Lecture attendance is expected for this course. We encourage you to use lectures as an opportunity to engage with your peers and your lecturers. Lecture recordings will be provided as an adjunct to support revision, but these should not be relied on as the only learning method. Recordings of other learning activities, including labs and tutorials, are NOT guaranteed.

The course does not include live online events, including group discussions/tutorials.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Attendance on campus is required for the practical laboratories, mid-semester test and the final exam. 

The final exam is currently delivered as an in-person invigilated exam on a computer using the Inspera platform (Mode D).

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 are provided in a coursebook (supplied free of charge), which is to be picked up at the start of the semester and brought to all in-person laboratories. Lecture material, slides, and recordings will be available on Canvas. The lecture material will guide your learning process.  We also recommend the following textbooks: 1. Ian Tannock, Richard Hill, Robert Bristow, Lea Harrington, The Basic Science of Oncology, McGraw-Hill. 2. Robert A. Weinberg, The Biology of Cancer, Garland Science.Both textbooks are available in the University 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.

BioSci 356 allows an alternative entry path to MedSci 302 for students who did not take MedSci 203, but it is not a true pre-requisite. 

MedSci 302 is a part of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics specialisation pathway. Other courses required for this specialisation are BioSci 356 (Developmental Biology and Cancer) and MedSci 319 (Molecular Pharmacology).

The two main post-graduate courses MedSci 302 leads to are MedSci 713 (Principles of Cancer Therapy) and MedSci 714 (Advanced Cancer Biology). Both are taught through the Department of Molecular Medicine & Pathology and Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre by the teaching staff which partially overlaps with MedSci 302. Students taking these courses are very positive about their learning experience.  Multiple post-graduate research options are also available to students interested in cancer research.

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.

In order to pass the course, you must achieve 50% of marks in total (i.e. from the coursework and the final exam combined). 

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.

The overall course satisfaction was high in the last evaluations. Respondents found the course to be well organised, with interesting topics and well-integrated, useful practical laboratories. Students on the biomedical Cancer Biology and Therapeutics specialisation pathway noted the clear linkages between this course and BioSci 356.

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.