EVST19021 - Sustainability Issues and Solutions

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The impacts of human populations on the natural environment are well studied but little progress has been made to improve the sustainability of our lifestyle due to the complex interactions among social, economic and environmental imperatives. In Sustainability Issues and Solutions you will investigate the impact of human activities on a range of living and non-living, renewable and non-renewable natural resources. By applying 'Systems Thinking' you will practise developing solutions that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. On completion of this unit you will have a broad appreciation of the balances underpinning both temporal and spatial variation in sustainability and human efforts to control these.

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 Minimum of 72 credit points

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 3 - 2024

Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Online

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. Written Assessment 20%
2. Written Assessment 30%
3. Written Assessment 40%
4. Group Discussion 10%

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 3 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 83.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 30% 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: SUTE
Feedback
Students would like more live Q&A sessions.
Recommendation
Continue to offer live Q&A sessions to students.
Action Taken
Students were offered Q&A sessions, but none took up the offer.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Some student feedback considered there were too many assessment pieces, and the weighting of assessments could be changed.
Recommendation
Review the current assessment structure as it aligns with the unit learning outcomes, and determine where modifications can be made.
Action Taken
Minor modifications were made to assessment in 2023. This unit is currently under review. All assessment pieces will be considered and updated as necessary.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Students expressed their appreciation for the lecture content and topics, but have suggested certain content could be updated.
Recommendation
Continue to review and update lecture content to see where further updates and new knowledge can be included.
Action Taken
Some updates were made to content in 2023. The unit and content will be reviewed in 2024.
Source: Staff reflections
Feedback
Review assessment and content
Recommendation
All content and assessment items should be reviewed during the unit update.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Discuss the economic, ethical and ecological issues associated with the sustainable utilisation of the earth's renewable and non-renewable natural resources.
  2. Explain the importance of systems thinking and an understanding of temporal and spatial scales and feedback loops in determining solutions to sustainable management of resources.
  3. Discuss the shortcomings in our understanding and acceptance of the processes that lead to sustainability.
  4. Develop a range of possible strategies that would help to ensure the sustainable utilisation of natural resources.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Written Assessment • •
4 - Group Discussion • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • • • •
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 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •
4 - Group Discussion • • • • • • •