The final assessment for the unit will be 100% on the individual student’s portfolio submission. In general, students must demonstrate in their portfolio how the learning outcomes have been achieved through their individual contribution to four group projects, laboratory program, textbook problems, demonstration problems and any additional questions the students wish to submit. Students must demonstrate their contribution to the projects, what they have learnt from the technical content of projects and the processes involved in completing the projects. The project details, laboratory program and demonstration problems will be provided via the Moodle unit website in alignment with the unit schedule.

The portfolio is the full record of your journey through this unit. It should include all notes, theory development, worked examples, demonstration problems, laboratory notes and workings, explorations in design, management and team issues and a reflective journal. The portfolio should only contain portions of project work which you completed or made substantial contributions to. Any contributions by others should be clearly indicated. Brief descriptions of the major parts of the portfolio are listed below.

- Reflective Journal

In the reflective journal section of the portfolio students will reflect on what they have set out to learn, how they have approached their learning, what they have achieved, where in industry they could apply what was learnt and what they would do differently in future to improve. The journal should also include reflections on management and teamwork skills learnt during the unit.

- Workbook

Four projects will be completed by teams during the term. Each team shall submit a report per project. Feedback will be provided on the project submissions. Project grades are not directly used in the student's individual grade however poor project results and poor project participation makes it more difficult for the student to demonstrate their competency in the unit learning outcomes and complete any additional textbook and demonstration problems. The workbook section should contain your notes and portions of project work which you completed or made substantial contributions to. Any contributions by others should be clearly indicated. Use the above mentioned reflective journal to record your input into team discussions and mangement. The workbook should also contain the weekly tutorial questions you completed.

- Compulsory Laboratories

There is a compulsory hands-on laboratory program in the unit to aid your understanding. All students, Internal and Distance, will complete a full laboratory program. Details of these will be available on the Unit's Moodle website, 2 weeks before the start of the term. Distance students may request to attend the laboratory sessions at other campuses (however these may be over a couple of weeks depending on the campus). Laboratory reports are required in which students are requested to show measurements, results, calculations, discussion and reflections (the laboratory sheets will be available on the moodle site before term). The laboratory reports will help by providing evidence for parts of the required portfolio assessment criteria. Laboratory reports will be due around week 9, please refer to the moodle site for exact the due date. Feedback will be given on the submitted lab report to enable students to determine the appropriateness of it for use as evidence in their final portfolio. A satisfactory laboratory report is required to pass the unit.

- Demonstration Problems

A selection of optional demonstration problems will be made available on the Moodle for students to complete and include in their final portfolio. Completing these problems will assist students to demonstrate their individual achievement of the Learning Outcomes. The demonstration problems are closely related to the projects, so a high involvement in the projects will help with the demonstration problems. Students are not limited or confined to the demonstration problems but are free to include their own exploration of the unit content by individually extending (or correcting) the group projects or choosing other questions to demonstrate the Learning Outcomes.

A Distinction or High Distinction Level a high individual achievement of the Learning Outcomes and the demonstration problems and other individual work will assist the student in creating the necessary evidence for this. Without any Demonstration Problems or other individual work it will be very difficult to attain a High Distinction, unless you can demonstrate an exceptional level of involvement in the projects. Direct transcribing of any provided worked tutorial solutions cannot be used as evidence.

- Supporting Matlab, Simulink and Excel Spreadsheet files

In the portfolio submission, include any files you created during the unit.  The files should have appropriate file names and be referenced in your portfolio document. If a file is not entirely your own work you should clearly indicate your contribution in the comments section of the file or elsewhere in the final portfolio document. Compress the files into a single 'zip' archive and submit it with the written portfolio document.

- Viva Voce

Following the grading of the Final Portfolio, students may be requested to attend a 10 minute Viva Voce to discuss their Final Portfolio. If required, the viva will be conducted either face-face, by video conferencing or via telephone.

The portfolio will be used to assess your increase in knowledge, effective management of yourself and others, team work, communication, commitment and learning processes. Students are expected to nominate a grade that they consider should be awarded. This must be clearly substantiated with evidences of individual work in support of such claims. These claims will be assessed based on the how well the material presented in the portfolio demonstrates the attainment of the unit learning outcomes.

The award of grade will depend the student’s demonstrated individual achievement of the learning outcomes of the unit, the student’s involvement in the team projects and the holistic development of each student. A detailed Portfolio Assessment Criteria Matrix is available on the Moodle unit site indicating the requirements for acceptable, good and excellent levels for each Learning Outcome. The final grading rubric (shown below) is based on the attainment levels of the Learning Outcomes.