EVST13017 - Catchment to Reef Management

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Catchment to Reef Management is a capstone unit in which you will synthesise the skills and knowledge developed in your degree to date. You will study how abiotic and biotic factors affect ecosystem development in the major regions of a catchment and examine anthropogenic issues in catchment management. During an extended field trip, you will work in teams to quantitatively and qualitatively examine and evaluate a Central Queensland catchment and then develop elements of a whole of catchment management plan. While planning and undertaking field work you will consider the role and needs of stakeholders, including Traditional Owners, Australian legislative and ethical requirements, and environmental and economic factors.

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

Students must successfully complete 96 credit points of study before undertaking this unit.

Prerequisites: 96 credit points in an allied discipline (e.g. CV85, CU18, CC13 or other STEM courses).

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 Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2022

Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode

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. Research Assignment 30%
2. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 20%
3. Portfolio 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 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 44.44% 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: Moodle & in-class feedback
Feedback
Students expressed their appreciation for the residential school, noting the practical work felt much more like a research field trip with purpose, instead of an amalgam of unrelated laboratory practicals.
Recommendation
Retain the structure of the residential school, emphasising the linked purpose of activities across the duration of the class.
Action Taken
Residential school structure retained.
Source: Moodle feedback
Feedback
While the residential school was highly valued, one student felt more could be done during the intensive period, especially on Konomie (North Keppel) Island.
Recommendation
I take this comment as a sign of great enthusiasm from this particular student, since the residential school days have early starts and late finishes, with very little down time each day. Konomie activities and sampling are maximised where possible, but are partly restricted by the schedules of the Konomie Education Centre staff. Opportunities to complete more activities will continue to be sought during subsequent offerings.
Action Taken
A full schedule of activities was completed once again during the residential school, though some had to be substituted with others as the weather and local conditions would allow.
Source: In-class feedback
Feedback
Requests for more exemplars of assessment pieces, as well as greater clarity of assessment requirements, were made on occasion during the term.
Recommendation
Continue to improve the clarity of assessment requirements, and provide additional exemplars where possible.
Action Taken
Additional emphaisis on expectations and examples of assessments were provided and discussed throughout term.
Source: In-class feedback
Feedback
Students greatly appreciated the ability to meet and speak with practitioners in the field, both during the residential school and during guest lectures.
Recommendation
Maintain opportunities for students to meet professionals and practitioners in the field, especially where employment opportunities may arise for soon-to-be graduating students.
Action Taken
Students again had the opportunity to meet and interact with multiple practitioners on the residential school field work, and also through five guest lectures through term.
Source: SUTE feedback
Feedback
One student suggested more information about the expectations of the assessment could be provided.
Recommendation
As for the previous year's offering, more time will be spent explaining the expectations surrounding the assessment pieces in 2024.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback In-person feedback
Feedback
Feedback suggested some students found the lectures too long on occasion.
Recommendation
I agree with this assessment and avenues to trim down the length of lectures without adversely compromising the content will be explored for 2024.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback In-person feedback Moodle
Feedback
Students again noted the residential school as a highlight of the unit, with the twin aspects of meeting local practitioners, and further developing skills in scientific sampling, being most appreciated.
Recommendation
Retain the residential school within the unit as a critical hands-on experience that facilitates personal skills and intellectual development, while also offering unique networking opportunities for employment prior to graduation.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Differentiate the ecology of the major regions within a catchment system
  2. Articulate the major drivers of issues in catchment management
  3. Critically explain ecosystem structure and abiotic changes along the length of a catchment system
  4. Evaluate current catchment management programs and practices
  5. Plan and complete elements of a whole of catchment survey
  6. Assess disturbances caused by natural and anthropogenic processes within a catchment system
  7. Develop elements of a whole of catchment management plan that considers environmental and economic factors, Australian legislative frameworks, community stakeholders and traditional knowledge.

Not applicable.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Research Assignment • • • •
2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • •
3 - Portfolio • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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 •
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
1 - Research Assignment • • • • •
3 - Portfolio • • • • • • • • •
2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • • • • •