3. Undergraduate study

Koori Centre role within the University

The Koori Centre is committed to furthering knowledge and understanding of Indigenous Australian issues across a wide range of disciplines including education, history, health, and literature. Our aim is to activate students’ interests in Indigenous Australia through our innovative and engaging teaching, which draws on the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarship and cultural production. The Koori Centre strives to create an inclusive yet challenging space which encourages students to think deeply about Indigenous cultures, societies, and experiences in Australia’s past, present and future.

Indigenous Australian Studies is a dynamic field open to students from any discipline. After undertaking our compulsory unit of study, KOCR2600: Introduction to Indigenous Australia, students may enrol in a range of electives encompassing creative arts, gender studies, health, history, and politics. The Koori Centre is also committed to the enhancement of Indigenous Australian educational outcomes so offers a Diploma and Bachelor of Education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. We also offer a number of units of study on Indigenous Education to any student enrolled in a Bachelor of Education.

Previous students have asserted that undertaking Indigenous Australian Studies was a challenging and rewarding experience, raising their awareness of our society which has influenced their everyday lives and transformed their thinking about a range of issues, not exclusively limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The knowledge and critical skills developed through undertaking Indigenous Australian Studies ensures that our graduates easily secure employment in a range of fields including policy-making, government, teaching and nursing.

The Koori Centre provides a broad range of academic and support services for the University of Sydney community, including teaching, research, marketing, administrative support and community outreach.

The Koori Centre’s core business encompasses:

• academically strong and innovative mixed-mode educational programs for Indigenous Australian students

• culturally appropriate and relevant academic and social support services for Indigenous Australian students

• teaching of Indigenous Australian Studies to a high level of academic excellence

• expertise in the area of community consultation and liaison and student recruitment

• culturally relevant, collaborative and ethical research

• providing cultural awareness workshops.

Policies and general information

Assignments

All assignments must have a Koori Centre cover sheet which is available from outside the Administration Office (room U224), Old Teachers College. Cover sheets can also be found online at www.koori.usyd.edu.au/studying/aborig_studies.shtml (look on that page under forms). Make sure you read and sign the plagiarism compliance statement on the reverse of the cover sheet.

Assignments must be placed in the appropriate box outside the Administration Office at the Koori Centre (room U224) by the due date. Do not submit your assignments directly to your tutor. It is your responsibility to keep a copy of your assignment. If your assignment is misplaced or lost, you will be expected to produce a copy of your assignment within a specified period.

Marked assignments will be handed back to students during tutorial sessions or can be collected from your tutors office at times given to you by your tutor. Under University regulations, assignments not collected within three months can be disposed of. Students wanting their assignments posted to them must make arrangements with their tutor in advance and supply postage paid, self-addressed envelopes.

Format

Your assignment paper must be typed or word processed and printed on office standard plain paper in a 12 point font. Your text should be presented with 1.5 line spacing, numbered pages, and margins of 2.5cm (1 inch) on all sides for written comments from your marker. All assignments should be stapled in the top left corner. Do not place your assignment in a plastic cover of any kind.

Classes and attendance

Important: It is expected that you will attend all classes, and in keeping with University of Sydney policy, you are required to attend 90% of your tutorials. Rolls will be taken in both lectures and tutorials. If possible you should supply documentary evidence explaining your absence, and notify your tutor in advance. Attendance below 50%, regardless of the reasons for the absences, will result in the student being deemed not to have fulfilled the requirements of the Unit of Study.

Each week you will attend lecture/s, and a tutorial, for the Unit of Study.

Efforts are made to avoid timetabling clashes but it is not possible to eliminate them completely. Students who have clashes with classes should consult the relevant teaching staff in the departments concerned and acquaint themselves with the departmental policies regarding attendance before they make a decision about how to deal with such clashes. Students must be aware that ultimately they are responsible for the consequences of any decision they make.

Students who decide to continue with both Units of Study must check that the relevant teaching staff are made aware of their intention. Furthermore, students should note that they may not use a timetable clash to gain, for instance, special consideration, negotiate due dates, or miss in-class testing.

Students should be advised that they need to keep in mind the final dates for changing or withdrawing from Units of Study so that they do not incur penalties or additional HECS.

Complaints and grievances

Students who believe they have been unfairly treated are encouraged to speak to their tutors or to the Academic Coordinator of the Koori Centre in the first instance. Students may, of course, also wish to seek advice and support from the Counselling Service or from student welfare officers. If the problem cannot be resolved at the departmental level, students may write to the Dean, care of the Faculty Office.

Timetables

Details of class times and locations are available from the department concerned, and are usually posted on the departmental noticeboard. All students will have access to their timetable via the Internet. Details about access will be provided at enrolment.

For advice about timetable clashes, see Classes and attendance

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property.

The Academic Board of the University of Sydney has defined plagiarism as "presenting another person's ideas, findings or work as your own by copying or reproducing it without due acknowledgement of the source".

Plagiarism includes presenting oral or written work that contains sentences, paragraphs or longer sections from published work, including internet articles, newspapers and magazines, without acknowledgement. Plagiarism also occurs when a student borrows, buys or obtains another person's work and submits it as their own work or re-submits a previously submitted assessment task in a different unit of study.

