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
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 - 2023
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.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from 2022 SUTE Unit comments.
A number of Bachelor of Education Secondary students take this unit as part of their Geography minor. There was a comment by one of these education students to say that this unit is not directly relevant to them as prospective teachers, and that the unit is also "overwhelming".
Consult with the Head of the Bachelor of Education Secondary course and suggest that they inform students who plan to take the Geography minor about the nature of this unit and advise those students that this unit is a choice in the minor, and students do not have to take it if they don't wish to.
Feedback from Self reflection from the unit coordinator.
As part of the unit coordinator's self reflection, it was noted that the zoom sessions that provide specific information, advice and scaffolded learning for various stages/parts of the major assignment worked well and helped students considerably.
Continue zoom sessions and enhance them with added information on where students might 'go wrong' in their actual submitted assignments based on marked assignments from previous years.
- 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 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 - 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 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 70% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- CQUniversity Library
- word processing
- Online access Australian Standards (through CQU Library)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
m.danaher@cqu.edu.au
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1 Written Assessment
Prepare a draft EMS Manual based on AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016 for a hypothetical or actual small organisation. In addition, write a short explanatory paper of about 4-5 pages that explains key elements of your Manual’s design, including a Bibliography. This explanatory paper will appear first in your assignment, followed by the draft EMS Manual. They will both appear in the one document. More details for this assignment are provided in Moodle.
Friday, 2 June, 2023
Assignments will be returned within 10 days of being submitted.
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)
- 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.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
2 Online Quiz(zes)
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.
Weekly
All of the Quizzes will be available on the Moodle site for this unit at the beginning of the Term. See assessment details on Moodle for when each Quiz opens and closes.
Quizzes are graded automatically and immediately after submission.
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
- 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
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
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?
