General Requirements for Assignments - Bible/Theology and Counselling/Chaplaincy

Academic Support

You are encouraged to seek support throughout your studies. It is important, however, that you maintain academic integrity in how you prepare and complete assignments.

• Seek to develop independence in your research and writing skills. We understand that this independence may take longer for students with recognised learning difficulties or with a Non-English Speaking Background (NESB).
• You are encouraged to seek out a Study Mentor who can support you in your research and writing.

Academic Support is also available on campus and online. See Moodle for details.

Guidelines for Academic Support

When seeking support, the following guidelines apply:

It is your responsibility to:

• attend lectures
• read the main textbooks and recommended readings
• develop a ‘big picture’ understanding of an assignment’s topic
• collate your own quotations, paraphrases and summaries
• write your own discussion and analysis
• keep copies of assignments pre and post editing/review so that your work can be traced if necessary
• allow sufficient time before a due date for support and correction (as a guide, allow 4 days for every 10 pages of text)
• complete a final edit of your assignment (spell check, formatting etc.)
• be aware of the ACT’s and Morling’s guidelines about Academic Misconduct

You should not:

• have your work closely edited/reviewed by someone else in regards to the content of your assignment;
• use any written material in your assignments that has been produced by another person (e.g. fellow student, friend or pastor), including direct quotes or paraphrases from related texts that someone else has compiled;
• submit the same assignment, or part of an assignment, in a different Unit.

What Support is Appropriate?

To ensure academic integrity and to help both students and those they ask to help them, the following guidelines should be followed. These guidelines reflect the range of people who students may approach for support and what is appropriate support to seek or offer.

Study Mentor/Morling Academic Support Staff

It is appropriate to ask a Study Mentor or Morling Academic Tutor to:

• discuss and provide guidance on the writing process (planning, research skills, assignment structure etc.)
• discuss the ‘big picture’ of the topic, allowing the student to share and process the main points they have discovered through their research
• complete a basic edit/review of an assignment; highlighting common spelling or grammatical errors, structural problems, problems with referencing or formatting
• provide basic guidance on vocabulary and translation, especially for NESB students
• Morling Academic Support Staff can also provide direction if you are asked to resubmit an assignment.

Fellow student, friend, family member etc.

It is appropriate to ask a fellow student, friend or family member to:

• discuss the ‘big picture’ of the topic, allowing you to share an assignment plan and process the main points you have discovered through your research
• complete a basic edit/review of an assignment; highlighting common spelling or grammatical errors, structural problems, problems with referencing or formatting
• provide some guidance on vocabulary and translation, especially for NESB students

College Lecturer/Pastor

It is appropriate for a student to ask a College Lecturer or Pastor to:

• discuss the ‘big picture’ of the topic, allowing you to share an assignment plan and process the main points you have discovered through you research
• provide some guidance on vocabulary and translation, especially for NESB students
• provide guidance about the text type conventions of an assignment (e.g. exegesis papers)
• recommend further reading where necessary