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Academic matters

Academic integrity (plagiarism, cheating in examinations, other academic misconduct)

La Trobe University regards academic honesty as the foundation of teaching, learning, and research. It requires its academic staff and students to observe the highest ethical standards in all aspects of academic work. The University demonstrates its commitment to these values by awarding due credit for honestly conducted scholarly work, and by penalising academic dishonesty and all forms of cheating.

At La Trobe University:

• it is the responsibility of the academic staff to conduct research according to ethical standards of scholarship, and to teach their students ethical learning and research practices; and
• it is the responsibility of the student to acquire a clear understanding of how to avoid unethical practices and to employ this knowledge in their work submitted for assessment.

Plagiarism

By submitting any piece of work you agree that:

1. the work is your own work or the work of the group (if a group assignment);
2. you have read and agree to be bound by the Statutes, Regulations and Policies of the University relating to Academic Integrity available at www.latrobe.edu.au/learning/integrity.html; and
3. you may be subject to student discipline processes in the event of an act of academic misconduct by you including an act of plagiarism or cheating.

Plagiarism: means the reproduction of someone else’s words, ideas or findings and presenting them as one’s own without proper acknowledgment and includes:

1. direct copying or paraphrasing from someone else’s published work (either electronic or hard copy) without acknowledging the source;
2. using facts, information and ideas derived from a source without acknowledgement;
3. producing assignments (required to be independent) in collaboration with and/or using the work of other people; and
4. assisting another person to commit an act of plagiarism.

You further grant to the University or any third party authorised by the University, such as Turnitin www.latrobe.edu.au/turnitin, the right to reproduce and/or communicate (make available online or electronically transmit) the work you have submitted for the purpose of detecting plagiarism.

Turnitin is text-matching software used by the University to encourage integrity in academic work and to detect possible plagiarism. If your lecturer indicates that you will be using this system, it is available at: www.latrobe.edu.au/turnitin/. This website also provides valuable links to information on academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism. See in addition the Academic Integrity website at www.latrobe.edu.au/learning/integrity

The University has comprehensive Statutes, Regulations, Policy, Procedures and Guidelines that provide improved information and training for students and staff. The Guidelines include a list of recommended penalties for offences ranging from plagiarism through to cheating in examinations. Students found guilty of academic misconduct may receive penalties ranging from a requirement to participate in academic counselling or a reduction in marks for an individual piece of assessment for minor cases, through to a zero grade for the subject and/or suspension from the University in serious cases or repeat offences.

Further information, including the University Policies and Regulations, can be accessed at: www.latrobe.edu.au/learning/integrity

Unauthorised material in examinations

Another form of academic misconduct is bringing unauthorised material into examination venues. Students found guilty of this offence may be awarded zero marks in part of the examination, the whole examination, the subject concerned, or may be suspended for a defined period of time from the University.

Details of materials allowed to be taken into an examination venue are provided on the examination timetable, on the official University notice-board, at the entrance to the examination venue and on the front cover of the examination paper. If an item is not specifically referred to it will be deemed unauthorised and must not be brought into the examination. The only items permitted in an examination venue not requiring authorisation are writing instruments, an eraser and an unmarked ruler. If approved in the examination instructions, translation dictionaries brought into examination venues must be unmarked. It is therefore suggested that students check this requirement at the beginning of the semester to save them from having their translation dictionaries confiscated during the examination.

Academic progress monitoring intervention requirements

Every course offered by the University must be completed within a specified period of time. The maximum period for the completion of courses is included in the University’s Academic Progress Monitoring and Intervention Policy and Procedures – see www.latrobe.edu.au/policy/. Similar constraints apply to Honours years, graduate diplomas, Masters degree programs and doctoral degrees.

Students who do not satisfy academic progress requirements over a set progression period will receive formal written advice and may be required to present their case to Faculty Academic Progress Committee (APC), as to why their enrolment should be allowed to continue.

A coursework student will trigger an intervention when, in any given Progression Period, the student:

1. fails 50% or more of the sum of the credit points for which the student is enrolled in a given course; or
2. fails a subject in a course for a second or subsequent time; or
3. fails to meet any conditions previously imposed on the student’s enrolment by the Faculty Board of the Faculty administering the course or its authorised committee or officer; or
4. exceeds the maximum allowed period for attempting a course of study.

