Advice & advocacy

"Dear Abby" archive - coursework students

Click on a question for "Abby's" advice.

• I've got my results back and don't think it's a fair assessment, am I entitled to a re-mark?

• I am an international student undertaking a coursework Masters degree. I have one lecturer who is very difficult to understand because he talks really quickly. What can I do?

• I am doing a Masters by Coursework and have classes on both Clayton and Caulfield campuses. My assignments often involve group work. Are there any rooms available on either campus ...

• I have just commenced a postgraduate coursework degree and I’m very unhappy with the quality of the lectures...

• I am working with a group of postgraduates from my course on a group assignment. One of our members rarely turns up for meetings and in my opinion, has not contributed in any significant way...

• There is a courswork Masters degree I'd really like to do - but can't afford the fees. Is there any help available?

• Last semester I had an encumbrance placed on my account even though my parents had paid my fees via telegraphic transfer from Sri Lanka, two weeks before they were due...

• I sat an exam recently and now think I should apply for special consideration but it is past the deadline for applying. Is there anything I can do about it?

• I’ve just enrolled in a Masters by coursework in the Faculty of Business and Economics and need to know where I can go to get 24/7 access to a computer lab. Someone at the faculty told me they have 24/7 postgrad computer labs on Caulfield campus but I live near Clayton campus so I need something here.

• I have to go to Caulfield and Clayton campuses as part of my study and I am not happy that I have to buy a parking permit for both campuses which costs me a LOT OF MONEY. Parking is expensive enough...

 

Dear Abby,

I've got my results back and don't think it's a fair assessment, am I entitled to a re-mark?

Advice needed

Dear Advice needed,

"The Univeristy's practice on re-marking is governed by the Assessment of Coursework Policy: which states that:

The result in the unit should reflect the actual achievement of the student;

• a mark should not be altered except in circumstances where (a) special consideration has been granted to the student in question or (b) the department/faculty is correcting an error made on entering the mark.

• furthermore, this alteration would require the agreement of the relevant department (that which teaches or offers the unit) and must take into account the implications of the changed mark for all students enrolled in the unit.

If you have passed but are not happy with the assessment of your essay/report it is advisable to discuss this with your tutor, lecturer or subject coordinator in the first instance. If you are still unhappy with the result you should contact the postgraduate coordinator and ask for a review.

In the event of a fail mark being awarded, each faculty must ensure that this is verified in some way. In most cases where a fail mark is awarded work is marked by two examiners. Failed work will only be double-marked if it constitutes more than ten per cent of the final mark for the unit.

The rights of students to have assessed work re-marked shall be determined at faculty and department level, with reference to the work and time involved for staff. Faculties should notify students of their policy on re-assessment of work. However, each faculty must have a process (reported to, and approved by, Academic Board) for verifying fail marks which contribute to a final fail result. This requirement shall not apply to pieces of work completed during the course of a unit each of which is worth no more than 10 per cent of the final mark, unless the total of such pieces exceeds 30 per cent of the final mark.

For specific information on re-marking it is advisable to initially contact your lecturer or postgraduate coordinator for details of what happens in your faculty.

Good luck!

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Dear Abby,

I am an international student undertaking a coursework Masters degree. I have one lecturer who is very difficult to understand because he talks really quickly. What can I do?

Getting lost

Dear Getting lost,

The first thing to do is to speak directly with the lecturer, explain your dilemma, and ask him if he could slow down a little bit when delivering lectures.  There are likely to be other international students in the class who are experiencing a similar problem.  If the matter cannot be resolved with the lecturer, speak with your graduate coordinator about a solution.

Some postgrads find it helpful to read through online lecture notes prior to the lecture, to give them a headstart on the topic and help them keep up in the actual lecture.

Learning skills advisors may also be able to give you some advice and assistance.

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Dear Abby

I am doing a Masters by Coursework and have classes on both Clayton and Caulfield campuses. My assignments often involve group work. Are there any rooms available on either campus for postgraduate groups to meet and work on joint assignments?

No room at the inn

Dear No room at the inn,

Postgraduates on Caulfield campus needing space for group work have a number of options available to them. Postgraduate lounges in Building H and Building A (A1.38) each offer a common space that can be used for small group meetings and discussions on a ‘first come, first served basis’ and cannot be booked.

