Course Coordinator:Lara Christensen (lchriste@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
Introduction to Criminology is concerned with the basic elements of the discipline of criminology. It provides a set of stepping stones to more advanced courses in the field, as well as providing interested students with a general overview. The course makes use of a wide range of case studies, as well as different types of statistical sources, to provide a picture of crime dimensions and trends in Australia and internationally. It also introduces students to issues of definition and measurement, theories of crime causation, and responses to crime in the areas of criminal justice and prevention.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial | 2hrs | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Learning materials – Online learning materials - self-paced material | 1hr | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Online learning materials - self-paced material | 1hr | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online tutorial | 2hrs | Week 1 | 11 times |
100 Level (Introductory)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Apply scholarly writing, research and reference practice in the field of Criminology. | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Explain and describe the key elements and theories of crime and criminal justice. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
| 3 | Analyse the causes of crime and social impacts. |
Creative and critical thinker Sustainability-focussed |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
JST102
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
You will be provided with feedback on your essay plan (Task 1), which will provide scaffolding for the essay (Task 2).
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Plan | Individual | 20% | 850 words |
Week 6 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 2 | Essay | Individual | 45% | 2000 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 35% | 2 hours |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Essay plan | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The purpose of this task is to create an essay plan, which is an outline of what will be discussed in your essay (Assessment Task 2) and obtain feedback to assist you in completing the essay. |
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| Product: | Plan | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | 850-word outline plus reference list (reference list not included in word count). The topic, along with the points that need to be covered in the essay plan, will be placed on Canvas in Week One. The feedback you receive on your essay plan will help you further plan for the essay (Assessment Task Two). |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Organisation, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Essay | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The purpose of this task is to analyse a real-life case in light of the prevalence and characteristics of the crime, along with the newsworthiness of the case. You will also explore how a psychological theory can assist in understanding the causes of the offending behaviour in the case. |
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| Product: | Essay | ||||||||||||
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| Format: | 2000-word essay plus reference list (not included in word count). The topic will be posted on Canvas in Week One. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Exam | ||||||||||
| Goal: | This end-of-trimester exam allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of course materials across weeks 9, 10, and 11. You are required to work within the digital platform, Cadmus. |
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| Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | |||||||||
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| Format: | Short answer exam. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | HENNESSEY & PRENZLER HAYES (TIM.) | 2020 | An Introduction to Crime and Criminology | 5th Edition | Pearson |
Electronic devices (access to the internet required when completing some tutorial activities).
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct.
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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