend a tutorial class, please contact the Unit Convenor, Damian Moran (damian.moran@mq.edu.au) immediately.  In addition, you must submit a Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au to justify your absence.

Non-Attendance for Assessable Tasks:  If you are unable to attend a practical class, tutorial class, quiz or exam (mid-session test or final exam) due to short-term, serious and unavoidable circumstances, you must submit a Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au no later than five (5) working days after the assessment task date or due date.  Please also immediately contact the Unit Convenor, Dr Damian Moran (damian.moran@mq.edu.au).

Information on Supplementary Exams:  If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session.  By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments.  Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. You can check the supplementary exam information page on FSE101 in iLearn (bit.ly/FSESupp) for dates, and approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

The final CBMS107 examination is a hurdle.  If you are given a second opportunity to sit the final examination as a result of failing to meet the minimum mark required, you will be offered that chance during the same supplementary examination period and will be notified of the exact day and time after the publication of final results for the unit.

• Dr Damian Moran, Unit Convenor, F7B 329, ph 9850 8299, email damian.moran@mq.edu.au  
• A/Prof Joanne Jamie, Lecturer, F7B 231, ph 9850 8283, email joanne.jamie@mq.edu.au

Dr Damian Moran is the coordinator of this unit and should be consulted if you have administrative or organisational problems. 

Dr Damian Moran and A/Prof Jamie will be presenting the lectures.

The staff have an open door policy for any questions best dealt in person on their topics.  However, you are strongly advised to organise an appointment first by emailing beforehand (put CBMS107 in the header of the email message).