Policies and general information

Assignments

All assignments must have a Koori Centre cover sheet and a University student plagiarism compliance statement attached. These are available from outside the Administration Office (room U224), Old Teachers College and also online at:   
sydney.edu.au/koori/studentsupport/studentinfo.shtml

Assignments must be submitted at the Koori Centre in the appropriate assignment box. Assignment boxes are allocated to specific units of study or degrees. Please ensure you place your assignment in the correct box. If unsure please ask a staff member.

It is your responsibility to keep a copy of your assignment. If your assignment is misplaced or lost, you will be expected to produce a copy of your assignment within a specified period.

Marked assignments can be collected from your tutor or unit of study coordinator. Collection details may vary from unit to unit so please check with your tutor. Emails notifying you of collections times will also be sent to your university email address, so make sure you check your emails.

Under University regulations, assignments not collected within three months can be disposed of. Students wanting their assignments posted to them must make arrangements with their tutor in advance and supply postage paid, self-addressed envelopes.

Format

Your assignment must be typed or word processed and printed on A4 plain paper in a 12 point font. Your text must be presented with 1.5 line spacing, numbered pages, and margins of 2.5 cm (1 inch) on all sides to allow for written comments from your marker. All assignments should be stapled in the top left corner. Do not place your assignment in a plastic cover of any kind.

Resubmitting an assignment

The opportunity to resubmit failed assessment tasks is subject to the policy of specific courses and in some cases, units of study. A request for re-submission will not be considered later than 7 working days after the return of an assignment.

Where opportunities for resubmission are not outlined, they are not normally available unless an assignment is clearly unsatisfactory only because the terms of the assignment have been misunderstood. In such cases the unit of study coordinator concerned may allow the assignment to be resubmitted.

A resubmitted assignment is eligible for a Pass mark only. Where it is unsatisfactory a second time the second mark (less than 50 per cent) will be recorded. No assignment may be resubmitted more than once.

When an assignment is to be re-submitted after the date of return for the work of other students on the same assignment, the assignment topic will normally be altered, though allowing for the testing of the same content/skills as above.

Extensions

Extensions can only be granted by your tutor or unit of study coordinator. Requests for extension must be submitted in writing on a request for extension form before the due date. These can be obtained from the Administration Office at the Koori Centre (Old Teachers College U224), or found on the Koori Centre web site sydney.edu.au/koori/studentsupport/studentinfo.shtml

Completed request for extension forms must be submitted to your tutor or unit of study coordinator for approval and a copy of the approved request for extension must be attached to your assignment when it is handed in.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your application has been approved. Simply completing a request does not guarantee that an extension will be granted. Extensions are normally for a few days. If an extension of over 5 days is required you must supply documentation and complete a special consideration form. Being in full-time work, or having several assignments due at the same time, do not constitute grounds for an extension or special consideration.

Special consideration

The Koori Centre recognises that unforeseeable circumstances such as serious ill health or misadventure can negatively impact on a student€™s academic performance. If you feel that circumstances outside of your control have affected your work you should lodge an application for special consideration.

Students who are seeking special consideration across all their current units of study should lodge copies of their faculty€™s application with both their faculty office and the relevant Koori Centre unit of study coordinator.

Students who are seeking special consideration only in Koori Centre units of study should lodge a Faculty of Arts application with the relevant Koori Centre unit of study coordinator. These are available at:
sydney.edu.au/koori/studentsupport/studentinfo.shtml.

Please note that during 2011 some faculties will be moving to an online special consideration process. The process for Koori Centre units of study may also therefore change during this year.

Penalties for late submission

Late submission of assignments without an extension will incur a penalty of 2% of the total possible mark for each working day that they are late. Assignments submitted more than 10 working days after the due date without an extension will be further penalised and can only achieve a maximum Pass mark of 50%. Any assignment submitted after marked assignments have been returned will automatically receive a Fail mark of zero. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the lecturer in charge of the unit of study, prior to late submission, to discuss the situation and submit for an extension.

Classes and attendance

It is expected that you will attend all classes and, in keeping with University of Sydney policy, you are required to attend 90% of all tutorials. If possible you should supply documentary evidence explaining any absence and notify your tutor in advance. Attendance below 50%, regardless of the reason, will result in the student being deemed not to have fulfilled the requirements of the unit of study.

Timetables

All students will have access to their timetable via the MyUni portal. Details about access will be provided at enrolment.

Efforts are made to avoid timetabling clashes but it is not possible to eliminate them completely. Students who have clashes with classes should consult the relevant teaching staff for the units concerned and acquaint themselves with policies regarding attendance before they make a decision about how to deal with such clashes. Students must be aware that ultimately they are responsible for the consequences of any decision they make.

Students who decide to continue with both units of study must check that the relevant teaching staff are made aware of their intention. Furthermore, students should note that they may not use a timetable clash to gain, for instance, special consideration, negotiate due dates, or miss in-class testing.