The campus also offers a number of syndicate rooms in Building H which can be booked in advance by postgraduates planning to conduct group work. Bookings can be made through venues@adm.monash.edu.au and are subject to some restrictions to ensure equitable access.

Postgraduates on Clayton campus have fewer options. A limited number of coursework postgraduates can register for use of the lounge area in the Monash Research Graduate Centre, contact david.bell@adm.monash.edu.au for further information.

The MPA has a seminar room which can be booked by postgraduates when not in use for meetings. It is also worthwhile inquiring within your faculty to see if they can offer you the use of any tutorial/meeting rooms that may be available. The MPA is currently lobbying the university to provide better facilities for coursework postgraduates on Clayton campus – we’ll keep you posted on any progress!

Update! The new postgrad lounge in the campus centre has 3 small meeting rooms that operate on a first-come first-served basis.

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Dear Abby,

I have just commenced a postgraduate coursework degree and I’m very unhappy with the quality of the lectures. I am paying quite a lot of money and spending valuable time to do this course - is there anything I can do about the situation?

Peeved

Dear Peeved,

The university does care about the quality of its courses and goes to great lengths to solicit feedback from students to this end. Information from surveys is fed back into departments to enable them to improve the content and delivery of their courses. With this in mind, you should contact your course coordinator to meet and discuss your concerns. It is a good idea to have a desired outcome in mind and to put this to the coordinator. A group submission can be quite powerful if there are other postgraduates in your course with similar concerns.

If you have raised serious issues about the quality of the course and have not had an appropriate response from the department, you should seek assistance from the MPA to discuss your options, because the bottom line is that the delivery of fee-paying courses by universities falls under the Trade Practices Act.

Under the Trade Practices Act you are a consumer, and as such, you are entitled to get value for money. The course must be fit for the purpose in accordance with advertised material. Failure to live up to the standard may amount to misleading or deceptive conduct which may also be unconscionable. The following examples albeit not exhaustive fall within the Trade practices legislation:

• Last minute time table changes

• Poor lecturing

• Outdated material

• Uncertain assessment criteria

• Lack of facilities or resources

Academic staff are obliged to be familiar with the university’s Trade Practices Compliance Manual.

It is unlikely that you will have to drag out the Trade Practices Act to have your concerns heard and any problems rectified. Departments are continually striving to improve their courses and your feedback is a valuable tool in the quality cycle.

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Dear Abby,

I am working with a group of postgraduates from my course on a group assignment. One of our members rarely turns up for meetings and in my opinion, has not contributed in any significant way to the end product. How can this be fair when three of us have done all the work, but the fourth member gets the same mark as us for doing nothing?

Getting cranky

Dear Getting cranky,

Assuming that all students make an equal contribution in group work assignments is an assumption made by some faculties to avoid having to figure out how to deal with the reality that not all contributions are equal!

However, assessments can be set up in a way that takes into account individual contributions through the use of peer and self review. Some faculties have already recognised this problem and tried to address it, for example, the Faculty of Information and Technology has developed some guiding principles for assessing group assignments.

It would be inappropriate for the faculty to change the criteria for assessment (by taking into account individual contributions) after the completion of the assignment, if this had not been included in the originally distributed assessment criteria. However, for future group assignments you could propose to the course coordinator that they develop a method of assessment that takes into account the level of contribution of each student.

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Dear Abby,

There is a courswork Masters degree I'd really like to do - but can't afford the fees. Is there any help available?

Postgrad wannabee

Dear Postgrad wannabee,

Please consider the following options:

• Subject to citizenship or residency requirements you can apply for fee-help assistance to cover part or all of your tuition fees, up to set limits. Similar to HECS-Help, the loan is repayable via the tax system after income thresholds are reached.
  For more information visit the Fee-Help page on the Monash website and the Australian government’s “Going to Uni” website.

• Some coursework Masters degrees that are a requirement for entry to a profession are now CSP (previously HECS) deferred payment courses.
  Check with the relevant Faculty if your course falls into this category.

• There are also a limited number of coursework internal scholarships available as well as external scholarships.

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Dear Abby,

Last semester I had an encumbrance placed on my account even though my parents had paid my fees via telegraphic transfer from Sri Lanka, two weeks before they were due. The university really needs to stop making mistakes with the fees because it is very stressful for students to have to deal with this!

