Course Rules and Policies 1-7

1. Course Covered by These Rules

Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and all Bachelor of Laws/Combined Degree courses e.g. Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws (BCom/LLB).

 

2. General Course requirements.

Approximately 2000 students are enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) program. The majority of students choose to study law in combination with another degree. Combined degree programs are designed to equip students better to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world, and to pursue a wide range of rewarding careers. Students with outstanding academic records may also qualify for the LLB degree with Honours.

The Melbourne LLB degree, whether taken as a single or combined degree course, is made up of compulsory and optional subjects.  All students must complete a minimum of 300 points of Law subjects, usually in combination with subjects from another degree. As of 2006 the pre-existing requirement that one of your optional subjects be classified as a legal theory subject no longer applies.

 

2.1 Compulsory Subjects

There are 14 compulsory subjects in the Melbourne LLB. All students must complete these subjects (or their equivalents in the pre-2006 curriculum), to meet the academic requirements for completion.  These subjects include: Legal Method and Reasoning; Principles of Public Law; Torts; Dispute Resolution; Obligations; Legal Theory; Contracts; Constitutional Law; Administrative Law; Property; Trusts; Criminal Law and Procedure; Remedies; and Legal Ethics. (175 points)

2.2 Substantial Piece of Legal Writing

All LLB students must complete a substantial piece of legal writing.

In order to meet this requirement, a piece of written work must:

• be a minimum of 5,000 words (please refer to Word Limits for more information about Faculty policy on word limits, and what constitutes 5000 words)
• count for at least 50% of the assessment in the subject in which it is written
• be a research essay, not a reflective essay, that is, demonstrate
  • use of research skills, including finding relevant sources
  • use of those research materials to develop a thesis
  • analytical and critical thinking in the development of the thesis
• achieve a pass grade.

This change will come into effect as of 2006 and apply to all students who are either currently within the compulsory component of their degree or will complete the compulsory component of their degree by end 2005 (which includes the Summer Semester of 2006).  Those students who have completed their compulsory subjects and are undertaking their remaining optional subjects will not be bound by this requirement unless they wish to be considered for Honours and have not yet completed a substantial piece of legal writing. Subjects that meet the ‘substantial piece of legal writing’ requirement are listed here.

2.3 Optional Subjects

The Law School offers a large number of optional subjects, which students will take in the final year their course. Students will complete 8 Optional subjects in their final year (100 points). Click here for a list of subjects, or refer to the Undergraduate Studies Handbook. Please note: Optional subjects are offered on a bi-annual (two yearly) basis. (100 points)

2.4 Admission to Legal Practice

Students should also note, in planning their course that certain subjects must be undertaken in order to meet the academic requirements for admission to practise in Victoria. These requirements are regulated by the Council of Legal Education, which is administered by a Board of Examiners appointed by the Supreme Court of Victoria. Click here for further information on admission to legal practice.

In the new curriculum commencing semester 1, 2006, the subjects you need to complete in order to practise law, in addition to compulsory subjects are Evidence and Proof, and Corporations Law. In your course plans, subjects that are required for practice are called quasi-compulsory subjects.

For students who commenced in the pre-2006 curriculum, please check the subjects you will need to complete on your course plan or with a course adviser.

 

3. Learning and Teaching Culture

  

4. Course Duration

Normal course duration for the LLB and double degrees is as follows:

- Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws (5 years)
- Bachelor of Creative Arts/Bachelor of Laws (5 years)
- Bachelor of Arts(Media & Communications)/Bachelor of Laws (5 years)
- Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws (5 years)
- Bachelor of Computer Science/Bachelor of Laws (5 years)
- Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of  Laws (6 years)
- Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Laws (6 years)
- Bachelor of Laws (4 years)
- Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) (3 years)

 

5. Subject Selection and Online Enrolment

Students can complete their enrolments online through the Student Information System: https://sis.unimelb.edu.au/

Please note that all enrolment plans submitted online are checked by the Faculty to ensure that pre-requisites have been met.  All students can contact the Melbourne Law School Student Centre for course advice appointments, particularly for advice regarding their enrolment planning.

5.1 Subject Pre-Requisites

Subject prerequisites are published within the subject descriptions in the Undergraduate Law Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure prerequisites are met for subjects in which they enrol. Students seeking an exemption from published pre-requisites should complete an Application for Waiver of Subject Prerequisite form.