Students need to keep in mind the final dates for changing or withdrawing from units of study so that they do not incur penalties or additional HECS.

Complaints and grievances

Students who believe they have been unfairly treated are encouraged to speak to their tutor or unit of study coordinator in the first instance. Students may, of course, also wish to seek advice and support from the Counselling Service or from student welfare officers.

Appeals against marks

If a student is dissatisfied with the mark they receive for an individual assessment they should first speak to their tutor or the marker of that assessment item. If they are still dissatisfied they may make an appeal to the unit of study coordinator who may arrange for their work to be re-marked by a different examiner.

Please note that to ensure fairness in marking all assignments which receive either a fail or a high distinction grade are always second marked.

Appeals against results

If a student is concerned about any academic decision in relation to their assessment, they should first discuss the issue directly with the relevant lecturer or unit of study coordinator. This should be done within 15 days of the decision being advised to the student.

If the student€™s concerns cannot be resolved by discussion with the lecturer, or because of an apparent failure to follow procedures, the student may then approach the Koori Centre€™s Academic Coordinator by putting their concerns in writing within 15 working days of the outcome of discussions with the lecturer. The Academic Coordinator will review the appeal and prepare a report for consideration by the director or, in the case of Indigenous Australian students who may wish the director to advocate on their behalf, the relevant dean.

If, after these steps, the student is not satisfied that their concerns have been addressed satisfactorily by the Koori Centre, the student may lodge a written appeal, in accordance with the University of Sydney (Student Appeals against Academic Decisions) Rule 2006, available at: 
sydney.edu.au/senate/policies/Ac_Appeals_Rule.pdf

Plagiarism

The University is committed to academic excellence and high standards of ethical behaviour as the cornerstones of scholastic achievement and quality assurance. The University requires all students to act honestly, ethically and with integrity in their dealings with the University, its employees, members of the public and other students. To this end, the Vice-Chancellor on 15 February, 2005 approved a new policy on plagiarism which has subsequently been discussed both at VCAC and at the Academic Board. This policy is now in force and the procedures set out in it must be followed in all cases.

All staff and students should read Academic Board Policy: Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism to ensure that they fully comprehend it since it imposes obligations on both staff and students. The policy can be found at sydney.edu.au/ab/policies/Academic_Honesty_Cwk.pdf. 

Language and representation

The Koori Centre recognises and values cultural diversity, and is a strong advocate for the fair representation of different cultural groups in contemporary society. The use of accurate and respectful language is a priority in our teaching and research.

Students are asked to take serious note of the following guidelines, particularly when writing essays and presenting tutorial papers.

Fair representation of Indigenous nations and individuals

The Indigenous peoples of Australia come from a wide range of distinct cultural contexts. When writing on Indigenous Australian people or individuals, take the time to find out how they themselves wish to be named. Acceptable names may be €˜Koori€™ if a person is connected to New South Wales, €˜Murri€™ for people from Queensland, or €˜Noongah€™ for people from South Western Australia. There are many other specific groups such as €˜Anangu€™ or €˜Yolngu€™. Torres Strait Islanders have linguistic and cultural identities that are very different to mainland Indigenous Australian peoples. It is appropriate to use the term €˜Torres Strait Islanders€™ when speaking generally, or to use the names of relevant groups where possible.

When writing more generally, use the terms €˜Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples€™, €˜Indigenous peoples€™ or €˜Aboriginal peoples€™. Terms such as €˜the Aborigines€™ or €˜native(s)€™ objectify Aboriginal people and should not be used in any circumstances. Be sure to capitalise the first letter of terms such as €˜Aboriginal€™ or €˜Torres Strait Islanders€™. These words are proper nouns, like €˜Australian€™ or €˜American€™, and must be capitalised. It has also become a convention of academic writing in Australia to capitalise the word €˜Indigenous€™ when it clearly refers to, or is used in place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Never use terms such as, €˜full-blood€™, €˜half-caste€™, €˜quarter-caste€™ , €˜part-Aboriginal€™ or €˜mixed blood€™ in an uncritical manner. These terms were used officially by governments and institutions for the purposes of discriminatory treatment and are regarded as inaccurate and insulting.

A good guide to language use in relation to Aboriginal cultures is Rhonda Craven€™s €˜Using the right words in the Indigenous Australian studies classroom.€™ (Sydney, 1996, School of Teacher Education, UNSW in association with CAR).

Fair representation of all peoples

University of Sydney Senate policy states that the University community regards as offensive, under all circumstances, the use of written or spoken language which makes personal or irrelevant reference to race, sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, sexual preference, transgender status, political or religious beliefs and age. For example, as a student of the University it is your responsibility to ensure that you always use non-sexist or gender-neutral language. For suggested guidelines on inclusive and non-discriminatory language use, please read the Staff and Student Equal Opportunity Unit Language Guidelines, which can be found here:  sydney.edu.au/eeo/equal_opp/langguidelines.shtml.

Generic attributes of grades