There are two progression periods each year, the first running from 1 January to 30 June and the second from 1 July to 31 December. The University has comprehensive Statutes, Regulations, Policy, Procedures and Guidelines that provide details of how the APC process is administered by the University. The Academic Progress Policy for coursework students and access to the associated Regulations are available on the University’s website at www.latrobe.edu.au/policy/.

Research students receive a copy of the Handbook for Candidates and Supervisors for Masters Degrees by Research and Doctoral Degrees at enrolment. Alternatively, this document can be accessed on the web at http://www.latrobe.edu.au/research-services/assets/downloads/Handbook-INFOSUPCAND-JUly-06.pdf.

International students holding a student visa are reminded that condition 8202 requires them to maintain satisfactory academic progress. An international student will not be reported to DIAC as being in breach of condition 8202 until after (a) they have been excluded by the Academic Progress Committee, or the Academic Progress Review Committee has made a final decision for exclusion; and (b) the time for lodging an appeal has elapsed.

Students’ enrolment must be maintained until the above events have occurred or expired. However, students will need to apply to their Faculty for permission to continue to attend classes. Permission will not be granted if there are issues of safety to the student concerned, other students, staff, the public or University assets.

Academic advice

Academic Skills Assistance and Study Advice

In each Faculty there are advisers of studies who help students plan their courses, and there are Language and Academic Skills (LAS) advisers who assist students in academic skills and practices.

Advisers of studies

Consult your School or Faculty office for a list of advisers of studies.

Language and Academic Skills (LAS) advisers

At Bendigo and Melbourne (Bundoora) a number of units work in cooperation. The LAS advisers work with students to develop their study skills. Students can be assisted to develop their reading, writing, note-taking and speaking skills. This is done through individual consultations and workshops.

To find out more about how we can help you do your best, contact one of the LAS units below. You can also visit the website for more information at www.latrobe.edu.au/lasu/

Students on other campuses should contact their Campus Manager or Student Administration Office or see the regional campus entry in this Handbook.

Class timetables

Class timetables are administered by Academic Services Division for the University. Timetabled subjects offered by all campuses of La Trobe University are available by subject, department, or student ID selections via: www.latrobe.edu.au/timetable/.

Students have the opportunity to view their own personal timetable by entering their student ID number and password.

Access to Timetable information may also be obtained via StudentOnLine: www.latrobe.edu.au/acadserv/current/studentonline.html.

Examinations and assessment

2010 official examination/assessment dates

Students are required to be available for the entire duration of all formal examination periods, including supplementary and special examinations. Students should also note that they may be required by Faculties, to undertake examinations that are not conducted within the formal examination period.

Examination timetables

Official examination timetables for centrally administered mid-year and end-of-year examinations are usually published approximately five weeks prior to the examination period commencing. Timetables are published on the web via the University’s homepage and on notice-boards, together with formal examination rules and other important information regarding examination conduct. The University provides no information regarding examination dates, time and/or locations over the telephone. Students should contact their campus Student Administration Office directly for information regarding supplementary/special examination periods and timetable publication.

In the event of a student being unable to be present for an examination, the candidate must notify the relevant course authority of details within 72 hours of the examination, and in the case of medical incapacity, a medical certificate must be supplied.

If a candidate has two examinations set down for the same examination session, they must contact their Student Administration Office at least three weeks prior to the commencement of the examination period and submit a completed ‘Alternative Examination Arrangements’ request form.

Further information for all campuses is available at www.latrobe.edu.au/exam/bundoora/index.html

Alternative examination arrangements

Alternative examination arrangements may be made for semester, annual, special or supplementary examinations for students who have:

• a permanent or temporary disability;
• a mental health issue; and/or
• an ongoing medical condition.

For example, candidates may be given breaks during examinations, be provided with additional time to complete their examination or be allowed to sit their examinations in an alternative venue.

Students with a permanent or long-term disability, mental health issue and/or ongoing medical condition should consult the Disability Liaison Officer in the first instance. All other students should contact their Student Administration Office directly to obtain relevant application details. Requests for alternative examination arrangements must be submitted to Student Administration Offices at least three weeks prior to the commencement of the examination period.

Special consideration

Special consideration may be granted in extenuating circumstances that may have adversely affected your ability to undertake your studies. For further information contact your local Student Administration Office who will assist you.

Applications relating to special consideration for performance at an examination must be submitted to your Student Administration Office within 72 hours after the commencement of the examination. In some instances it may be appropriate to discuss the matter with an adviser of studies in the relevant Faculty or School before lodging an application.

