Overview
This capstone unit provides you with a choice of an international study tour, domestic placement, participation in a social innovation project, or workplace simulation. You may undertake a multi-week legal international study tour, facilitated by CQUGlobal, to an international location in conjunction with an external partner organisation. International study tours will involve you having to pay for travel and accommodation which may be offset by access to government scholarships, e.g. New Columbo plan. Prior to travelling to an international location, you will study appropriate aspects of host country law and culture and will develop practical skills necessary to support your practicum. You may undertake a domestic placement, facilitated by the Workplace Instruction (WIL) team, or you may also be able to source and complete an approved placement to gain experience in a legal environment. Prior to undertaking a domestic placement, you will study appropriate cultural aspects, ethical responsibilities and will develop practical skills necessary to support your placement. You may undertake a social innovation project, facilitated by the Office of Social Innovation, designed for you to engage with a social innovation issue. The workplace simulation option is a simulated legal work experience with a heavy emphasis on skill development (advocacy, drafting, client interviewing, negotiating, file management, problem solving) in the context of a practical legal case file. The specialist area that forms the subject of this simulation may vary annually. The capstone unit will enable you to apply your knowledge to legal problems in a legal environment. As part of your capstone you will undertake an analysis, maintain a reflective journal, and present your accomplishment to peers which will then be used to update your ePortfolio.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: 24 credit points of law
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 - 2021
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).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Optional Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
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 Student feedback, staff feedback and self-reflection
Integrate placement work and assessment
As the focus of this unit is placements, the work completed by students in placement should carry assessment weight, to strengthen connections between assessment outcomes and placement work.
Feedback from Student feedback, self-reflection
Retain practical tasks
This unit teaches practical skills. Authentic practical tasks should be retained as an integral part of students' work in the unit.
Feedback from Student feedback, self-reflection
Teach from professional experience
This unit prepares students for a career in law. Teaching delivery in the unit should continue to involve a practitioner so that students can learn from their professional experience and expertise in practical skills.
- Plan and prepare for a professional experience
- Effectively participate in a professional experience
- Communicate effectively about a professional experience
- Contribute to team outcomes during a professional experience.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||
| 2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books - 40% | ||||
| 3 - Presentation - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 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 - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books - 40% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Presentation - 40% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
l.price@cqu.edu.au
w.jones@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Module 1: Legal Practicum: Preparing you for practice
Chapter
Learning from Practice, Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 2: Learning on the job
Chapter
Learning from Practice, Chapters 4 & 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 3: Managing expectations and relationships
Chapter
Learning from Practice, Chapters 3 & 16
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 4: Being professional
Chapter
Learning from Practice, Chapters 14 & 24
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 5: Bias in the legal profession
Chapter
Learning from Practice, Chapter 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Module 6: The role of University Law Clinics
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Module 7: Law student advocacy
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Presentation
For domestic placement and social innovation projects:
You will develop your legal skills and understanding though the experience of your placement. For this assessment, you will be provided a question in Week 8 which you are required to answer by reference to both your clinical experience and legal, societal and theoretical contexts.
Your presentation should:
- Identify the key issues raised by the question;
- Use your own experience of your clinical placement to address these issues; and
- Situate your own experience in the context of your professional context, role, responsibilities, development.
Your presentation should be recorded on YouTube, Vimeo or an alternative service. Submit a link to that video in Moodle assessments.
The time limit for your presentation is 10 minutes.
For legal workplace simulation:
Your virtual clinic will involve dispute resolution processes. For this assessment, you will be provided a brief in Week 8. You are required to prepare and present an oral argument, for example an opening or closing address, or plea in mitigation.
Your presentation should be recorded on YouTube, Vimeo or an alternative service. Submit a link to that video in Moodle assessments.
The time limit for your presentation is 10 minutes.
Week 10 Thursday (23 Sept 2021) 1:00 pm AEST
Week 12 Thursday (7 Oct 2021)
- Knowledge and understanding;
- Critical awareness and engagement;
- Integration of research and experience to develop and support arguments;
- Clarity of expression and quality of oral argument.
The rubric will be uploaded to Moodle.
- Communicate effectively about a professional experience
- Communication
- Team Work
2 Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books
During your clinical practice you will be presented with a range of tasks. For this assessment, you are required to submit 3 tasks that you completed during your clinical placement, and 1 supervisor evaluation of your placement work.
Your submissions should be fully de-identified to protect client confidentiality.
Tasks submitted may include, but are not limited to:
- Interview note;
- Letter;
- Memorandum of advice;
- File note;
- Affidavit;
- Brief;
- Other drafting.
The supervisor evaluation of your work should be completed using the form provided on Moodle.
Your log book should be the equivalent of 1500 to 2000 words work (total).
Week 11 Thursday (30 Sept 2021) 1:00 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week Thursday (14 Oct 2021)
- Knowledge and understanding;
- Critical analysis and reasoning;
- Use of authorities and other sources;
- Written expression and referencing.
The rubric will be uploaded to Moodle.
- Plan and prepare for a professional experience
- Effectively participate in a professional experience
- Communicate effectively about a professional experience
- Contribute to team outcomes during a professional experience.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Cross Cultural Competence
3 Written Assessment
Critical reflection on your clinical practice is an essential element of learning from clinical legal education. For this assessment, you are required to reflect on your clinical placement and the legal, social and professional challenges you encountered.
Your answer should:
- Summarise what happened during your placement;
- Explore and evaluate your experience of these events;
- Critically analyse the event, its causes and your experience of it; and
- Propose lessons for the future or an action plan.
The word limit for this assessment is 1000 words.
Week 12 Thursday (7 Oct 2021) 1:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Thursday (21 Oct 2021)
- Knowledge and understanding;
- Critical analysis and reasoning;
- Integration of reflective thinking and processes, and research, into arguments;
- Written expression and referencing.
The rubric will be uploaded to Moodle.
- Plan and prepare for a professional experience
- Communication
- Ethical practice
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?
