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Roles and responsibilities

Under the university Honours Year Programs Policy and the associated Procedures, the Faculty of Science has overall responsibility for a range of specific aspects of the administration, admission, supervision and assessment for its honours programs. Through its faculty board, and by appropriate delegation to the Faculty Education Committee, the Faculty Board of Examiners and relevant faculty and school/department staff, the faculty will ensure appropriate coordination and management of the honours program in accordance with these university policies and procedures. In particular, Appendix 1 - Relevant university policies and procedures lists references to these guidelines that relate to each relevant aspect of the university Honours Year Programs Policy and Procedures.

3.1 Faculty Board

In accordance with University Statute 2.3 – The Faculties and subject to the Act, the faculty shall be responsible for its academic affairs. The academic affairs of the faculty shall be conducted by its faculty board.

The faculty board is the primary academic decision-making body of the faculty. It is responsible for all matters relating to studies within the faculty. It has specific responsibility for oversight of all matters relating to the curriculum and teaching of courses as well as research and research training.

Subject to section 9 of the Statutes, the faculty board in respect of the honours program has responsibility to:

  • manage and control, and advise the Council or Academic Board on, all matters relating to studies within the faculty’s academic fields of interest and responsibility, and in particular matters relating to - the teaching of courses in such fields, and, with the assistance of such examiners as the Council may by resolution appoint on the recommendation of the board or the dean, the conduct of examinations in such courses;
  • the curriculum for any degree or diploma the courses for which fall within the faculty’s field of responsibility;
  • supervise the course of study and subjects within the faculty’s academic fields of interest and responsibility and may, as it from time to time thinks necessary, prescribe outlines of and the books for such courses and subjects;
  • have such powers and duties as are conferred or imposed on it by any other statute or by any regulation or resolution of the Council;
  • consider and take action upon any resolution transmitted to it from a meeting of the faculty.

In the Faculty of Science, the faculty board normally undertakes these responsibilities in relation to academic programs, including the honours program, by considering the recommendations of the Faculty Education Committee.

3.2 Faculty Education Committee

Under its approved terms of reference, the Faculty Education Committee shall:

  • advise the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Science (“the faculty board”) on all matters pertaining to the assessment and approval on academic grounds of new and amended undergraduate and coursework postgraduate courses, including short courses, that are awarded by the Faculty of Science or awarded jointly with other Faculties;
  • advise the faculty board on all matters pertaining to the assessment and approval on academic grounds of new and amended undergraduate and coursework postgraduate subjects that are identified as ‘science units’ for the purposes of courses awarded by the Faculty of Science or awarded jointly with other faculties;
  • review and formulate faculty academic policies and regulations in relation to faculty courses, subjects and programs, for the consideration of the faculty board;
  • on behalf of the faculty board, oversee and advise on the implementation of faculty and university academic policies and regulations;
  • on behalf of the faculty board, oversee, advise and report on the implementation of appropriate quality assurance procedures in all ‘science units’ and courses awarded by the Faculty of Science, including to ensure an appropriate level of consistency across disciplines;
  • receive reports that are submitted from time to time by Faculty of Science academic advisory committees in relation to the issues listed above.

Specifically in relation to the honours program, the Faculty Education Committee has responsibility for:

  • establishing the criteria for the introduction of such courses and seeking approval for any four-year or longer undergraduate course, or any graduate bachelors degree course to be available with honours;
  • setting admission standards and approving variations to requirements for honours programs;
  • establishing and amending faculty-level educational policy and procedures;
  • leading the establishment of common assessment requirements/guidelines;
  • monitoring honours grades and programs to support benchmarking within disciplines and where appropriate with other institutions.

3.3 Faculty Board of Examiners

The Faculty of Science Board of Examiners is responsible for the approval of final marks and grades in respect of individual students for all undergraduate units, including those at honours level.

The Board of Examiners has responsibility to monitor the honours grade distributions across all areas of specialisation over a period of time, and where appropriate in relation to students’ previous level of performance, and make recommendations to schools and the Faculty Education Committee that assist in the maintenance of uniform standards both within the course and in relation to other similar courses at comparable institutions.

The Board of Examiners shall receive from the relevant unit chief examiners, through the School Honours Coordinators or otherwise, recommendations for the marks achieved by all students in every component honours unit upon the completion of each period of enrolment in that unit. It shall also receive the overall honours mark and grade for each student at the completion of their program (see also ‘4.5 Overall honours mark and grade’ below). The Board will consider those recommendations on final marks and grades to ensure their comparability and consistency from year to year and shall monitor the moderation processes adopted within each school to ensure best practice. Therefore, under some circumstances, the Board may recommend that the final results for individual students may differ from those recommended initially by the administering school/department.

To assist the Board of Examiners in meeting its responsibilities the faculty will establish a separate ‘Science Honours Board of Examiners’ with delegated responsibilities of the Board of Examiners for all matters related to oversight of all science honours programs at all campuses, prior to their subsequent formal ratification by the faculty Board of Examiners (Approved at Faculty Education Committee meeting 08/04).

3.4 Associate Dean (Education)

The Associate Dean (Education) is responsible for providing leadership in the development, implementation and monitoring of Education policy and curriculum within the faculty and assists in the development of education policy in the wider University.

