YOUR RIGHTS IN THE CLASSROOM
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Your Rights in the Classroom Whether you’re a first year student or in your last year of studies it’s vital that you are aware of your education rights at this university. Australia has a strong higher education system, one which demands fair and equitable treatment of all students. I urge you to be aware of your rights in the classroom and to speak out when you feel that you are not being given the service that you deserve. If you have any issues or grievances with your education at Curtin, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Chris Hossen Education Vice President Curtin Student Guild 9266 2920 educationvp@guild.curtin.edu.au
These rights are binding in Curtin University Policy. Please report any policy misconduct to your faculty representative at the Student Guild. Contact details can be found at guild.curtin.edu.au
YOUR RIGHTS The following rights are binding in Curtin University Policy. Please report any policy misconduct to your faculty representative at the Student Guild. Contact details can be found later in this booklet, or at www.guild.curtin.edu.au
GENERAL •
Where classes are scheduled for one hour, the class must finish after 50 minutes to allow students to get to the next class.
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Students must be allowed a 10 minute break for classes that go for more than one hour. 10 minutes break per hour.
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Classes must not be schedule during common free time (Wednesday 12-2). Special extraordinary circumstances may apply.
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Classes must not be scheduled during tuition free weeks.
ASSESSMENTS •
A unit cannot have more than 4 assessments including an exam (if needed).
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No assessment or exam can have a value of greater than 50% of the total marks in a unit
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Teachers are required to provide feedback and marks to students as soon as possible. Ideally, for all assessment other than final exams, this is 15 working days and generally no later than 20 working days.
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If you experience a traumatic event in your personal life that will affect your studies you can speak to your unit controller who can schedule your upcoming assessment for a later date.
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If you just missed out on passing an assessment, a supplementary assessment may be granted to you. This will be up to your Head of School, but there are guidelines that need to be followed.
MORE SERIOUS STUFF •
PROBLEMS WITH TEACHERS If you have an issue with a tutor or lecturer then you are in your full rights to discuss the issue with your Head of School. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome then contact your Guild faculty rep who can discuss the matter with a higher authority.
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ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT If you are accused or found guilty of academic misconduct (e.g. plagiarism), you can appeal the decision to the Head of School, if you believe the decision is incorrect. If a satisfactory outcome is still not reached, then you may take the appeal to the Academic Registrar.
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TERMINATIONS Students may appeal against termination or change in academic status.
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The Guild Student Assist department is here 5 days a week to assist you with all education appeals.
i LECTURES
iLectures are a great way of reviewing the coursework covered in a lecture or if you simply can’t make it to a lecture. The Guild strongly encourages all teaching staff to use the lecture recording system. The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education), Robyn Quin is a big supporter of the iLecture system. Lecture capture is designed to support the student learning experience by providing a flexible and convenient means of reviewing course content. Students can access iLecture recordings from links within their FLECS-Blackboard units and can also download audio content to personal MP3 devices such as iPods. Whilst the iLecture system cannot replicate the interactivity of a live lecture it provides students with the opportunity to listen or watch recordings at times convenient to their learning needs -Robyn Quin DVC (Education)
YOUR FACULTY REPS Your Faculty Reps are here to support you and work closely with Chris (Education Vice President) on issues concerning your faculty and with Sarah (Activities Vice President) on action packed events and clubs that might be relevant to your studies or interests.
BUSINESS Caitlin du Toit business@guild.curtin.edu.au ph: 9266 2764
Hi there I’m Caitlin your Business Faculty Representative. My primary role is to ensure CBS is open and fair in all dealings with students. The committees that I participate in are the CBS Teaching and Learning Committee, CBS Strategic Review Board and the Academic Services Committee. I also participate in disciplinary hearings and selection panels.
Three things that I would like to see improved within Curtin, particular within CBS are; • Past exam papers to be available to all students in order to improve their learning experience and increase support for their studies • Increasing awareness among students and staff of the Guild and the various services we provide • Building stronger relationships between students in CBS, particularly between International and Domestic students.
HUMANITIES Michael Ball humanities@guild.curtin.edu.au ph: 9266 2764
As I represent the Humanities students it’s my job to ensure everything I see at uni has your interests first. I have a voting position on many boards in Humanities (including the top level Humanities Teaching and Learning Committee) and its always great to keep the oldies inline and up with the latest technologies. If you have any questions or suggestions (or food, please bring me food) feel free to swing by my office in 106F for a chat or a drink. The year’s goals are; •
A dedicated common room space or kitchen area for Humanities students in 201, as Humanities has the least amount of spaces for our students.
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Events or clubs for humanities students, growing a greater community feeling in our courses and some sweet events.
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Enhanced use of online lectures and blackboard to encourage revision and create an easier environment for people to study away from the classroom.
HEALTH SCIENCES Rachel Murray health@guild.curtin.edu.au ph: 9266 3392
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING Maz Rahman science@guild.curtin.edu.au ph: 9266 3392
Hey, I’m Maz Rahman and for 2011, I’ll be your Science and Engineering Faculty Representative at the Guild. It’s my role to look after any issues you may be experiencing during your time as a student within the faculty. In order to resolve these issues, I am a member of quite a few boards, including Science and Engineering teaching and learning committee, education board and courses management committee. Whilst in this position at the Guild, I hope to achieve the following goals. •
Increase accessibility and the number of units offered in the engineering summer school.
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Lecturers make use of iLecture and upload them on blackboard within 48 hours.
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All exams to follow university policy and be worth no more than 50% of the unit.
Hi I’m Rachel and I’m your health Science Faculty Representative. The main part of my job is to look out for the rights and wellbeing of all Health Sciences students. I represent the student body on the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee and Faculty Academic Board where many of the changes that affect students are passed. Essentially I am there to make sure that the best possible outcome for students is achieved. Three things I would like to see this year are: •
More appropriate use of i-lectures ie. using them as a supplement to lectures, not a substitute
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Fair and equitable assessment
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A structured opportunity for first year Health Sciences students to provide feedback on their new common first year
EDUCATION VICE PRESIDENT
Chris Hossen 9266 2920 educationvp@guild.curtin.edu.au
My main focus is to make sure that the University is upholding their most important duty which is providing you with high quality education. I sit on pretty much every major Board, Committee and Working party to do with teaching and learning to make sure that the student voice is heard throughout the University. If you feel that your issue is a University wide problem then I am here to help. As you have read, the Faculty reps like to stay in touch with the issues and constantly keep me updated with anything they feel I should be taking to a higher level. My main goals for this year are: •
Working to ensure university support services for students are well funded and effectively communicated to ensure students have ample opportunity to access these vital services.
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Developing a new and extensive list of services the Guild can implement should the Student Services and Amenity Fee passes Federal Parliament in the middle of this year.
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Advocating strongly against any significant increases to HECS.
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Improving student welfare on a campus level by continuing to run Guild welfare breakfasts and the Guild’s partnership with St. Vincent de Pauls.
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The creation of a free tutoring service to students and finding more ways of making sure that Guild finances are give back to students.