Course Coordinator:

Dr Peter Kassapidis

Email:  peter.kassapidis@adelaide.edu.au

 

 

Program Support Coordinator:
Rhiannon Kinsey
Phone: +61 8 8313 3357
ask.able@adelaide.edu.au (Att: Rhiannon Kinsey)

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed
from the Course Planner at https://access.adelaide.edu.au/courses/details.asp?year=2024&course=106425+2+4410+0

Students who complete this course should be able to:

1. identify the fundamental principles which underpin the law regulating commercial arbitration in Australia;
2.  analyse critically those fundamental principles and the applicable statutory  regime and commercial arbitration case law within the context of the industry and economic circumstances of Australia; 
3.  apply the principles and law relevant to the settlement through arbitration of commercial disputes, by participation in online tutorials and discussion boards, and to access relevant resources and law on the internet;
4.  present argument, both orally and in writing, in relation to the arbitration of commercial disputes; 
5. develop effective communication skills through participating in role play arbitration workshops;and
6. listen to or read the contributions of others in the course regarding dispute resolution, and in particular the arbitration of commercial disputes, and respond respectfully.

Required Resources

Legislation

Students must have a copy of the
Australian law adopting the UNCITRAL Model Law 2006. You can access the Act in Austlii (see below) under your state or territory Current Legislation, and the Acts are mostly called the same.


ACT Commercial Arbitration Act 2017
NSW Commercial Arbitration Act 2010
NT Commercial Arbitration (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011
QLD Commercial Arbitration Act 2013
SA Commercial Arbitration Act 2011
TAS Commercial Arbitration Act 2011
VIC Commercial Arbitration Act 2011
WA Commercial Arbitration Act 2012

Students need a copy of only one of the above Acts, as the text and numbering is the same in each jurisdiction. It will be most useful for students to have the Act of their own jurisdiction.

The website of the Law Library at The University of Adelaide provides information about, and the links to enable students to access, legislation directly from government websites (thus ensuring the student can access the authorised version), or from Austlii (which students often find a little more user friendly). Please go to:

http://law.adelaide.edu.au/library/research/legislation/

Prescribed Textbook

The prescribed textbook for the course is: Doug Jones and Janet Walker, Commercial Arbitration in Australia Under the Model Law (Lawbook, 3rd ed, 2022) [ISBN 9780455502274].

Students will need to purchase a copy of this book. It is available for purchase online from the publisher (under the banner ‘Commercial Law’) at: http://www.thomsonreuters.com.au/legal/

As a student at University of Adelaide, SAVE 15% on Thomson Reuters academic textbooks, law books and eBooks when you order online. Free  shipping Australia wide.

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The book may also be available to purchase through academic book suppliers and online. Several copies of the book may be available on reserve in the law library of Adelaide Law School.

Optional Reading

Students may find the following textbook helpful as optional additional reading: John Hockley et al, Australian Commercial Arbitration (LexisNexis, 2nd ed, 2021). This is an annotated version of the Commercial Arbitration Acts.

Students do not need to purchase this textbook.

Internet Resources:

The website of the Resolution Institute can be found at: http://www.resolution.institute/

This site provides access to information about Resolution Institute membership and events, as well as a wide range of other information of interest to those undertaking this course.

The Austlii website, providing free access to a wide range of legal resources in Australia and access to similar websites around the world, can be found at: www.austlii.edu.au

Online Learning

MyUni will be used to post announcements, including assignment tasks.

MyUni will also contain electronic copies of the course profile, and the various tutorial exercises and discussion board questions, as well as any course materials additional to the textbook, and copies of the relevant legislation.

The materials for each week's topic are set out in a modular format in MyUni. An interactive online tutorial will be conducted on a fortnightly basis through Zoom - students can participate in the online tutorial or view the recorded tutorial from MyUni at a later time.

Students will need to complete and submit tutorial questions on a weekly basis- a week before the topic is due for discussion at the online tutorial. After a student has individually submitted their response online to the tutorial questions, they will be able to gain general feedback by reading a 'model answer' in order to assess their own learning and understanding of issues.

The tutorial questions and answers will be discussed at the online tutorial. Students will also be able to submit questions on the discussion board prior to the online tutorial.

Students will also contribute to discussion boards on MyUni. The discussion boards will provide additional flexibility to enable students to demonstrate their participation and learning in this course. The discussion boards also provide a venue for students to engage with one another in the learning process.