 

6. Subject Withdrawals and Changes

6.1 Procedure for Withdrawal

Students who wish to cancel or change their enrolment in a subject must complete an Application To Change Subjects form. Changes and cancellations WILL NOT be accepted by telephone.

6.2 Deadlines for withdrawal

RELEVANT DATE	ACTION TAKEN BY THE UNIVERSITY
Withdrawal by the second Friday of each Semester	Subjects cancelled will not appear on a candidate’s record and paid subject fees will be refunded.
Withdrawal by the University Census Dates – 31 March (Semester One) and 31 August (Semester Two).	Students will have a withdrawal ‘WD’ entered on their record, but can still obtain a full/part fee refund.
Withdrawal after the Census dates but before the last day for Withdrawals from Subjects	Students will incur a ‘WD’ on their record and be liable for fees.
After the last day for Withdrawals from Subjects	Students will incur a FAIL grade on their student record and will forfeit their fees

 

Students must observe the University’s regulations with regards to withdrawal from subjects. Failure to comply may result in the recording of late withdrawal ‘WD’ or a ‘FAIL’ grade and/or the inability for a student to obtain a refund of fees.

A subject enrolment may be cancelled or altered within two weeks of commencement of the semester (ie by 5.00pm on the second Friday of each semester). Subjects cancelled during this time will not appear on a candidate's record and paid subject fees will be refunded.

After this date, but before the University Census Dates (ie 31 March for semester one and 31 August for semester two) students who withdraw will have a withdrawal ‘WD’ entered on their record for the subject, but can still obtain a full/part fee refund.

Students who withdraw after the census date but before the last day for withdrawals from subjects will incur a late withdrawal ‘WD’ on their record and be liable for fees. After these dates, students will incur a FAIL grade on their student record and will forfeit their fees.

For further information see the University’s policy with regards to fee refunds.

 

7. Assessment - Essays and Assignments

7.1 Assessment Due Dates

Please click here for a copy of the current Assessment Due Dates Timetable.

7.2 Late Assignments
A late assignment is one that is handed in after the time and date for submission, or after any extension has expired. Students who obtain extensions are not subject to penalty under these rules.

All assignments must be submitted not later than by 4.30pm on the published submission date, unless stated otherwise. Where an assignment is handed in within half an hour of this deadline it will not incur a marking penalty. This rule is not intended to extend the official deadline. An assignment tendered after 5:00pm will be regarded as 31 minutes late, not 1 minute late. Assignments must be submitted in duplicate hard copy to the Law Student Centre. Fax and email copies will not be accepted. Please note that the Law Student Centre is unattended on the weekends. Therefore, any assignment submitted after office hours on a Friday will be marked as being received the following Monday, i.e. 3 days late.

Any assignment handed in late will incur a penalty of 5% deduction of marks for every day or part of a day that it remains not submitted. The following is a worked example:

An assignment worth 50 marks is submitted 3 days late. The student's original mark is 40. 3 days late = 5% of 50 x 3 = 7.5 mark penalty Applied, this formula would give the student a final mark of 32.5 .

 

The penalty will be imposed in accordance with the following codes:

Code 1: A marking penalty for late submission of 5% of the marks available for the item of assessment for every day, or part thereof, beyond the date and time of submission (or any extension granted).

Code 2: A marking penalty for late submission of 5% of the marks available for the item of assessment for every day, or part thereof, beyond the date and time of submission (or any extension granted). Once the mark has reduced to 50% of the total marks available for that assessment item, there will be no further penalty.

Please note: If a subject has not nominated Code 1 or Code 2 for a particular piece of assessment, the default penalty code is Code 1.

Note: A 5% deduction of marks is a default position. Subject coordinators may impose a higher penalty.

An assignment submitted after the published date of return of the assignment will not be accepted by the marker.

7.3 Extensions

Applications for Extensions with Respect to the Submission of Assignments

Topics for written work and submission dates are notified to students well in advance of the submission dates. Extensions will therefore not normally be granted.

Approvals of extension applications are made by the Melbourne Law School Student Centre. Lecturers have no authority to grant extensions.

Students are advised to contact the Melbourne Law School Student Centre as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is required. A delay in doing so may result in the application not being approved.
 
