A full-time student who wishes to complete the BA degree in three years will normally take subjects to the value of forty-eight points in each year. Normally, the first year will consist of eight subjects and the second and third years will include the second parts of two sequences and the third part of one sequence, together with as many other subjects as are needed to bring the total value of the degree course to a minimum of 144 points.
A student who passes in at least two first-year sequences will be permitted to take second-year level subjects, for which they have fulfilled the prerequisites, in the following year. If passes are obtained in fewer than six subjects, it will be necessary for the student to take further first-year level subjects in the following year, and this will mean that it will take the student at least four years to complete the degree.
At the beginning of first semester a student will be enrolled in a tutorial group for each of the subjects chosen at enrolment time. The student will be expected to take part in discussions and submit written work which will normally be marked by the tutors in each chosen subject. In most departments, participation in tutorials and performance of written work are regarded as more important than merely attending lectures. However, it will become apparent to the student that the relative importance of lectures and tutorials varies according to the subject, and that the two methods of teaching complement each other.
Assessment may be based on a student's performance in classwork and assignments throughout the semester or on an end-of-semester examination or on a combination of both.
The faculty's board of examiners will consider the student's performance as a whole before results are published.
Final examinations in most subjects are normally held at the end of each semester, usually following a short period of `swot vac' in which students are given the opportunity to revise the work completed during the semester.
Results in examinations are graded into high distinction (HD), distinction (D), credit (C), pass (P), pass division II (PII) and fail grades (NN).
Division II passes, and also special (deferred) examinations, may be awarded by the board of examiners. The award of a division II pass permits a student to count the subject towards the degree but not to count that subject as a prerequisite for a later-year subject in the same discipline, or towards a major or minor in that discipline.
In the Faculty of Arts, division II passes are awarded only in first-year level subjects. They are regarded as special concessions, and in order to qualify for such a concession a student must pass subjects to the value of at least six points in that year. Students are not normally permitted more than one division II pass in their degree course.
Special (deferred) examinations may be granted by the board of examiners to a student who has been prevented by illness or other serious cause from attending all or part of an examination, or whose work during the academic year or whose performance in an examination has been gravely affected by illness or other serious cause.
A student who wishes to apply for a special (deferred) examination, or for special consideration should apply in writing. Supporting medical evidence should be submitted on the prescribed form. The application is referred to the dean, who decides whether or not there is a prima facie case for a special examination and undertakes to recommend accordingly to the board of examiners. Special (deferred) examinations may be taken in January or February of the following year, but departments may prefer to make their own arrangements for a special written or oral examination at an earlier date.
A full-time or part-time student who does not pass a given proportion of the subjects for which he or she is enrolled will be liable for exclusion from the faculty for the following year. Later-year students are also required to pass a given proportion of the subjects for which they are enrolled. No decision will be taken to exclude a student until the student has been given an opportunity to present a case to the admissions and exclusions committee.
Later year students who do not perform well in the first semester of the year, and are considering a leave of absence in the second semester, should be aware that they may be liable for exclusion on the basis of their first semester results alone.
First year
1 No students should be considered for exclusion solely on the basis of results achieved in the first semester of their studies for the BA degree.
2 Full-time students (ie those taking three or four subjects in first semester) who fail three or four subjects in first semester and who choose to proceed to second semester studies and do not pass more than 50 per cent of the work attempted in second semester will be liable for exclusion.
3 Full-time students (ie those taking three or four subjects in both semesters) who do not pass two subjects per semester will be liable for exclusion.
4 Part-time students (ie those taking one or two subjects per semester) who do not pass at least 50 per cent of the work attempted in a year will be liable for exclusion.
Second year
1 Students taking twenty-eight points or less - any student who does not pass a subject or subjects valued to at least twelve points (unless the subject failed is the only failure to date) will be liable for exclusion.
2 Students taking more than twenty-eight points - any student who does not pass a subject or subjects valued to at least sixteen points will be liable for exclusion.
Third year
Any student who does not pass a subject or subjects valued to at least twelve points will be liable for exclusion unless:
1 the only subject attempted is the last subject required for completion of the degree, provided that students who have attempted and failed twice in such a subject should be liable for exclusion; or
2 the failure is the only subject attempted and is the only failure to date.
Students who, at second or third-year level, attempt and pass only one subject of a points value below the minimum stated shall not be considered liable for exclusion.
In circumstances he or she considers special, the dean may exempt from the exclusion process and permit to re-enrol, students who would otherwise be liable for exclusion, but whose unsatisfactory performance in examinations is clearly attributable to a serious, well-documented medical problem.
Students who are liable for exclusion will be sent a letter from the faculty informing them of this and giving them information about the courses of action available to them. Students are invited to make a written submission to the Exclusions Committee of the faculty, to appear in person before the committee or both. All information supplied to the committee is treated as confidential, but students may also request that information of a particularly private nature be known only to the chairperson of the committee. Students also have the option to make no case, but this precludes such a student from appealing to the Exclusion Appeals Committee of Academic Board against the decision by the faculty committee to exclude that student.
Note: At time of printing, the Faculty of Arts is in the process of reviewing its criteria for exclusion. Upon completion of the review process, the updated criteria will be made available to all students in the faculty.
The submission of essays, assignments and homework is an essential part of the learning process and a vital way of assessing students' understanding of a subject. The submitted work must therefore be students' own work. This does not mean that students may not make use of the work of others. However, in quoting or paraphrasing material from other sources, those sources must be acknowledged in full. It may be useful to seek the help of a tutor in preparing the piece of work and to enlist the help of fellow students in sorting out ideas, but the final product must be written by the student in his or her own words.
Plagiarism occurs when students fail to acknowledge that ideas have been borrowed. Specifically, it occurs when:
(a) phrases and passages are used verbatim without quotation marks and without a reference to the author;
(b) an author's work is paraphrased and presented without a reference;
(c) other students' work is copied;
(d) items of assessment are written in conjunction with other students (without prior permission of the relevant staff member);
(e) a piece of work has already been submitted for assessment in another course.
Plagiarism is an attempt to obtain undeserved academic advantage. Students suspected of plagiarism will be given the opportunity to explain their plagiarism in the company of their tutor and the course coordinator. If the course coordinator believes that plagiarism has occurred, students will normally receive no marks at all for the piece of work concerned. Cases of deliberate plagiarism will be reported to the dean in accordance with faculty policy. Serious or repeated cases may be reported to the University Discipline Committee.
University policy on plagiarism and other forms of cheating is outlined in Part II of Statute 4.1 of the Statutes of the University (Monash University Calendar). Students who are at all uncertain about what is required should consult their tutor.
The following hints will help students avoid plagiarism:
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