Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including labs and field trips to complete components of the course.
Lectures will taught on campus and be available as recordings. Other learning activities including labs and field trips will not be available as recordings.
The course will not include live online events.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

All course materials are provided on Canvas. Please contact the course coordinator if you would like them to print you a copy of the course guide. There are no prescribed text books.

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license. You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Physical and mental health and safety are important for an effective learning environment. We have a responsibility to look after ourselves and each other, particularly when we are in the field. Staff will provide health and safety briefings before labs and field work but if you feel uncomfortable at any point, you are encouraged to speak to the lecturers or tutors.  

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Thanks for considering enrolling in BIOSCI 325 Plant Diversity and Function. The Lecturers include Bruce Burns, Cate Macinnis-Ng, Shane Wright, James Brock and guests such as ex-students now employed as botanists at the Botanic Gardens, Plant and Food, and Auckland Museum. We genuinely really enjoy teaching this course and look forward to meeting you.

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

• Honesty - in all aspects of research work
• Accountability - in the conduct of research
• Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
• Good stewardship – on behalf of others
• Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
• Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

The practical assignments include a plant collection. Students will create their own herbarium collection, learning how to collect, preserve, identify, annotate and store plant material. Students must pass Theory (in course assessment, exam) and Practical (laboratories and plant collection) components independently in order to pass the course overall. 

All activities are intended to be inclusive for diverse students

• There are no overnight fieldtrips or evening tests.
• We have one (optional) day trip on a Saturday to Totara Park, next to the Botanic Gardens in Manurewa - gravel tracks, can be muddy, some steep sections but not essential to go to those spots, unisex toilets nearby at the Botanic Gardens, service dogs and accompanying persons welcome (please contact course coordinator to organise this).This trip is an opportunity to collect plants to press for your major plant collection assignment.
  
• During the mid-semester break, we have 2 days with a 1-3hr daytime visit to the Auckland Museum (these form the basis of a lab report worth 5%).

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

We warmly welcome feedback from students. Students consistently enjoy taking part in labs and putting together their plant collections.  While use of traditional keys in plant identification is an important skill for students to develop, we are looking at the most recent tools for plant identification and will continue to monitor the accuracy of such tools.

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

For more information and to find contact details for Te Kura Mātauranga Koiora (The School of Biological Sciences) Tuākana coordinator, please see https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/study-with-us/maori-and-pacific-at-the-faculty/tuakana-programme.html

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor. Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

We warmly welcome diverse students - nau mai, haere mai tangata whenua, Pacifika students, students with disabilities, refugee background, gender diverse, international, mature age, LGBTQITakatāpui+, parents and carers, part-time students - all welcome.

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.