Grounds for the Approval of Extensions with Respect to the Submission of Assignments

The reasons given by a student for an extension must be in accordance with the following guidelines and in all circumstances must be supported by relevant documentation. The duration of the requested extension must be reasonable and justified by the documentation.

Guidelines with respect to the kinds of circumstances that may lead to an approval of an extension application include the following:

• A student is unwell or injured. 
• The death or diagnosis of a serious illness of a close family member or friend. 
• Illness of a child or parent /guardian for which the student is the primary care giver.
• An unforeseen event that substantially impacts on the preparation of an assignment.  

Please note:

• Computer failure will NOT be considered a valid reason for the late submission of assignments, and extensions will not be granted as a result of computer failure.  Software crashes, disk failures and printing difficulties are an unavoidable aspect of using a computer and should be anticipated and planned for.

7.4 Submission of Assignments (including Cover Sheets and Turnitin)

Cover Sheets

All essays/assignments must be handed to the Melbourne Law School Student Centre by 4:30 pm on the due date, unless stated otherwise.  A cover sheet must be attached to each of the two copies submitted. Students should retain a further copy of the completed essay/assignment. Students submitting an essay/assignment by post are reminded that the essay/assignment must arrive in the Melbourne Law School Student Centre BY THE DUE DAY. Students using this submission method are advised to use pre-paid registered envelopes and that essays/assignments must arrive in the Melbourne Law School Student Centre by the due date.

For a copy of the assessment cover sheet, please click here.

Turnitin

Turnitin™ is an online, web-based software that works by comparing electronically submitted papers to billions of pages of content located on the Internet and proprietary databases as well as the work of other students whose papers have also been submitted into the system. This software is currently used by many universities in Australia and internationally. The University of Melbourne is trialing this software for twelve months over 2004-2005.

When papers are submitted into Turnitin™ sections of the papers that match other sources are highlighted and identified. This analysis of the submitted documents forms an Originality Report which is made available to the lecturer concerned.

Important information about Academic honesty and plagiarism, including advice to students and university policies, is located at URL: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/plagiarism. You can also access resources about appropriate referencing in a number of places. The first place to look is in the materials that your lecturer has provided to you. You can also find information and help at the Language and Learning Skills Unit at 723 Swanston Street. They also provide online information on referencing: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/llsu/resources/referencing.htm

7.5 Results

Please refer to the following url for details regarding results publication: https://sis.unimelb.edu.au/functions/results/info/schedule.html

For other Results related enquiries please check the following student administration information: https://sis.unimelb.edu.au/section-1.html#s2

7.6 Word Limits

Marking Policy regarding word limits on assignments

Word Limit Codes. Subject examiners have a choice of three policies in relation to the enforcement of word limits on assignments. The policy which has been adopted for each subject is explained in the Assessment Rules webpage and Due Dates Table by the use of code numbers.

CODE 1: Any word limit will be enforced strictly and any excess will incur a marking penalty.

CODE 2: Work judged grossly in excess of any word limit may incur a marking penalty or be returned for rewriting. If the examiner does not specify some other threshold, work will be judged grossly in excess of a word limit if its length exceeds that word limit by 10% or more.

CODE 3: Any word limit will be regarded as recommended rather than compulsory, and no student will be disadvantaged by exceeding the limit.

Please note: if the examiner does not specify a word limit code for a particular piece of assessment, Code 2 applies.

Calculating the number of words. If an examiner does not specify a method of calculating the number of words in a work for the purposes of enforcing a word limit, the number of words will be calculated as follows: every word of the student’s work, including headings, but excluding title pages, abstracts, bibliographies and footnotes will be counted in the number of words in the student’s answer and will be subject to the word limit.

Marking penalties. If an examiner does not specify a method of calculating the marking penalty to be applied under Code 1 or Code 2, the marking penalty will be calculated as follows: 5% of the total available marks for the piece of work will be deducted from the student’s mark for each 10% or part thereof by which the number of words in the student’s piece of work exceeds the relevant word limit.

For example, for a piece of assessment with a limit of 2500 words, a penalty of 5% of the total available marks will be imposed for every 250 words or part thereof by which the submission exceeds (a) 2500 words where Code 1 is applied or (b) 2750 words where Code 2 is applied.

Marking penalties are not applied pro rata.

So in the above example, 5% of the total available marks are deducted under Code 1
whether the piece of assessment is 2501 words or 2749 words.