Overview
Human activity and development impact the natural environment and social capital. To what extent, then, can the associated issues be identified and mitigated? The professional practice of Environmental (and Social) Impact Assessment answers the question. In this unit, you will become familiar with the enabling concepts behind Environmental Impact Assessment employment. You will evaluate an industry Environmental Impact Study and assess current practice at the intersection of Earth and social system stewardship.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Completion of 18 credit points
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Explain the concepts that underpin an environmental and social impact assessment
- Apply environmental policy, legislation and current procedures for conducting an environmental impact assessment
- Assess an industry Environmental Impact Statement against current and emerging environmental impact assessment concepts and practices.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 20% | |||
| 2 - Portfolio - 30% | |||
| 3 - Case Study - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Vancouver
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.chandra@cqu.edu.au
m.hewson@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): a Definition and Context.
Chapter
There is no prescribed textbook. The Moodle site contains readings, videos, activities, and exercises for each week of the term.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
EIA: Various Assessment Types.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
EIA: in Australian Government Legislation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): Contents 1.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
EIS: Contents 2.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
EIS: Contents 3.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Social Impact Assessment (SIA): a Focus.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Walking Country – Australian Indigenous Peoples Cultural Heritage.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Public Consultation – When?
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Case Study 1.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Case Study 2.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Case Study 3.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Portfolio
Portfolio #1 is a consolidated submission of one Microsoft Word file containing written answers to questions from the learning activities of weeks 1 and 2 of. The portfolio is to be submitted as a single MS-Word file by the due date.
The unit Moodle website contains a detailed exercise explanation in the relevant week:
Portfolio #1 Week 1 – EIA: a Definition and Context. 10 marks.
Portfolio #1 Week 2 – EIA: Various Assessment Types. 10 marks.
Week 4 Monday (29 July 2024) 9:00 am AEST
To be submitted via Moodle
Week 7 Monday (26 Aug 2024)
Returned with feedback via Moodle
Marking criteria – the degree to which:
- the submission demonstrates mastery of the unit learning material;
- each written answer or drawn diagram is complete, engaging and insightful;
- answer paragraph/sentence construction presents logical argument progression; and
- the learning material (or external sources) informs an answer.
- Explain the concepts that underpin an environmental and social impact assessment
2 Portfolio
Portfolio #2 is a consolidated submission of one Microsoft Word file containing written answers to questions from the learning activities of weeks 3, 4, 5 and 6. The portfolio is to be submitted as a single MS-Word file by the due date.
The unit Moodle website contains a detailed exercise explanation in the relevant week:
Portfolio #2 Week 3 – EIA: in Australian Government Legislation. 10 marks.
Portfolio #2 Weeks 4-6 – EIS: Contents 1,2 and 3. 20 marks.
Week 8 Monday (2 Sept 2024) 9:00 am AEST
To be submitted via Moodle
Week 11 Monday (23 Sept 2024)
Returned with feedback via Moodle
Portfolio marking criteria – the degree to which:
- the submission demonstrates mastery of the unit learning material;
- each written answer or drawn diagram is complete, engaging and insightful;
- answer paragraph/sentence construction presents logical argument progression; and
- the learning material (or external sources) informs an answer.
- Apply environmental policy, legislation and current procedures for conducting an environmental impact assessment
3 Case Study
Write a case study report which critically evaluates a contemporary Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concerning the learning resources of this unit and relevant research literature in the field of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EIA/SIA).
In week four, you will be sent an email containing instructions to download a set of folders containing Government and Proponent EIS documents around the approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a commercial development project.
You will not necessarily read every word of the EIS - given the document size in some cases. You will become very familiar with one section of the EIS from both a Draft and a Revised Draft EIS.
In the case study, you will assess if the EIS accords with theory generally – both the learning material and scholarly sources you will locate. Further, you will select one detailed EIS section to compare the content with further reading that you will undertake from academic sources. You will choose one focus section from:
- Flora and fauna (and biodiversity);
- Land rehabilitation;
- Water resources quality and rehabilitation;
- Social values and economics (thus Social Impact Assessment); or
- Cultural Heritage.
Review/Exam Week Monday (7 Oct 2024) 9:00 am AEST
To be submitted via Moodle.
Exam Week Monday (14 Oct 2024)
Returned with feedback via Moodle
The assessment marking standards are contained in a rubric that further details the degree to which the submitted Case Study:
- ranges across the unit EIA/SIA learning material and scholarly sources;
- discusses one EIS section in detail comparing learning material and scholarly sources;
- discusses the final EIS for draft EIS deficiencies comparing learning material and scholarly sources;
- is engaging, clearly structured and advances discussion from the introduction to the conclusion in a logical manner; and
- accords with written communication conventions; use scholarly sources and cites references correctly.
- Assess an industry Environmental Impact Statement against current and emerging environmental impact assessment concepts and practices.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
