Unit Synopsis
This unit prepares students for university study in the environmental, biomedical or life sciences. Students will gain an introductory understanding of the main concepts in modern biology, particularly as they relate to humans. This unit covers a range of topics including cell theory, organ systems, genetics, taxonomy, ecology and environmental science.
Details
| Level | Non-award |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | Not Applicable |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
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). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
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 Non-award 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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Online Quiz(zes) | 20% |
| 2. Portfolio | 40% |
| 3. Portfolio | 40% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 26.04% response rate.
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.
Source: Unit Coordinators
Include biological demonstrations relevant to weekly topics to increase engagement.
Source biological equipment/materials to enable demonstrations.
A catalase (enzyme) practical demonstration was introduced in module 2 as a trial. Funding for a demonstration microscope was denied.
Source: Unit Coordinators
Need to increase technology-enhanced learning resources in support of listening and speaking skills.
Use audio tools and H5P software to create additional study tools for students.
H5P review tools are available in the unit Moodle. More may be developed over time.
Source: staff
New assessment design to be reviewed regularly to optimise student understanding, learning and staff workability.
Continue to review marking criteria, task wording and workload, and continue to evaluate GenAI vulnerability.
In Progress
Source: unit evaluations
Positive feedback about engagement and interest in the unit in response to lecturer knowledge, enthusiasm and timely support.
Continue with high levels of student support as well as the provision of engaging lectures and learning resources.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Identify the fundamental principles of cell biology and their relevance to broader concepts related to human biology
- Describe how biological systems interact with their environments
- Apply foundational scientific process skills to explore and interpret biological concepts.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | ||
| 2 - Portfolio | • | • | • |
| 3 - Portfolio | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Self Management | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • |
| 3 - Information Literacy | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||
| 5 - Problem Solving | • | • | |
| 6 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • |
| 8 - Ethical Practice | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |