CQUniversity Unit Profile

EVST19020 - Environmental Management Systems

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All details in this unit profile for EVST19020 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.

General Information

Overview

This unit will examine the nature of Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001) as developed by the International Organisation for Standards (ISO) and Standards Australia. Topics include: concepts of EMS, ISO 14000 series (including ISO 14001 and ISO 14004), implementing EMS, auditing and certification, relationships with Environmental Impact Assessment and ongoing issues. Case studies will review the implementation and functioning of EMS in Australia and in other countries.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate

Unit Level: Level 3

Credit Points: 6

Student Contribution Band: 8

Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: Minimum 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 1 - 2020

Online

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).

Website

This unit has a website, within the Moodle system, which is available two weeks before the start of term. It is important that you visit your Moodle site throughout the term. Please visit Moodle for more information.

Class and Assessment Overview

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

Regional Campuses

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville

Metropolitan Campuses

Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Online Quiz(zes)

Weighting: 30%

2. Written Assessment

Weighting: 70%

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.

CQUniversity Policies

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

Feedback

Some students were critical of some of the weekly Quiz questions, in particular saying some were a little too complex.

Recommendation

The quiz questions are there to help students understand the principles and processes of how the Standard works. However, they will be updated to make them more straightforward.

Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

explain the concepts and key features of ISO 14001 and 14004
access ISO and Standards Australia documents, publications, and other resources, and use appropriate information technologies to engage in research and other data/information-gathering activities regarding EMS
develop a draft EMS with adequate documentation for a hypothetical (or actual) small organisation.

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes

N/A Level

Introductory Level

Intermediate Level

Graduate Level

Professional Level

Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks	Learning Outcomes
	1	2	3
1 - Written Assessment - 70%
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30%

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 - First Nations Knowledges
11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks	Graduate Attributes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1 - Written Assessment - 70%
2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30%

Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:

CQUniversity Student Email
Internet
Unit Website (Moodle)
CQUniversity Library
word processing
Online access Australian Standards (through CQU Library)

Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts

Week 5

Events and Submissions/Topic

Vacation Week

Begin Date: 13 Apr 2020

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6

Begin Date: 20 Apr 2020

Module/Topic

Overview of EMS

Chapter

Week 6

Events and Submissions/Topic

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment item 2 All Students
Assignment 1 Due: Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST

Review/Exam Week

Begin Date: 08 Jun 2020

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week

Begin Date: 15 Jun 2020

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Online Quiz(zes)

Assessment Title

Weekly Online Quizzes

Task Description

There are 12 weekly, open-book quizzes that are to be completed over the Term. Each quiz is related to each week's content. Each Quiz can only be completed once.

Number of Quizzes

Frequency of Quizzes

Weekly

Assessment Due Date

All of the Quizzes will be available on the Moodle site for this unit at the beginning of the term. See assessment details for when each Quiz closes.

Return Date to Students

Quizzes are graded automatically and immediately after submission.

Weighting

30%

Assessment Criteria

The Online Workbook questions will allow you to demonstrate your understanding of EMS concepts and procedures, including aspects of your ability to meet the following course learning objectives:

explain the concepts of 'standards' and their world-wide and Australian growth and implementation
access ISO and Standards Australia documents, publications, and other resources, and use appropriate information technologies to engage in research and other data/information-gathering activities regarding EMS
explain the origins of EMS and their linkages to Environmental Impact Assessment processes and other mechanisms of environmental protection
identify key documents in the ISO 14000 series and describe their functions
list the key features of ISO 14001 and 14004
describe the key concepts and principles of EMS
discuss approaches to implementing EMS
use EMS checklists
prepare basic EMS documentation
identify essential features of EMS auditing
list the general requirements and processes involved in EMS certification
discuss some of the on-going issues regarding EMS as an effective mechanism for environmental protection
find particular information that is contained in the online material, textbook or other study resources

Referencing Style

Harvard (author-date)

Submission

Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed

explain the concepts and key features of ISO 14001 and 14004
access ISO and Standards Australia documents, publications, and other resources, and use appropriate information technologies to engage in research and other data/information-gathering activities regarding EMS

Graduate Attributes

Problem Solving
Critical Thinking
Information Literacy

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title

Assignment 1

Task Description

Prepare a draft EMS (based on AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016) for a hypothetical or actual small organization.

In addition write a short paper of about 4-5 pages that explains elements of your EMS's design, cites sources used in compiling your EMS, and adds additional relevant commentary that may help explain your EMS, including its document organization and control procedures. This Explanatory Paper will appear first in your Assignment, followed by the Draft EMS (put them both in the one document).

More details can be found on Moodle.

Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST

Return Date to Students

Assignments will be returned within 12 days of being submitted.

Weighting

70%

Assessment Criteria

Assignments will be evaluated on the basis of the quantity and quality of the research and analysis that has gone into the project, and on the effectiveness of the written communication of that research.

Major emphasis will be given to assessing the documentation in your 'EMS manual' and in the other documents provided, looking for:

meeting the various requirements of those documents according to the relevant clauses in ISO 14001
meeting the requirements for document control information for each of them
clear and concise communication of each document's content
neat and consistent format and style
good English expression (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, word choice and phrasing)

Referencing Style

Harvard (author-date)

Submission

Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed

explain the concepts and key features of ISO 14001 and 14004
access ISO and Standards Australia documents, publications, and other resources, and use appropriate information technologies to engage in research and other data/information-gathering activities regarding EMS
develop a draft EMS with adequate documentation for a hypothetical (or actual) small organisation.

Graduate Attributes

Communication
Problem Solving
Critical Thinking
Information Literacy

Academic Integrity Statement

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.