The Koori Centre is opposed to and will not tolerate plagiarism and will treat all cases of student plagiarism seriously. Assessment tasks suspected of plagiarism will be forwarded to the Koori Centre Academic Coordinator for judgement on the penalties to be imposed. Such penalties can include a Fail grade in a particular assessment task or unit of study or, in a worst-case scenario, expulsion from the University.

For more information on plagiarism in coursework, see the University's website: www.usyd.edu.au/senate/policies/Plagiarism.pdf.

Special Consideration

The Koori Centre recognises that unforeseeable circumstances, such as serious ill-health or misadventure can negatively impact on a student’s academic performance.

If you feel that circumstances outside of your control have affected your performance, please consult your Lecturer in Charge or see www.edsw.usyd.edu.au/current_students/assistance_forms where you will find further information on the University’s Special Consideration policy and obtain the application form.

Appeals

If you are unhappy with the mark you received for an assessment you should first speak to your tutor or the marker of that assessment item. If you are still dissatisfied you may make an appeal to the unit of study coordinators who will arrange for your work to be re-marked by a different examiner. If further action is required, contact the Koori Centre’s Academic Coordinator. Note that to ensure fairness in marking, all assignments which receive either a fail or a high distinction grade are second-marked.

Appeals against results

A written request to the department or school should be made by the candidate. It is expected that appeals will be lodged within two months unless there is a good reason for delay. As examination scripts are destroyed six months after examination, no appeal can be made after that time. Such requests are considered by the Koori Centre in consultation with relevant members of the faculty and the Koori Centre. A report and recommendation is then submitted to the Director for consideration and final decision.

Extensions

Extensions can only be granted by the Lecturer in Charge of a unit of study. Requests for extensions must be submitted in writing on a 'Request for Extension' form before the due date. A copy of this form has been included in this handbook. It can also be obtained from the Administration Office (room U224), or from www.koori.usyd.edu.au. Completed forms must be given to the Lecturer in Charge for approval. A copy of the approved 'Request for Extension' must be attached to your assignment when it is handed in.

It is your responsibility to ensure your application has been approved. Simply writing a request does not guarantee that an extension will be granted. Extensions are normally for a few days. If an extension of over one week is required you must supply documentation (eg a medical certificate or counsellor’s statement). Note that being in full-time work, or having several assignments due at the same time, does not constitute grounds for an extension.

Penalties for late submissions

Late submission of assignments without an extension will incur a penalty of two per cent of the total possible mark for each working day that they are late. Assignments submitted more than 10 working days after the due date without an extension will be further penalised and can only achieve a maximum Pass mark of 50 per cent. Any assignment submitted after the marked assignments have been returned will automatically receive a Fail mark of zero. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the Lecturer in Charge prior to late submission, to discuss the situation and apply for an extension.

Generic attributes of grades

Language and representation

The Koori Centre recognises and values cultural diversity, and is a strong advocate for the fair representation of different cultural groups in contemporary society.

The use of accurate and respectful language is a priority in our teaching and research. Students are asked to take serious note of the following guidelines, particularly when writing essays and presenting tutorial papers.

Fair representation of Indigenous nations and individuals

The Indigenous peoples of Australia come from a wide range of distinct cultural contexts. When writing on Indigenous Australian people or individuals, take the time to find out how they themselves wish to be named.

Acceptable names may be ‘Koori’ if a person is connected to New South Wales, ‘Murri’ for people from Queensland, or ‘Noongah’ for people from South Western Australia. There are many other specific groups such as ‘Anangu’ or ‘Yolngu’.

Torres Strait Islanders have linguistic and cultural identities that are very different to mainland Indigenous Australian peoples. It is appropriate to use the term ‘Torres Strait Islanders’ when speaking generally, or to use the names of relevant groups where possible.

When writing more generally, use the terms ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’, ‘Indigenous peoples’ or ‘Aboriginal peoples’. Terms such as 'Aborigines’ or ‘native(s)’ objectify Aboriginal people and should not be used in any circumstances.

Be sure to capitalise the first letter of terms such as ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Torres Strait Islanders’. These words are proper nouns, like ‘Australian’ or ‘American’, and must be capitalised. It has also become a convention of academic writing in Australia to capitalise the word ‘Indigenous’ when it clearly refers to, or is used in place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Never use terms such as, ‘full-blood’, ‘half-caste’, ‘quarter-caste’ , ‘part-Aboriginal’ or ‘mixed blood’ in an uncritical manner. These terms were used officially by governments and institutions for the purposes of discriminatory treatment and are regarded as inaccurate and insulting.

A good guide to language use in relation to Aboriginal cultures is Rhonda Craven’s Using the right words in the Indigenous Australian studies classroom published by the School of Teacher Education, UNSW, Sydney, in association with CAR, in 1996.

Fair representation of all peoples

University of Sydney Senate policy states that the University community regards as offensive, under all circumstances, the use of written or spoken language which makes personal or irrelevant reference to race, sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, sexual preference, transgender status, political or religious beliefs and age.

As a student of the University it is your responsibility to ensure that you always use non-sexist or gender-neutral language.

For suggested guidelines on inclusive and non-discriminatory language use, please read the Staff and Student Equal Opportunity Unit Language Guidelines, which can be found on the University's website: www.usyd.edu.au/eeo/html/policies_language_guidelines.htm.

Units of study