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Unit Synopsis
Not everything happens according to plan. Sometimes crises occur with little or no warning, while other times issues build over time. How you manage the crisis as a leader can make or break an organisation. This unit will examine crisis management from a communications perspective. Communicating during and after a crisis is a complex strategy of message development and targeted delivery. You will examine the crisis lifecycle and the role of leadership during a crisis. You will develop messages for stakeholders as well as tools for managing intense media scrutiny. This unit is ideal for decision-makers in organisations or those who may be on the front line when a crisis occurs.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 8 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Admission to a postgraduate course or completion of 48 credit points in an undergraduate course. 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 2 - 2025
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 Postgraduate 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. Case Study | 10% |
| 2. Report | 30% |
| 3. Online Test | 30% |
| 4. Self assessment | 30% |
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 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 20% 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 Satisfaction Survey
Students needed additional clarity regarding assessment instructions and expectations
Revise all assessment related material, including marking rubrics, to ensure clarity for students.
Assessment-related material was reviewed, including marking rubrics, to ensure clarity for students.
Source: Student Satisfaction Survey
Students felt unclear about connections between the unit content and their own course
Incorporate more direct connections between the unit content and their own course, such as through more specific case studies and examples across a wider range of disciplines.
More direct connections were made between unit content and the diverse range of courses they were completing, which included more specific case studies and examples across a wider range of disciplines.
Source: Student Satisfaction Survey
Students felt well supported by teaching staff, and appreciated staff flexibility, understanding and incorporation of real-world experience in learning content
Continue student-focused delivery of unit, including flexibility and incorporation of real-world experience throughout the unit.
Student-focused delivery remained a focus, which included flexibility and incorporation of real-world experience throughout the unit.
Source: Student Evaluation Survey.
Students valued the practical crisis communication plan but suggested a broader strategic perspective would deepen understanding.
Provide supplementary resources (e.g., templates, examples of mature strategies) and integrate strategy discussions into online classes to enhance understanding without adding extra assessment tasks.
In Progress
Source: Student Evaluation Survey.
Students praised the lecturer’s support, flexibility, and real-world expertise, noting these as key strengths of the unit.
Maintain student-focused delivery and continue incorporating real-world examples and flexible support to sustain high engagement.
In Progress
Source: Student Evaluation Survey.
While students found the unit engaging and relevant, some concerns persisted around assessment feedback and clarity, likely influenced by varied disciplinary expectations.
Refine assessment rubrics and instructions to better accommodate diverse disciplinary perspectives and ensure expectations are communicated clearly.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Recognise different types of crises and how they can impact an organisation
- Critically evaluate potential risks to leadership throughout the crisis lifecycle
- Analyse the leadership role during and after a crisis
- Apply crisis communication techniques to mainstream and digital media
- Develop a crisis management communication plan.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Case Study | • | ||||
| 2 - Report | • | • | |||
| 3 - Online Test | • | • | |||
| 4 - Self assessment | • | ||||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | ||
| 4 - Research | • | • | • | ||
| 5 - Self-management | • | • | • | ||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Leadership | • | • | • | • | |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |