Department of Sociology Learning and Teaching Code of Practice
This document sets out the policies of the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University in relation to undergraduate teaching matters. It serves both as a guide to what undergraduate students can reasonably expect from sociology staff in the way of assistance with their studies and to assist sociology staff in fulfilling their teaching obligations towards undergraduate students.
Information specific to Units
All Units taught in the Department of Sociology are accompanied by a Unit Outline. These documents include vital information about teaching objectives, assessments, timetables, lecture summaries, tutorial programs and administrative matters specific to the Unit. Unit Outlines are provided to students at the commencement of classes. They are also posted online on Unit homepages ( http://www.soc.mq.edu.au/undergraduate.html) along with other continuously updated information. Students must familiarise themselves with the Unit Outlines, and check Unit homepages on a regular basis.
Submission of Assignments
Unless advised otherwise by the course convenor or tutor, all written work is to be submitted to the Enquiry Office of the Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, Ground Floor, Building W6A, no later than 5 pm on the due date.
Sociology Cover Sheets are available at the Divisional Enquiry Office and must be attached to the assignments before students drop them into the relevant box.
Late Submission of Work
To help students submit their work on time, staff will endeavour to hand out essay and assignment questions at least three weeks in advance of the due date.
All assignments which are officially received after the due date, and where no extension has been granted by the course convenor or tutor, will incur a deduction of 5% for the first day, and 1% for each subsequent day including the actual day on which the work is received. Weekends and public holidays are included. For example:
| Due Date | Received | Days late | Deduction | Raw Mark | Final Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday 14th |
Monday 17th |
3 |
7% |
e.g. 65% |
58% |
Return of Essays and Assignments
Students undertaking any undergraduate sociology course can ordinarily expect that their essays or assignments will be returned to them within 4 weeks of official submission or the date on which the essay is due. The ‘Official Submission’ date is that recorded by the Division of Society, Culture, Media, and Philosophy.
Assignments are kept at the SCMP Enquiry office for a total period of 6 months from the date of submission. Work that which isn’t collected before the end of the 6 months period will be discarded.
Extensions for Late Work
Where a student cannot hand in a piece of work on the due date because of illness or other personal difficulties, the student is entitled to ask for an extension for that piece of work. The extension means that marks will not be deducted for lateness. In order to receive an extension, the student is requested to provide evidence of illness or personal difficulties in the form of a medical certificate or supporting letter from a counsellor. In such cases the student is entitled to an extension only for the period mentioned in the certificate or supporting letter. Other excuses for the late submission of work, such as other work due at the same time or involvement in extra-curricular activities, do not entitle the student to an extension and are not considered reasonable excuses for late submission.
Essay Comments
Comments on students’ work should engage with the work and should include suggestions as to how the student may improve their work in future. The tone of the comments should be encouraging, emphasising the things that the essay did well, as well as mentioning the areas (if any) in which there is room for improvement and any suggestions the marker has about how the student might achieve that improvement.
Where students’ essays or assignments require improvement in English grammar and expression, they should be strongly encouraged to make use of the Writing Skills Advisory Service. Information about the Writing Skills Advisory Service can be found on this website: http://online.mq.edu.au/pub/EDUCGATEWAY/
Plagiarism
Macquarie University takes cases of plagiarism very seriously. Staff in the Department of Sociology recognise that students may engage in plagiarism for a range of reasons. These may include unawareness of, or uncertainties about, academic writing and referencing conventions; lack of confidence in academic ability; fear of penalty for the late submission of assignments. We therefore encourage students to approach convenors or tutors with their concerns regarding the fulfilment of assessment tasks and/or uncertainties about what does or does not constitute plagiarism. Both staff and students are expected to commit themselves to minimising the likelihood of plagiarism.
Should a case of plagiarism nevertheless be identified, staff members will follow procedures as outlined in the Divisional Plagiarism Policy (http://www.scmp.mq.edu.au/plagiarism.html)
Staff in the Department of Sociology base their assessment of students’ work on the assumption that all students endeavour, as best they can, to fulfil the requirements of study to the best of their ability. By extension, we object strongly to acts of academic dishonesty such as the recycling of essays written for other courses, the procurement of essays from individuals and commercial services, and collusion among students to collectively produce assignments which are set as individual tasks. Such cases will be treated as plagiarism and will be subject to disciplinary action as recommended by the Academic Senate.
Special Consideration
Students who are prevented by from completing any of the work required to complete a unit should report the circumstances in writing to the Registrar’s Office. This letter must be accompanied by a completed Professional Authority Form ( http://www.reg.mq.edu.au/Forms/APScons.pdf) or other proper evidence. This also applies to examinations which couldn’t be attended due to unavoidable disruption, or circumstances which students believe prejudiced their performance. The report, which must also be accompanied by a completed Professional Authority Form, should reach the Academic Program Section of the Registrars’ Office no later than five days after the date of the examination.
Appeals against Grades
The Department of Sociology adheres to Appeals against Grades policy as per the Academic Manual. This policy enables students to appeal against their final grade in a given Unit of study if
1. the unit co-ordinator did not provide a unit outline as required; or
2. the assessment requirements as specified in the unit outline were varied in an unreasonable way; or
3. examiners judgement was not objectively applied because of prejudice against the individual candidate; or
4. a candidate is of the view that a clerical error has occurred in the computation of the grade; or
5. due regard has not been paid to the evidence of illness or misadventure if submitted by the specified date
6. a candidate is of the view that they have been disadvantaged in some way due to the conduct of their final examination.
It is strongly recommended that students familiarise themselves with the procedure by checking the Academic Manual online (http://senate.mq.edu.au/appeals.htm).
Procedures for Resolving Complaints about Harassment
Undergraduate students in sociology can expect to work in an environment that is friendly, encouraging and intellectually stimulating, in the absence of discriminatory treatment on the account of ethnicity, gender, religion, age or physical ability. Where a student has a complaint in relation to an undergraduate sociology course or member of staff, they should be made aware of the availability of the following avenues for making that complaint heard:
In the first instance, students with a complaint about a particular course are encouraged to approach their course tutor. If that is inappropriate in the circumstances, or if the tutor is not in a position to deal with the complaint satisfactorily, they should then approach the course convenor. If this does not prove satisfactory or is inappropriate, they may approach the Head of Department or, in the final instance, the Head of Division, to resolve their complaint. Students are encouraged to take their grievances to the above people in that order unless special circumstances make that inappropriate.
* Disclaimer: These policies are subject to changes without prior notification.