Applications for special consideration relating to performance during an academic period must be submitted to your Student Administration Office prior to any of the assessment to which such application relates. It is important that you communicate with your lecturer as early as possible for assistance with issues related to missed work.

Throughout the year valuable teaching support services are also available to you at various campus locations:

• Equality and Diversity – www.latrobe.edu.au/equality/
• Counselling – www.latrobe.edu.au/counselling/
• Language and Academic Skills Units –www.latrobe.edu.au/learning/lasunits.html
• Language and Academic Skills Unit (English as a Second Language) – www.latrobe.edu.au/lasesl/index.html

Further information can be found by visiting the website for each of these services. We encourage you to use these services, which are provided to support you to achieve academic success.

Guidance on special consideration can be found at www.latrobe.edu.au/acadserv/current/ans_speccons.html [Note: At the time of printing this Handbook the policy on special consideration was under review and may change for 2010]

Examination results

Examination results will be emailed to all students via their official La Trobe student email account as results are finalised. Examination results are also available via StudentOnLine. Scheduled result release dates are established each year and generally occur mid-July for first semester results and the second week in December for second semester. Results from non-standard teaching periods will be released progressively throughout the year. Personal records are available from local Student Administration Offices. A charge of $6 applies for personal records. Official academic transcripts can be ordered through local Student Administration Offices. A charge of $15 applies for a weekly service and $30 for a daily service. Additional copies cost $2 per copy. Note: these are the 2009 charges and may be indexed for 2010. Students can print an unofficial transcript from StudentOnLine free of charge.

Assessment procedures for coursework subjects

Work presented by students during their studies is assessed in a variety of ways. It is important to understand the methods used and the expectations of the examiners. If you have queries relating to assessment for a particular subject you should approach the examiner for clarification in the first instance.

The most commonly used methods of assessment at La Trobe are described briefly below – in almost every case, a student’s performance in each method is measured and contributes to the final mark and grade awarded at the end of the year.

The expectations of examiners will vary widely according to the nature of the subject and the method of assessment. The general principle, however, is that the student is expected to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the topic being examined rather than an ability for rote learning, although there are many occasions on which the latter is also necessary.

Written examinations

Written examinations are normally of one to three hours’ duration. They may consist of multiple-choice questions requiring minimal response, many questions requiring brief response or a few questions requiring extensive response. Frequently they are set in formal examination periods (end of Semester One and end-of-year), but this is not always the case.

Essays

These are normally a few hundred to several thousand words in length, and may be set at any time of the year.

Clinical and social work placements

Most Education and Health Sciences students and some other groups of students are required to undertake placements for various periods of time in relevant practical environments which test their skills and knowledge and impart new skills.

Work experience

Students in agriculture, engineering and some science courses are required to undertake up to 12 weeks of relevant work experience during their courses, which does not always contribute to the final mark.

Projects

Projects may be specified or left to the student’s choice – they range from minor to major.

Practical classes

Normally of one or more hours’ duration, these are generally task-oriented, supervised and conducted at regular intervals (e.g. weekly).

Continuous assessment

This combines some of the above methods and may be an alternative to end-of-semester or end-of-year written examinations. The marks for many individual pieces of work are aggregated to give a final mark.

Class attendance and submission of written work

Attendance at lectures is not normally recorded, but may be recorded at tutorials and is often monitored for practical classes. In many subjects satisfactory attendance at tutorials or practical classes is compulsory and essential for a pass in the subject.

The submission of essays, assignments and other written work is recorded, and failure to submit without an acceptable reason may lead to the award of a fail grade.

Examination grades

Administrative Codes

Supplementary assessment

The University’s Supplementary Assessment Policy facilitates student progression and course completion by recognising the importance that significant assessment items have on the aggregate mark for a subject in a defined period. The policy applies to all University undergraduate and postgraduate coursework subjects for both award and non-award courses but does not apply to postgraduate research courses.

An eligible student who has obtained 50 per cent or more in a subject but who has failed to meet a compulsory (hurdle) requirement shall be offered supplementary assessment. Upon successful completion of the supplementary assessment, the original mark will stand.

Supplementary assessment will be available to an eligible student who has obtained a mark of 47 per cent or more in any failed subject, provided that a single piece of work or assessment is worth more than 50 per cent of the assessment in the subject. If supplementary assessment is completed successfully, the final mark awarded will be 50 per cent.