MyUni will also contain PowerPoint presentations from the workshops, posted at or after the workshops.

Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with materials and any additional learning resources throughout the course.

Learning & Teaching Modes

Introductory Workshop
Saturday 24 February 2024

There will be a one day Introductory Workshop at the beginning of the course.

*It is strongly encouraged to attend this Online Workshop.

This introductory workshop will:
• provide an overview of the main principles of the Australian legal system, particularly as it relates to commercial law, ADR and the resolution of commercial disputes through arbitration
• cover Topic #1: Commercial Arbitration Legislation in Australia
• discuss problem solving skills and the principles of good legal writing
• demonstrate the use of MyUni, especially the online tutorials and discussion boards, as well as how to access any other relevant websites or materials (eg Austlii)
• provide a guided opportunity for students to undertake the online first tutorial and participate in their first discussion board
• provide students with an opportunity to meet with their academic lecturers and fellow students, and thereby enabling a better online learning experience

The workshop will be structured in two parts:

Morning session:
9.30am – 12.30pm
Commercial Law and Dispute Resolution
Overview of the course
Overview of the legislation

12.30 – 1.00pm – Lunch


Afternoon session:
1.00pm – 4.00pm
Commercial Arbitration legislation in Australia
Using MyUni and other websites


Online Tutorials
The online tutorials provide students with a specific guide to reading the materials contained in the text book, and then provide  an opportunity to test their understanding of that reading through a series of questions which must be answered online. Having answered a question, the student can then access online general feedback in the form of a ‘model’ answer which enables the student to check their understanding.

There are online tutorials for each week of the course other than week 12. In order to participate in each online tutorial it is anticipated that students will spend up to about 7 hours per week on pre-reading as well as up to 2 hours per week online answering the tutorial questions (this is the normal expected workload for a 3 unit course).

While students can access the tutorials at a time of their own choosing, the material in each week builds upon the previous week’s work.

An interactive online tutorial will be conducted on a fortnightly basis on Wednesdays from 6.00 (ACST) using Zoom- students can participate in the online tutorial or view the recorded tutorial from MyUni at a later time.


The tutorial questions and answers will be discussed at the online tutorial. Students will also be able to submit questions on the discussion board prior to the online tutorial.

Students are strongly advised to work consistently across the semester and to undertake the tutorials in the assigned order, in order to provide themselves with the best opportunity to learn in this course.

The schedule for the online tutorials is as follows:

Date	Tutorial
Wednesday 6 March 2024	Tutorials 2 & 3
Wednesday 20 March 2024	Tutorials 4 & 5
Wednesday 3 April 2024	Tutorials 6 & 7
Wednesday 1 May 2024	Tutorials 8 & 9
Wednesday 29 May 2024	Tutorials 10 & 11
Wednesday 5 June 2024	Revision

Discussion Boards

There will be discussion boards for each week of the course. They will seek contributions from students
on an issue relating to a substantive topic in the course. Students are expected to contribute at least once to each of these discussion boards, but may make additional contributions to each discussion board if they wish.

Contributions should be short and to the point, and not merely repeat information which others have already posted. The function of the discussion board is to learn from one another by furthering the collective understanding, just as general discussion in a tutorial group would do. Contributions may respond to what others have already said, or introduce a novel idea into the discussion. Contributions may be creative and provocative, they may raise particular issues from cases or statutes, but they should always be presented or developed in a way that is reasoned and respectful, and wherever possible draw upon some aspect of the law. That is, students are expected to do more than simply assert their view, without providing cogent reasoning. In making contributions to discussion boards, students may use note form or dot points and need not provide formal citations or references unless they wish to include a quotation. 

The discussion boards will provide a flexible forum for students to participate in the course and demonstrate their thinking about the material they are reading. It is expected that students would spend about 1 hour per week reading and contributing to the weekly discussion board. While students can access the discussion boards at a time of their own choosing, the material in each week builds upon the previous week’s work.

Students are strongly advised to work consistently across the semester, in order to provide themselves with the best opportunity to learn the material in this course. The discussion boards will be monitored by academic staff who will provide general feedback in the form of a comment where appropriate or necessary, but the discussion board is essentially a student forum. 

Workshop No.2

Friday 10 May and Saturday 11 May 2024 OR and Friday 17 and Saturday 18 May 2024

Students will be allocated to one of these two sets of alternative dates. Students are encouraged to put both weekends aside and be available for allocation to either weekend. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis for those students who are only available on one of the two weekends.

Attendance and participation at both days of this workshop is a compulsory part of this course.  Workshop No.2 takes place over 2 days. The morning of Day 1 Workshop No.2 will provide an opportunity to meet with academic staff and revise and work through the materials covered in the course to date. This part of the workshop will be based around questions raised in the special discussion board by students so the issues to be covered will be those nominated by students. There will also be an opportunity to address any
problems and issues so far with the course, and revision of any course material. The afternoon will be a preparation session for the role-play workshop. Students will need to bring and be familiar with the materials for the second day of the workshop.  On the
second day the workshop will take the form of an Arbitration Practicum, with Role Play and Arbitration Exercises. The workshop will be conducted and assessed by members of the Resolution Institute, who are experienced practitioners in arbitration, thus providing the students with an opportunity to put into practice under professional guidance the substantive material learned to date and to discuss this with the practitioners.  In order to successfully participate in and complete Workshop No.2 and its assessment, students will have to have completed all their online tutorials and discussion boards listed for the course in the weeks prior to attending Workshop No.2.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Workshops: There will be two workshops: the first conducted over one day, and the second over 2 days. Together the workshops are of approximately 20.5 hours duration.

Online contact time: participate in all online tutorials each for 2 hours (=24 hours) and 12 online weekly discussion boards each for one hour (=12 hours). This amounts to 36 hours of online teaching and learning time across the semester.

Preparation time: In addition to attending workshops and participating in online tutorials and discussion boards, it is expected that students will also do a substantial amount of independent reading to prepare for those activities, and to complete course assignments. It is anticipated that this reading and preparatory work should take approximately 90 hours in total (or, on average, about 8-9 hours over each of the 12 weeks of the course).

Schedule

Week	Date	Topic	Workshop	Online Tutorial	Discussion Board
1	Saturday 24 February 9.30am-4.00pm (ACST)	Introduction: • Overview of the course • Using MyUni • Overview of the Act • Topic #1: The Commercial Arbitration Legislation in Australia	Introductory Workshop	Topic  #1	Attendance at the Introductory Workshop is strongly encouraged.
2	Week commencing Monday 26 February	#2 Introduction to the Law of Evidence		Topic #2	Overview: Dispute Resolution - hypothetical scenarios:
3	Week commencing Monday 4 March	#3 Establishing the Basis for ADR and Arbitration Wed 6 March – Zoom Online Tutorials 2 & 3		Topic #3	Contract Law Revision
4	Week commencing Monday 11 March	#4 The Procedural Conference (Part 1)		Topic #4	Damages Revision: Contract, Tort and Equity
5	Week commencing Monday 18 March	#5 TheProcedural Conference (Part 2) Wed 20 March – Zoom Online Tutorials 4 & 5		Topic #5	Expert Evidence
6	Week commencing Monday 25 March	#6 Prehearing Processes for Formal Arbitration Hearings		Topic #6	Expert Evidence
7	Week commencing Monday 1 April	#7 Jurisdiction and Arbitrability Wed 3 April – Zoom Online Tutorials 6 & 7		Topic #7	Contracts and the Arbitration Clause
8	Week commencing Monday 8 April	#8 Formal Arbitration Hearings		Topic #8	TheProcedural Conference
	Sunday 28 April 11.59pm (ACST)	ASSIGNMENT DUE			Submit via MyUni by 11.59pm
9	Week commencing Monday 29 April DUE MONDAY 29 MAY	#9 The Award – An Introduction Students post questions for discussion in Workshop #2 by Monday 2 MayStudents post questions for discussion in Workshop #2 Wed 1 May – Zoom Online Tutorials 8 & 9		Topic # 9	Jurisdiction and Arbitrability
	Friday, 10 May 10am - 4.30pm (ACST) Saturday 11 May9am - 4.30pm (ACST)	• Legal Problem Solving and Revision of Materials – weeks 1-9 addressing student questions • Problems and Issues discussion • Preparation for workshop • Arbitration Practicum • Role Play and Arbitration Exercises	Workshop #2 Day 1 Workshop #2 Day 2		Attendance and participation on both days is a COMPULSORY part of the course
	OR Friday 17 May 10am-4.30pm (ACST) Saturday 18 May 9am- 4.30pm (ACST)	• Legal Problem Solving and Revision of Materials – weeks 1-9 addressing student questions • Problems and Issues discussion • Preparation for workshop Arbitration Practicum Role Play and Arbitration Exercises	Workshop #2 Day 1 Workshop #2 Day 2		Attendance and participation on both days is a COMPULSORY part of the course
10	Week commencing Monday 20 May	#10 Mediation and other forms of ADR Processes		Topic #10
11	Week commencing Monday 27 May	#11 Powers of the Court Wed 29 May – Zoom Online Tutorials 10 & 11		Topic #11
12	Week commencing Monday 3 June	Revision Wed 5 June - Zoom			Revision: Questions from students and responses by teaching staff
	Saturday 15 June	EXAMINATION			Download and submit via My Uni

