Current students
General Information for Students
Always make sure that the Head of Department's Office and the Student Centre in the D.M. Myers Building have your current address and telephone number (if any). If it is necessary to contact a student, perhaps as a matter of urgency, a lot of unnecessary trouble is avoided if the Department and University have a current contact address and telephone number.
Safety and Protective Clothing
Your attention is drawn to Regulation 8.1(i) para. 2. of the University Statutes as follows:
- "No person shall smoke, eat, or drink in science laboratories or in the Computer Centre or such other teaching areas where computer terminals are installed at any time".
This rule is made for your safety; it is your responsibility to abide by it and the Department's responsibility to ensure adherence to the rule. The Policy on Smoking prohibits smoking at all times in all University buildings.
For laboratory classes students (and all those engaged in laboratory work) are expected to wear laboratory coats and shoes which adequately protect the feet. Students also are expected to comply with appropriate laboratory safety rules, and are advised that safety goggles should be worn as requested by the instructor for the practical class.
Because of the possibility of broken glass being found in some areas of the Department, all students must wear enclosed footwear, not thongs, sandals or scuffs.
The University recommends that Agricultural Sciences undergraduate students and postgraduate students who will have contact with animals should be immunised against the following infectious diseases:
- Tetanus - all students
- Q fever - as advised by the Department of Agricultural Sciences.
Security
In order to achieve the necessary level of security in the R.L. Reid Building no undergraduate student should remain in the building after 6 p.m. unless under supervision of a member of staff.
Photocopying
Photocopiers are to be used only for official Departmental business. Undergraduate students are not permitted to use photocopiers located in the Department.
Insurance
Students on outside placement, such as agricultural work experience and the fourth year project, whose placement has been approved by the Department, are covered by the University's personal accident policy. Details of this policy can be obtained from the Head of Department's office.
Library Use Programme
First Year Students
The libraries of La Trobe University in the Melbourne metropolitan area are situated at Bundoora. Familiarity with the La Trobe University Library at Bundoora will enable you to use the resources for your study. During the first few weeks of first semester you should attend a demonstration on the use of the computer catalogue. The times and booking sheets for the demonstrations will be placed near the Reference and Enquiries Desk in the Borchardt Library. To assist you in locating items in the Library's collections you will be given a tutorial exercise. With the aid of the Library Guide and a printed self-guided tour (available at the Reference Desk in the Library) you will be required to answer questions relating to books and journals available in the Library.
Second and Third Year Students
Learning about information resources is an on-going process. To assist you in discovering and using information resources your lecturers will organise course-based workshops. You will be notified during the academic year of the dates and times these workshops are scheduled.
Text Books
It is not usually necessary to buy all the texts prescribed in the Course Handbook for a particular subject. In some cases students take only part of the subject course. In others, some of the texts listed may be alternatives. It is better to obtain the information for each subject from lecturers at the beginning of courses. Lists of prescribed and reference texts for subjects taught in the Department of Agricultural Sciences will be given by the lecturers concerned at the beginning of the course.
Examination Periods
Students should leave the Examination Periods in mid-year and at the end-of-year CLEAR of any commitment other than to sit for examinations.
Essays and Practical Reports
Language and Academic Skills
Staff of the Unit for Language and Academic Skills (for Science Schools), located within the Office of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, offer tuition in study skills, planning and drafting essays and reports, writing techniques and examination preparation. Individual tuition is available for all students.
Appointment sheets are posted outside the unit which is located in Room 213, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, Physical Sciences 2 Building, (extension 2432).
Emphasis is placed on the development of writing skills. It is important that students are aware that help is available.
Penalties for Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when you copy or reproduce someone else's words or ideas and then present them as your own without proper acknowledgement, including when you copy the work of fellow students. It is a form of cheating and will be treated accordingly.
The penalties for plagiarism are severe and are governed by University legislation. A student found to have plagiarised may be allocated no marks for the particular piece of work involved, may be deprived of marks where the plagiarism was discovered after marking has occurred, or may be allocated a non-compensatable fail grade in that subject.
The legislation also contains provision to allow the University Secretary to refer the matter to the Proctorial Board. This would encompass cases of serious plagiarism including cases where a student is found to have plagiarised on several occasions in the one subject, in a number of different subjects or in different semesters. This may result not only in a confirmation that no marks be allocated in respect of the particular work but also in exclusion from the University.
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