Excessively encumbered

Dear Excessively encumberd,

When your parents sent the money, did they ensure that your full name and ID number was on the documentation? Apparently the university fees department receives thousands of dollars in unidentified fees each semester – that is, they receive payments that arrive without the student’s name or ID number, so the university can’t identify who actually paid the money in to the university! The money just sits around until the student concerned complains to the university that they have an encumbrance on their account, at which point the university can confirm the identity of the student, allocate the payment to their account and lift the encumbrance.

Fortunately for all international students, the university now has a new system in place to prevent this mix-up.

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Dear Abby,

I sat an exam recently and now think I should apply for special consideration but it is past the deadline for applying.  Is there anything I can do about it?

I wish I'd thought of this earlier

Dear I wish I'd thought of this earlier,

You haven't mentioned exactly what your reasons are for applying for special consideration.  The university will not normally consider a late special consideration request unless there are exceptional circumstances.  By exceptional circumstances, I mean that you need to be able to put up a convincing and relevant case, not only about why you should get special consideration in the first place, but also why the university should consider your case outside the stipulated deadline.

In a recent case I know of, a postgraduate was assaulted the day before she sat her exam. She thought she felt ok the next day so sat her exam as scheduled.  A few days later, she felt unwell and anxious about the incident and went to see a counselor.  The counselor confirmed that she was suffering post-traumatic shock, and that even though the student had thought she felt ok on the day of the exam, she had in fact been in shock, which would have adversely affected her exam performance.  This student was able to make a strong case for a late special consideration based on first, the actual assault, and second, the fact that she was still in shock after the exam and therefore not in a state to apply for special consideration within the stipulated timeframe.

Hopefully you haven't experienced anything as traumatic as this, but it demonstrates that there are some rare circumstances where there is an argument to be made for the university to grant an exception to their rules.

UPDATE!

The University Special Consideration Policy (Coursework postgraduate students) has been changed since this advice was provided.  This means that the “special circumstances” exception to late lodgement of applications has been abolished.  The application form specifically ask students to “Note: Students who complete the final examination/assessment task will not be eligible for special consideration.”  

See the University's Special Consideration Policy and Special Consideration Procedures for more information.

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Dear Abby,

I’ve just enrolled in a Masters by coursework in the Faculty of Business and Economics and need to know where I can go to get 24/7 access to a computer lab. Someone at the faculty told me they have 24/7 postgrad computer labs on Caulfield campus but I live near Clayton campus so I need something here.

Logged out

Dear Logged out,

The best I can say is “We’re working on it”. The four postgrad computer labs on Caulfield campus came about as a result of some enthusiastic lobbying by the MPA. The small computer lab in the Clayton campus centre was, until very recently, available 24/7 but had the hours cut back at the end of 2008 and now there aren’t any central computer labs open 24/7 on Clayton. There is a computer lab in the Matheson library, but this is only open during library opening hours. The MPA has been talking with the university with a view to negotiating the provision of 24/7 access somewhere on the campus. Space and resources are a problem for the university in general but let’s face it, coursework postgrads pay quite substantial fees for their courses and they expect access to basic facilities.

Fingers crossed, we’ll keep you posted.

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Dear Abby,

I have to go to Caulfield and Clayton campuses as part of my study and I am not happy that I have to buy a parking permit for both campuses which costs me a LOT OF MONEY. Parking is expensive enough (don’t get me started on that) without making students on low incomes pay for two permits. It isn’t fair and somebody should do something about it.

Peeved about parking

Dear Peeved about parking,

You’ll be pleased to know (or perhaps you’ll be even more peeved because no-one told you) that there is such a thing as a cross-campus permit. You haven’t mentioned whether you are a coursework or research postgrad, but it doesn’t really matter because if you have legitimate study business on more than one campus you can purchase a single cross-campus permit which will cover you for both campuses. And by legitimate study business I don’t mean driving to Caulfield campus because the coffee is so much better than at Clayton. I mean that you have courses running on both campuses, or you have a supervisor on both campuses.
Given you’ve already purchased both permits for this year, go and ask the good folk at Parking and Security to refund (pro-rata) the cost of both your permits in order for you to purchase a cross-campus permit for the remainder of the year.
Click here for details about cross-campus permit eligibility.

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