There will be a one day Introductory Workshop at the beginning of the course. *It is strongly encouraged to attend this Online Workshop.

Attendance at and participation in both days of Workshop #2 is a compulsory part of the course.

In order to pass this course, it is necessary for students to gain a pass in the assessment of participation in the role-plays in Workshop #2, in addition to an overall pass in the other assessments conducted in this course.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Redeemable (yes/no)	Course Learning objective
Participation (in online tutorials, discussion board and workshops)	Individual	Throughout semester on weekly basis. Some model answers provided throughout semester.	Pass/fail	500-700 words per weekly tutorial	1 - 6
Workshop #2 Practium	Individual	Saturday, 11 May 2024 OR Saturday 18 May 2024	Pass/fail	N/A	1 - 6
Written assignment	Individual	Sunday 28 April 2024	40%	2,000 words	1 - 6
Exam	Individual	Saturday 15 June 2024	60%	2 hours	1 - 6

Replacement Examinations & Additional Assessment (R/AA)

(see: http://www.adelaide.edu/policies/3303/)
 
Where a student fails the course but qualifies academically for additional assessment by achieving a final mark of at least 45% across the course and including a pass for the Workshop No.2 practicum component of the assessment, they will be offered an Additional Assessment. This Additional Assessment will take the same form as the primary exam.

In cases where an Additional Assessment exam is granted on academic grounds a maximum mark of 50% for the course may be obtained.

A replacement examination is also available where a student is unable for medical or other reasons addressed in the relevant policy (compassionate grounds) to attend the examination or their performance in the examination is thereby impaired.


Replacement/Additional Assessment Workshop #2 Practicum
If a student has attended Workshop No.2 but does not obtain a Pass they must satisfactorily complete additional practical work demonstrating that they fulfil the knowledge and skills for this assessment task. Replacement assessment for Workshop 2 may also be available on medical or compassionate grounds.

Attendance at Workshop No.2 is compulsory. A student will not pass the course if they do not attend these compulsory Workshops.

In order to pass this course, it is necessary for students to gain a pass in the Workshop No. 2 assessment in addition to an overall pass in the other assessments conducted in this course.

There are no other requirements additional to those identified elsewhere in this document.

Participation in Online Tutorials and other tasks – Pass/fail

Students will be assessed on their participation in the online tutorials and at the Workshops and in other tasks set.

Students will be assessed on the quality of their responses posted in these 11 tutorials (indicating reading, familiarity with the materials and cogency of response).

The participation requirement also includes preparation for the workshop. Students are required to post on the discussion board a question or questions (or issues) which they would like addressed in the first day of the workshop No.2. The question(s) must be posted by Monday 29 April 2024.

The following learning objectives identified above are tested by this component of the assessment scheme: 1-6 with emphasis on particular objectives depending on the nature of the tutorial questions. Participation in the tutorials should also enable students to demonstrate their capacity to fulfil the learning objectives outlined in 1 - 6.

Grade Descriptors for Class Participation are as follows:
A more specific guide to the criteria required for achievement in the various grades for online tutorial participation, is as follows:

High Distinction 85 – 100
Participation in all online tutorials, demonstrating an outstanding level of quality in responses and a very strong understanding of concepts, high level of analysis and strong capacity to identify substantive issues, and a clear understanding of those issues.

Distinction 75 – 84
Participation in all online tutorials, demonstrating a very high level of quality in responses and a very sound understanding of concepts, a strong level of analysis and strong capacity to identify substantive issues, and a very good understanding of those issues.

