Attendance is expected at scheduled practical labs and tutorials to complete coursework components of the course. 
We expect attendance in person which is an opportunity to engage with your peers and lecturers. Labs and tutorials will NOT be available as recordings. All lessons will be offered as digital recordings and notes plus example questions are provided alongside these digitally. Important course information is provided in the printed course manual.The course will NOT include live online events e.g. group discussions/tutorials. Attendance on campus is required for two tests which are scheduled in the 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.

Important course administration information and detailed laboratory information is provided in a printed coursebook (free of charge), which is to be picked up at the start of the semester and brought to all in-person laboratories. Lesson material, a curated set of lecture slides and recordings will be available on Canvas. Students are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with, and routinely use, the resources of the University e-library system. These include e-journals and search engines, of which PubMed is strongly recommended. PubMed provides the periodical biomedical literature in abstract form, and in most cases, permits access to articles (reviews and research publications). We expect students to consult this literature, and so do not prescribe a textbook. However, for students who prefer to have a textbook, an appropriate volume is the latest edition of Lakhani et al, Basic Pathology (CRC Press). More comprehensive, bulky and expensive pathology reference texts are listed in the course manual and are available on short-term loan or online via the library. 

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.

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.

In response to student feedback and the Curriculum Framework Transformation programme, MEDSCI 203 was refreshed in 2024 and will continue in the same 'flipped' format in 2025. The course remains a popular choice; to support flexibility and independence in learning, traditional lectures (3x 1hr per week) have been converted into self-directed online lessons. The delivery of this course may therefore feel unfamiliar compared to others that students have taken prior. There is an expectation that students take personal responsibility for their own timetabling of digital online lessons to prepare for the scheduled labs and tutorials. To support collaboration and development of enduring relationships with peers, fortnightly activity-based tutorials have been included. These are aimed to allow revision of the lesson content and development of various written, verbal and visual communication skills.

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.

To pass the course as a whole you will need to achieve a satisfactory performance in your coursework assignments AND at least 32.5/65 in the tests and final exam combined weighting (65%).
The Assignments will consist of one online module designed for students to critically assess a scientific review article, one online content review module, three practical pathology laboratory-based reports and 6 completed worksheets from tutorials.

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.

Overall course satisfaction in 2024 was high with respondents stating that they enjoyed the flexibility of being able to watch the lessons online and revise in their own time. Some students however struggled to allocate time to watch the lesson content even though the modules were designed to be watched in a defined timetable. This course relies on students taking personal responsibility for their own learning and timetables, supporting independence and important skills that are commonly requested by employers.

We received valuable feedback from our 2024 cohort and have modified some of the digital lesson formats to make them easier to follow, higher quality and able to watch off-line or on a larger screen.

After feedback in multiple prior years about the lack of opportunities to meet and work with peers, changes were made in 2024 to include active learning during compulsory in-person group tutorials. Although our 2024 students were nervous about the format of these sessions, the vast majority of the class selected these as their favourite part of the course and were surprised to find they were fun, relaxed and allowed the application of the taught lesson content to real world scenarios - many people also made new friends in these sessions.

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.

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 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.

Completing assignments and texts/exams is an essential part of this course to support learning. No more than one major in-course assessment may be awarded with an aegrotat or compassionate assessment. If you apply for more than one aegrotat for major assessments, aegrotat can only be applied to one of these. Once exam marking has been completed, we will perform an analysis and apply the most favourable outcome possible to one of those assessments.

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.