For this assessment task, students will form teams and will conduct research on the available topics provided in the unit website. These topics are related, but not limited to, the advanced methods for estimating the bearing capacity of the soil for foundation design, stability analyses, retaining structures design and exploration of the related Australian Standards. In some cases, students may also require using related geotechnical software packages for their report (GeoStudio software is available to access online from AnyDesk). Students are required to submit their report and also present it orally. Details of the task will be provided on Moodle.

1. The following criteria will be used for assessment of the submissions:

• Format of the report and including cover page, table of contents, abstract, literature, conclusion and examples (if any);
• Work breakdown among team members;
• The coherence of the research;
• Completeness of the research and its details;
• Complete Referencing; and
• Quality of the presentation.

2. Professional presentation:

• The research is clearly identified;
• A clear statement of each topic and its details and requirements;
• Appropriate use of diagrams and clear diagrams;
• Correct use of terminologies; and
• Clear English in the explanation of the procedure and interpretation of the results.

3. Grades for the assessment will be determined based on the evidence and substantiation of attainment of the LOs (learning outcomes).

4. After submission of the team report, students will present their report orally to the class as a team and all are required to contribute to delivering the presentations. Students must be well prepared to answer any questions raised by the lecturer during the presentation about the topic of their research.

5. Calculation of an individual student's grade:

Initially, team submission will be assessed and a grade will be given to each team. Then individual grade will be determined based on the contribution and performance of each student during the presentation (i.e., quality of the presentation and answers to the raised questions). Each student's contribution will be determined by peer assessment. It may be possible that the individual grade is higher than the team mark component. 50% of the total grade is attributed to the team report and 25% for the team presentation and the other 25% is attributed to the individual students' performance during the presentation.

For Example: Team A (4 students) has gained 80% on its team report. During the presentation, team received 70% for their presentation and the performance values of the students were 50%, 100%, 90% and 70%, respectively. The final grade of each student for the team project (out of 30%) will be:

Student 1: (80*50%+70*25%+50*25%)*30%=21 out of 30
Student 2: (80*50%+70*25%+100*25%)*30%=24.8 out of 30
Student 3: (80*50%+70*25%+90*25%)*30%=24 out of 30
Student 4: (80*50%+70*25%+70*25%)*30%=22.5 out of 30

6. A similarity check will be always done before assessing the submitted assignments for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including:

• Similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or with the previous cohorts or submitted works to other institutes or using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.

The aim of this assessment is to allow the students to demonstrate their understanding of various concepts, theories and processes developed in the course. This may include but is not limited to foundation design, foundation settlement, soil reinforcement, slope stability, site investigation, earth retaining wall and soil improvement techniques using GeoStudio Software. Formal assessment is by submission of a portfolio which contains evidence of all the individual works that the student has performed throughout the term. Details of the task will be provided on Moodle.

1. Each question in this assessment will be assessed separately for the:

• Criterion accuracy and correct results;
• Correct application of mathematics and arithmetic;
• Answers clearly identified; and
• Correct results.

2. In addition, the assessment as a whole will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Evidence of correct procedures;
• All necessary steps in the analysis are present in the correct order;
• Clear presentation of the mathematical and arithmetical working linking is given;
• Details of the problem with the results are obtained; and
• Evidence of checking results (mathematical, graphical, logic common sense) are presented.

3. Evidence of an understanding of the topic:

• Explanation of choices made in the analysis (why is the procedure required, why this particular procedure); and
• Interpretation of results.

4. A similarity check will be always done before marking the submitted assignments for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including:

• Similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or with the previous cohorts or submitted works to other institutes or using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.

In this assessment task, students are required to write a professional laboratory report on practical activities completed/demonstrated and complete an online quiz. Total marks for this assessment task will be average of report and quiz. Details of the task will be provided on Moodle.

• Each student must prepare a technical description of the test and associated procedures and should prepare a data sheet to be used to record the results during the test.
• Each student must prepare a short test report for each experiment. This includes calculations and discussion on the results and the test procedure description.
• Test reports must be short and precise to point out calculations/results/graphs and discussion. The limit for explaining the procedure, results and conclusions is a maximum of 3-5 pages.
• Submit in a single PDF file.

Please also note that the practical report is an individual submission and each student should do their own analysis and explanations.

A similarity check will be always done before marking the submitted assignments for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including:

• Similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or with the previous cohorts or submitted works to other institutes or using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.

2. Online quiz will be assessed based on the correctness of the answers.

The time-restricted virtual examination will be conducted online using Moodle. It will be in the form of quiz for answers but students need to scan and submit their Examination Answer Book, showing all the steps of their calculations after the completion of the online quiz.

1. The following assessment criteria will be used for assessing Virtual Examination:

1. The correctness of the answers;
2. The correct process followed;
3. Accuracy of the calculations; and
4. Matching of online quiz answers with their answers in the Examination Answer Book.

2. A similarity check will be always done before marking the submitted Examination Answer Book for all students. Upon detection of any plagiarism including:

• Similarity between submitted reports within the same cohort or with the previous cohorts or submitted works to other institutes or using the material provided by cheating websites will result in failing that assignment without marking and the student will be reported to the CQU Academic Misconduct team for further actions.