Credit 65 – 74
Participation in all online tutorials, demonstrating a thoughtful approach to the material and a good understanding of concepts, clear analysis and a good capacity to identify substantive issues and a clear understanding of issues.

Pass 50 – 64
Participation in most online tutorials, demonstrating an adequate level of quality in responses and a basic understanding of concepts, an adequate level of analysis and capacity to identify substantive issues, and an adequate understanding of those issues.

Fail 0 - 49
Failure to participate in the majority of online tutorials, limited contributions and lack of responsiveness to questions, inability to demonstrate understanding of concepts or capacity to analyse material and identify issues, limited or poor evidence of reading or preparation.

AND

Written assignment – 40%

Each student must submit a written assignment answering the question(s) which will be posted on MyUni on Sunday 31 March 2024. The written assignment is due by 11.59pm ACST on Sunday 28 April 2024 and is to be submitted on line through MyUni.

The written assignment is to be a maximum of 2,000 words – footnotes and bibliography are not included in the word count (however, footnotes should include references only and not substantive material).

Footnotes should be used to indicate sources. In citing material in footnotes the referencing system used in The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) (‘AGLC4’) should be followed. AGLC4 is available for purchase from university bookshops or may be accessed at <http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/go/aglc>. Footnotes are not included in the word count, but no substantive material is to be included in them.

In assessing the written assignment the quality of insights and demonstrated understanding of concepts will be of key importance. In general account will be taken of the following factors:
• preparation - evidence of prior reading and understanding of relevant materials, the ability to identify relevant issues and prepare arguments in relation to them; and
• quality of the discussion - including evidence of a deep understanding of the conceptual issues, and the ability to analyse legal materials.

Grade Descriptors for written assignment:
A more specific guide to the criteria required for achievement in the various grades, is as follows:

High Distinction 85 – 100
Outstanding level of quality work demonstrating a strong understanding of concepts, a high level of analysis and a strong capacity to identify issues, clear understanding of relevant legislation, cases and materials, and evidence of thorough and wide ranging reading. Outstanding level of quality of language, spelling and grammar, and accuracy in correct forms of legal citation.

Distinction 75 - 84
Work of a highly developed nature demonstrating clear understanding of concepts, a high level of analysis and a strong capacity to identify issues, sound understanding of relevant legislation, cases and materials, and evidence of thorough and sound reading of set reading. Very high level of quality of language, spelling and grammar, and accuracy in correct forms of legal citation.

Credit 65 – 74
Work demonstrating a thoughtful approach to materials and clear understanding of concepts, capacity to analyse relevant legislation, cases and material and identify issues, and evidence of sound reading of set reading. High level of quality of language, spelling and grammar, and accuracy in correct forms of legal citation.

Pass 50 – 64
Work that is limited but adequate to demonstrate understanding of concepts, and capacity to analyse relevant legislation, cases and material and identify issues, and evidence of basic reading of set reading. Competent level of quality of language, spelling and grammar, and basic accuracy in correct forms of legal citation.

Fail 0 – 49
Poor quality work which does not demonstrate an ability to demonstrate understanding of concepts or capacity to analyse relevant legislation, cases and material and identify issues, and poor or limited evidence of basic reading of set reading. Poor quality of language, spelling and grammar, and incorrect use of the correct forms of legal citation.

AND

Workshop No.2 – Arbitration practicum - COMPULSORY

Full details of the Arbitration Practicum will be posted to students prior to the workshop. Grades to be awarded for the Workshop will be Pass/Fail only.

AND

Final Examination – 60%

The final examination will test knowledge and understanding of all the topics covered in the course.

The examination will consist of a number of questions, all of which will be compulsory. There will be no choice. Students will be told how many marks each question is worth and this should guide them in the amount of time they allocate to answering the questions.

The duration of the exam will be two hours (and it is suggested that students spend at least 30 minutes reading and planning their answers). The exam will be open book – meaning students may have access to their materials, including legislation and their textbook, during the examination.

The examination will take place on Saturday 15 June 2024 at 9.30am – 11.30am (ACST). You will download the exam from My Uni and can submit the completed exam via MyUni. You do not have to travel to a specific location for the exam; however you will need to ensure that you have a quiet place to conduct the exam (eg home/office) and that you have checked the technology you will be using
prior to the exam. 

