Unit Coordinator Hermeneutics: Extracts from UWA Websites

The roles and responsibilities for a Unit Coordinator at UWA might be inferred from the instances on the Web where the term is used in ways other than as a title:

" Unit Coordinator, (Room 1.75) Responsible for the overall organization of the unit, website manager, lectures in human structure and function, and is available to help students with course work and laboratory allocations".

Some other examples found suggest that a Unit Coordinator is:

a Point of Contact and Continuity

• A sequence of lecturers will present material in their field of expertise and a Unit Coordinator (who may or may not attend the lectures) is the students' sole continuous contact
• Help!: Students experiencing difficulties with their project are encouraged to discuss matters with their academic supervisors. Alternatively, students are welcome to consult with the 3S8 Unit Coordinator.

a Rule Maker/Interpreter/Enforcer

• Unit Coordinators will advise students if group participation is expected in a particular project.
• The Unit Coordinator, by the commencement of the semester in which the unit is offered, shall prepare a document containing a clear statement of the objectives and the assessment procedures and components for the unit including any penalties for late submissions of assessment pieces. This statement shall also include explicit mention of the monitoring and assessment requirements with regard to generic skills
• The Department has adopted a policy on minimum penalties for late items of assessment. This is the default policy of all units unless indicated otherwise, in writing, by the specific Unit Coordinator
• If a possible case of plagiarism is detected, the students concerned will be interviewed by the Unit Coordinator and at least one other staff member not involved in the teaching of the unit

a Gate Keeper

• Students who have not passed Anatomy & Human Biology 202 should consult the Unit Coordinator before the commencement of semester
• Prerequisite: special approval from Unit Coordinator

a Quality Assurance Manager

• (a) If a student thinks that the grade awarded his or her assignment is lower than the assignment deserves, the student should consult the marker.
  (b) If after this consultation the marker agrees that the assignment grade should be raised, the matter shall be referred to the Unit Coordinator.
  (c) If the Unit Coordinator agrees that the grade should be raised, the Coordinator shall forward the assignment to the Head of Department with a written recommendation of a new grade.
• Unit Coordinators be prepared to defend the mark awarded for a piece of work in terms of the standards and norms for the unit and be prepared to arrange for students to view their marked examination scripts on request and to discuss them with an appropriate staff member.
• Where a number of staff are involved in the assessing of a single piece of work, the Unit Coordinator should ensure that the marking criteria are clear and applied uniformly to all students.
• Material is reviewed frequently by the Unit Coordinator
• It is the responsibility of the Unit Coordinators to define clearly what is expected in terms of group work, collaboration between students and individual work so as to ensure that no confusion arises

an Exception Manager

• It is possible to negotiate problem-based examination in place of the research assignment should sufficient demand exist for this option. Please contact the Unit Coordinator if you prefer this option.
• Extensions are only granted for university-sanctioned reasons, such as medical absences for which a medical certificate has been provided. Application for extension should be made as early as possible to the Unit Coordinator.

A final example suggests that a Unit Coordinator, like any student within the unit, is a potential learner as well.

We urge you to discuss any problems, ideas, questions, uncertainties (hopefully, as curious scientists you will have many of all of these) with your fellow students, your tutors, your lecturers, in the different components that contribute to the 210 unit, and with me: Neville Bruce (Unit Coordinator). The more you involve yourself in the unit and share your ideas, the more you will get from the unit. The more you share your ideas with me, the more I will get from the unit.