Course Coordinator:Greg Mews (gmews@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
This advanced course will extend your knowledge of theory and law through policy and strategic planning at multiple levels of governance. You will cover complex decision-making involving statutory and non-statutory instruments including public works impact assessment. Throughout the course, the knowledge and skills required by the professional planner in practice and planning ethics are addressed through incorporating visiting practitioners and workshop sessions to problem-solve current planning practice issues.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Blended learning | |||
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus Workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
Learning materials – Learning materials are available online and delivered asynchronously. The material consists predominantly engagement with key resources and interactive learning platforms. | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Extending knowledge of theory and law through policy and strategic planning at multiple levels of governance
Complex decision- making involving statutory and non-statutory instruments including major project impact assessment.
Planning ethics.
Problem-solving and evaluation of current planning practice issues in the context of best practice planning policy and adequate data and monitoring.
400 Level (Graduate)
12 units
Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Education for Sustainable Development Goals | |
1 | Perform critical analysis and demonstrate strategic thinking and Problem solving skills as applied to a diverse range of regional and urban planning issues |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
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2 | Demonstrate knowledge application of suitable Sustainable Development Goals/ New Urban Agenda | Sustainability-focussed |
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
3 | Demonstrate a capacity to reflect on personal values and professional practice to inform theory |
Ethical Engaged |
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4 | Demonstrate understanding of planning theory and principles as well as the need for and use of credible information for planning policy and strategy |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
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5 | Effective written communication to appropriate audience |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical |
CODE | COMPETENCY |
Education for Sustainable Development Goals | |
1 | No poverty: End poverty in all its forms everywhere |
3 | Good Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages |
4 | Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all |
5 | Gender Equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls |
6 | Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all |
7 | Affordable and Clean Energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy for all |
8 | Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all |
9 | Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Build infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation |
10 | Reduced Inequalities: Reduce inequality within and among countries |
11 | Sustainable Cities and Communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable |
12 | Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns |
13 | Climate Action: urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts |
14 | Life below Water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development |
15 | Life on Land: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss |
16 | Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels |
17 | Partnerships for the Goals: Strengthen the implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Timely and detailed feedback is provided for each assessment. Feedback is provided both within text and general comments to build scholarly skills. Students are able to seek feedback through face-to-face discussion with the course coordinator. Tutorials will include extended discussion and review of the assessment task requirements and scope.
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 | Essay | Individual | 10% | 1000 words |
Week 4 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 2 | Report | Individual | 50% | 3000 words |
Week 8 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 3 | Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 1000 words |
Week 13 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All - Assessment Task 1:Mini Essay | |
Goal: | To demonstrate evidence of how theory and practice inform each other (theory-practice dialectic). |
Product: | Essay |
Format: | Write an essay on concepts and methods used to address a current planning issue and explain how this demonstrates or informs planning theory (including ethics and the concept of power) on the topic. |
Criteria: |
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All - Assessment Task 2:Report | |
Goal: | Analyse how a critical planning issue is addressed strategically at multiple levels of governance, develop solutions to local government statutory and/ or non-statutory instruments, and test applicability to a real development proposal. |
Product: | Report |
Format: | Imagine you are a strategic planner working for a authority. Write a report to your senior staff member and/or elected officials recommending how to address a nominated strategic planning issue (e.g. peak oil, public transit, climate adaptation, liveability, affordable housing, disaster preparedness) through the mechanisms that are currently available. Your report will include: 1) An analysis of how the issue is addressed in ‘best planning practice’ as identified in the literature, and assessment of relevant international, national, and state government policies, as well as council planning strategy papers for consistency with best practice. 2) Examples of how the relevant best practice principles and council strategy could be implemented through statutory and non-statutory mechanisms by: a) writing an amendment to a relevant planning scheme and code; and b) including provisions in non-regulatory mechanisms such as the Corporate Plan, community plan, design strategy, action plans, and/or council budget. 3) a review of an existing development or a current development application to determine if it is consistent with, or how it would need to be revised to be consistent with, the visions and directions in a strategy paper and the planning scheme. |
Criteria: |
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All - Assessment Task 3:Ministerial Briefing Paper | |
Goal: | To learn how to succinctly brief a State or Commonwealth government Minister on a complex planning issue and provide principled and evidence-based advice. |
Product: | Written Piece |
Format: | Imagine you are a planning or policy advisor working for State or Commonwealth government. Write a brief to your Minister critically evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a major public or private infrastructure project proposal in Australia. Your brief will be divided in two parts: a) Explain the limitations of the proposal and identify what type of knowledge and techniques are needed in order to appropriately address content issues. Recommend to the Minister how he/she should decide on the application and provide reasons. b) Suggest how to improve the decision-making process, perhaps requiring amendments to legislation and/or a state planning instrument or guidelines, with reference to good principles for planning and impact assessment. |
Criteria: |
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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.
Lists of required and recommended readings may be found for this course on its Canvas site. These materials/readings will assist you in preparing for tutorials and assignments, and will provide further information regarding particular aspects of your course.
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: 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 submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.
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For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.
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