The following learning objectives identified above are tested by this component of the assessment scheme: 1 - 6 

Grade Descriptors for the Final Examination are as follows:

High Distinction 85 – 100
Demonstrates an outstanding of the substantive content of the content of the course in addressing the questions asked; very strong knowledge of principles and concepts and evidence of an awareness and understanding of deeper and more subtle aspects of the topics; clear evidence of a strong ability to construct a coherent and logical argument based on the evidence; strong evidence of
analytical and evaluative skills and an ability to apply fundamental concepts to facts; very highly developed skills in expression, spelling, grammar and presentation.

Distinction 75 – 84
Demonstrates a very high level of understanding of the substantive content of the content of the course in addressing the questions asked; sound knowledge of principles and concepts and evidence of an awareness and understanding of deeper and more subtle aspects of the topics; clear evidence of a very good ability to construct a coherent and logical argument based on the evidence; clear
evidence of analytical and evaluative skills and an ability to apply fundamental concepts to facts; highly developed skills in expression, spelling, grammar and presentation.

Credit 65 – 74
Demonstrates a high level of understanding of the substantive content of the content of the course in addressing the questions asked; sound knowledge of principles and concepts; clear evidence of a good ability to construct a coherent and logical argument based on the evidence; clear evidence of analytical and evaluative skills and an ability to apply fundamental concepts to facts; good skills in expression, spelling, grammar and presentation.

Pass 50 – 64
Satisfies the minimum level of knowledge and understanding of the substantive content of the content of the course in addressing the questions asked; knowledge of principles and concepts adequate to communicate accurately on the topic; evidence of a basic ability to construct a coherent argument based on the evidence; some evidence of analytical and evaluative skills and an abilityto apply fundamental concepts to facts; adequate skills in expression, spelling, grammar and presentation.

Fail 0 – 49
Fails to satisfy the minimum level of knowledge and understanding of the substantive content of the content of the course and failure to address the questions asked; very little demonstrated knowledge of principles and concepts in the course; very little evidence of ability to construct a coherent argument based on the evidence; very little evidence of analytical and evaluative skills and an ability to apply fundamental concepts to facts; inadequate skills in expression, spelling, grammar and presentation.

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted in this course. 

All assignments in this course are to be submitted electronically. Students must ensure their name and student ID
number appear on all written assignments. Comments and feedback from the examiners will be provided on line.

By submitting your assignment electronically you are agreeing to the following:


I declare that all material in this assessment is my own work except where there is clear acknowledgement and reference to the work of others. I have read the Policy on Cheating in Examinations and Related Forms of Assessment. I have also read the University's Plagiarism Policy.

There are strict policies applicable in relation to cheating and plagiarism and they are applicable to work undertaken in this
course. Please see the Academic Honesty Policy available at http:www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/230


Details for electronic submission will be provided with the assignment instructions.

Extensions

Requests for extensions must be made using the Application for assessment extension form. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on  compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.When students apply for an extension, their application must give details of the extent and length of the student’s medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances, and the length of extension that is requested. The Course Coordinator will email the student with the outcome of their request as soon as possible after it is received. If an extension is granted, it is only provisional until formal evidence of the medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances is received. The evidence submitted must be consistent with details provided in the email requesting the extension. If the details of the request for an extension, and the medical or other evidence verifying the reason for the extension are not consistent in all respects, the extension may be nullified, and the Course Coordinator may in their discretion decide not to accept the assignment, or impose a penalty for late submission.The duration of an extension is for the course administrator to determine. However, where a student is completing their studies in a program, an extension should not be granted past the census date in the following semester.

Penalties:

1. Late Submission: Submission penalties of 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof
that it is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an assignment graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is one hour late, giving a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 25 hours late, etc.

2. Word Length: Written assignments which exceed the allocated word length will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks
possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 3,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3001 words long, giving a final grade of 58%; if it is 3101 words long, 10% will be deducted etc). The word count includes: all quotations, headings within the text and substantive footnotes but excludes references (such as to legislation and case law) and cover page information. .

Turnaround time: The written assignment for this course will be returned to students within 3 weeks of the submission date.
Group feedback, together with written, individual feedback will be provided, from which students can learn from in the final assignment.

Assignments will be returned to students electronically.

Finality of Assessment Grades

 Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole.  Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy and the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

 
Moderation
 
In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall
result is a fail grade;
the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

 Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment.
On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices
facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.