The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable. *** Please note: students are expected to preview class materials before attending timetabled sessions as to maximise the opportunity for meaningful questions and answers/interactions with subject matter experts and hands-on/practical experiences. 

To complete the course, attendance is required at scheduled activities, including seminars and project-related lab/meetings.

The course will not include live online events unless by mutual agreement.

Attendance on campus is required for the test and final project presentations.

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.

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.

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.

Late submission of work/penalties

To apply for an extension, students need to contact the Course Coordinator and supply appropriate documentation (e.g. doctor’s certificate/collaborating note from a counsellor) before the due date. Please note that your application is a request only, and it should not be assumed that an extension will be granted.

Retrospective approval for an extension will be given only in exceptional circumstances.

Except where the Course Coordinator has authorised an extension of time for the submission of student work, work handed in after the deadline will incur a late penalty of 10% (of the total available marks) for each 24-hour period (or part thereof) that the assessment is overdue. This applies to all written work, including but not limited to lab reports, essays, seminar papers/presentations, assignments, posters, etc. Submission of written work is only complete when an electronic copy has been submitted through the appropriate platform (e.g. Turnitin or Canvas). Please retain your submission confirmation e-receipt/take a timestamped screenshot as evidence of timely submission.

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.

In their feedback, MEDSCI 300 students recognised that they gained the following skills from taking this course: independence; leadership; teamwork; problem-solving. They commented that this course feels more like a postgraduate course, rather than an undergraduate one: it was more challenging and exciting, and correspondingly more self-driven and self-determining.

We also received helpful suggestions about improvements that we could make. We will endeavour to address these in time, in future course iterations.

The following is a review by a student who took the course in 2022

"Medsci 300 is quite a new course so you probably won't find many reviews on it. It primarily focuses on different ways that anatomy can be imaged and studied. You will cover topics like MRI, CT scans, ultrasound and various forms of microscopy. The course does not have an exam, instead, it is primarily project-based. The central assessment is a semester-long project that you work on in a group with other students. The project is very customisable to your interests; the brief usually concerns designing a teaching tool for an audience of your choosing. A few examples of past projects include:

• 3D-printed models of brains
• Models of foetal neurodevelopment to help MEDSCI 206 students
• Digital models of the ventricles to aid in teaching the phases of the cardiac cycle.
• An educational video using a digital model of the foot targeted at ballet dancers to prevent tendon injuries.

The course gives you a good sense of what it is like to work on a long-term project. The various lecturers serve as mentors but coming up with and executing the project is up to you and your group.

The course has a ton of flexibility built into it, packing in many lectures in the first half of the semester and then having minimal contact time in the second half of the semester so that you can focus on your project. This means your schedule will be much more open, especially in the second half of the semester. This is great if your other courses are quite demanding but be careful not to neglect your project. The course also does not have many compulsory labs but it is definitely worth attending them anyway because they are based in the Human Anatomy Lab so they are quite a unique experience and may help with your project depending on the topic."

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.

Owing to the nature of the group project, it is extremely important that students communicate with staff as soon as issues arise, so that options may be explored in partnership with all parties concerned. It will be difficult for special dispensations to be accommodated otherwise.

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.