BMSC13009 - Immunology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The study of Immunology will introduce you to the structure and function of the human immune system. You will explore the mechanisms behind the human body’s efforts to detect, contain and remove or destroy harmful pathogens whilst retaining tolerance to its own cells. In this unit you will also examine the consequences of a malfunctioning immune system.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite

BMSC11002 Human Body Systems 2

or

BMSC11011- Human Anatomy and Physiology 2

or

BMSC11007- Medical Anatomy and Physiology 1

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).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 3 - 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).

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 0%
2. Online Test 50%
3. Written Assessment 50%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 59.09% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 37.29% 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: Student feedback
Feedback
The assessment expectations assumed some knowledge and skills not yet covered in Year 2.
Recommendation
Review assessment content and guidance materials to better align with Year 2 curriculum.
Action Taken
Assessments were overhaulled in 2022 with content better aligning with the year 2 curriculum.
Source: Student feedback and personal communication
Feedback
Some students did not see a clear connection between the unit’s theory content and the practical component of the residential schools.
Recommendation
The residential school with be restructured to incorporate dedicated theory sessions where the key immunological principles of the practical will be discussed.
Action Taken
Residential school was changed to include both practical and theory sessions.
Source: Student feedback and personal reflection
Feedback
Tutorial questions mirroring the final test prepared students for this assessment.
Recommendation
The live tutorials incorporating test-like questions will be retained.
Action Taken
The format of the tutorials were retained.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students felt they were not prepared for the style of exam questions.
Recommendation
Include more exam type questions in tutorials and online moodle site.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
It was felt that the tutorials should be more interactive.
Recommendation
Encourage greater student interaction in the tutorials.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
Earlier assessment feedback may be beneficial.
Recommendation
Assessment timing will be examined to see if earlier assessment feedback is possible.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Assess the role of the major cells and tissues in the induction of an immune response
  2. Explain the processes of self/non-self-discrimination and disorders that arise as a result of dysfunction in self/non-self-recognition (autoimmunity)
  3. Describe how the non-specific and specific arms of the immune system work together to affect an immune response
  4. Evaluate how the structure and function of antigen recognition molecules facilitate the interaction with antigen
  5. Compare the typical mammalian immune system responses to proteins, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, helminths, fungi and other representative multi-cellular organisms
  6. Demonstrate competence in the use of primary resource material for experimental and research assignment purposes.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Practical Assessment • • • •
2 - Online Test • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication • • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10