Supplementary assessments shall not be awarded where less than 47 per cent is obtained in a subject or where all assessment items are worth 50 per cent or less of the total assessment in the subject. Students who fail to complete the assessment for a subject may be denied supplementary assessment. Supplementary assessment also may be denied where it is impractical to provide it.

Further information is available at: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/policy/.

Conceded passes

The University’s Conceded Passes Policy facilitates course completion in eligible courses by recognising academic performance in a defined period. It applies to all University undergraduate degree and double degree courses, including double award courses that comprise an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate award.

A conceded pass will be awarded in a subject in an eligible course if:

• the mark obtained in the subject is at least 47% (but less than 50%); and
• the student’s Weighted Average Mark (WAM) is at least 50%.

A student offered a conceded pass in a subject will be offered another assessment which may be conducted in conjunction with the supplementary examination period or at some other time determined by the relevant faculty. A student who has obtained a conceded pass in a subject has the option of accepting the original fail result and re-enrolling in the subject.

Conceded passes are not available for:

• postgraduate coursework or research courses;
• single subject, miscellaneous, enabling, cross-institutional, exchange-in or study abroad undergraduate studies that do not lead to a La Trobe award;
• final-year core subjects;
• subjects required for professional accreditation; or
• subjects requiring the demonstration of professional or clinical competence in assessment;
• subjects in which a student has failed a hurdle requirement.

Conceded passes must not total more than 20 credit points in an undergraduate award course in any progression period, or more than 1/6 of the total number of credit points required to complete the award course.

Further information is available at: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/policy/ .

Review and re-mark of students’ academic work

Requests for advice on performance in assessment tasks should be addressed in the first instance to the member of staff (e.g. examiner) concerned. All students have the right to request a review of individual pieces of assessment worth 20% or more of the final result for a subject. Except where there are extenuating circumstances, the request for a review must be made within the following time lines:

• for assessment tasks that the University returns to students with a grade, within ten working days of the release of the result for the individual assessment task;
• for assessment tasks that the University does not return to students with a grade, within ten working days of the release of the final results for the subject for which the task was completed.

Students who are unsatisfied with the result of a review may request a re-mark by applying to the Head of School in accordance with the Review and Re-mark of Students’ Academic Work Procedures available from www.latrobe.edu.au/policy.
A student may have no more than one review and one re-mark of any individual piece of assessment or subject result.

Any student has the right to appeal to the Faculty Dean and finally the Ombudsman should they still be dissatisfied.

Graduations

Graduation ceremonies are generally held in March, April and May at Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Melbourne (Bundoora), Mildura and Shepparton.

Ceremonies for mid-year qualified students are generally held in October at the Melbourne (Bundoora) campus.

Graduation packages providing all information are mailed to students on the successful completion of their course. For further information regarding graduations go to www.latrobe.edu.au/graduations

Information regarding international graduation and presentation of degree ceremonies can be found at http://www.latrobe.edu.au/eap/international

International students who require an official document from the University regarding their graduation for visa purposes can apply to Student Administration using an ‘Application for a Letter’ form and pay the corresponding fee.

Working with Children Check (WWC Check)

The University has a policy and associated guidelines on practices to be followed by faculties and academic administration which ensure that all students who are involved in child-related work as part of their course of study comply with the Working with Children Act 2005. The Act affects students who undertake practical training in clinical or professional placements (for example, a student teacher). The Department of Justice does not impose a charge for students applying for a WWC Check.

Full information on the Working with Children Act 2005 is available at the Victorian Department of Justice website at www.justice.vic.gov.au/workingwithchildren.

The Working with Children Policy and the Students Working with Children Guidelines can be accessed at the La Trobe University policies website at: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/policy/ .

Each faculty conducting courses which have a component of child-related work includes statements of the working with children requirements in faculty and course publications.

Alumni Relations Office

The La Trobe University Alumni Relations Office provides graduates with a link to an over 135,000 strong alumni community in Australia and world wide.

The University's Alumni Relations Program exists to help cultivate the bonds and friendships that students develop while studying at the University, as well as developing a long-lasting supportive relationship with graduates. The Program can also aid in development of academic growth and career by linking students with University Alumni in areas of studies and interests, and offering careers and networking focussed events for alumni.

The Alumni Lifestyle Benefits Program provides a range of services, and exclusive privileges and discounts for Alumni.