In respect of the honours program in science, the Associate Dean (Education) has responsibility to:

  • ensure that appropriate academic and administrative support structures are in place to support the science honours program;
  • ensure that the curriculum and methods of assessment of the honours program provide an appropriate level of consistency of standard of curriculum and assessment across the broad range of science areas of specialisation;
  • ensure the faculty establishes and makes available to staff and students guidelines for good practice in supervision, similar to that developed by the university for higher-degree by research programs;
  • ensure that the objectives, assessment criteria, expectations and responsibilities of honours programs for each area of specialisation are clearly set out and published in a code of practice;
  • liaise with staff in the collaborating faculties to ensure that there is a consistent approach to all science honours programs;
  • evaluate the honours program in terms of success in achieving its objectives, the comparability of its standards, and its equity across students;
  • approve offers of admission for the honours program in accordance with faculty policies;
  • assess recommendations from heads of school/department (on the recommendation of School Honours Coordinator) to convert from part-time to full-time honours studies, to intermit their honours studies, and to extend their candidature beyond the normal maximum period of enrolment;
  • liaise with the Associate Dean (Research) and Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) to ensure that there is a clear nexus between teaching and research and, if appropriate, that the honours program is linked with the research activities of the broader science teaching faculty objectives;
  • convene, or oversee, Boards of Examiners for science-managed honours courses;
  • undertake regular comparisons of grade distributions for all students enrolled in science honours programs;
  • convene, or oversee, faculty Grievance and Discipline Committees.

In practice, some of these responsibilities are delegated to other members of staff, including Honours Coordinators in schools/departments and the Faculty Honours Committee and Board of Examiners.

3.5 Faculty Academic Manager

The Faculty Academic Manager is responsible for providing leadership and support in academic administration across the faculty and assisting the Associate Dean (Education) in the development and implementation of policy and procedures in support of educational programs.

In respect of the honours program, the Faculty Academic Manager has responsibility to:

  • ensure information and advice is provided to potential honours students about all science Honours programs;
  • ensure that the units of study approved by the Faculty Education Committee for all science areas of specialisation at honours level are available for enrolment and the relevant details included in university publications;
  • in consultation with the Associate Dean (Education), establish timelines and manage processes to ensure the timely handling of honours applications, enrolments, and results finalisation in accordance with university requirements.

3.6 Faculty Honours Committee and Board of Examiners (FHC&BE)

Under the university Honours Year Programs Policy, faculties/departments should “provide a formal organisational and administrative structure for the honours program involving either a coordinator or an Honours Course Committee charged with such matters as:

  • scrutinising thesis proposals;
  • making recommendations on course proposals;
  • monitoring the structure and coherence of the honours course offerings;
  • monitoring the effectiveness of the supervision provided;
  • monitoring assessment procedures;
  • counselling students and mediating disputes on an informal basis.”

Some of these responsibilities are delegated to the school/department teaching that area of specialisation, but the faculty also has overall responsibility for these matters in relation to the honours program as a whole. From 2005, the Faculty Honours Committee and Board of Examiners has responsibility to oversee the academic aspects of the science honours program, including to:

  • as far as practicable and appropriate, ensure consistency of policies and encourage consistency of procedures for all honours programs in science;
  • in conjunction with the Associate Dean (Education), ensure that the curriculum and methods of assessment of the honours program provide an appropriate level of consistency of standard of curriculum and assessment across the broad range of science areas of specialisation, both within the course and in relation to other similar courses at comparable institutions;
  • maintain a list of units and assessment components for every (full-time) science honours unit and ensure that information is published for prospective and current students;
  • review all proposals for new and amended honours science units and courses, and provide advice to the Associate Dean (Education) and Faculty Education Committee on those proposals;
  • prepare a handbook setting out the aims, nature and benefits of the science honours program;
  • ensure information and advice is provided to prospective honours students about all science honours programs, including by presenting an annual honours information seminar in second semester;
  • in consultation with the Associate Dean (Education), assess recommendations from heads of school/department for the return of marks for assessable science honours units beyond the normal deadline for return of results for completed units;
  • assist the Associate Dean (Education) and the heads of school/department in assessing credit for relevant previous studies at an equivalent level at Monash, or at another institution;
  • coordinate the collation of results and make recommendations to the Board of Examiners on final marks and grades for all honours units, and overall honours marks and grades, for all science honours programs at all campuses;
  • undertake regular comparison of grade distributions with those of faculties/departments in similar institutions, where this information can be obtained;
  • in conjunction with the Associate Dean (Teaching) and the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies), assist in the ranking of applications for the Vice-Chancellors Undergraduate Research Scholarship;
  • provide information to the Associate Dean (Graduate Matters) to assist in scholarship ranking for those students applying for higher-degree by research programs;

The Chair of the FHC&BE will normally be either a current or past Honours Coordinator in a school/department that offers science honours studies, or another senior member of academic staff with extensive experience in the science honours program. The Chair need not be a member of staff of the Faculty of Science and, with the permission of the dean, may be appointed through part-time secondment to the faculty (at a suitable, but low, fractional appointment).

3.7 School Honours Coordinator

As noted above, under the university Honours Year Programs Policy, faculties/departments should “provide a formal organisational and administrative structure for the honours program involving either a coordinator or an Honours Course Committee charged with such matters as:

  • scrutinising thesis proposals;
  • making recommendations on course proposals;
  • monitoring the structure and coherence of the honours course offerings;
  • monitoring the effectiveness of the supervision provided;
  • monitoring assessment procedures;
  • counselling students and mediating disputes on an informal basis.”

Accordingly, the head of each school/department offering an area of specialisation towards the science honours program must nominate an Honours Coordinator (henceforth the ‘School Honours Coordinator’) to assist in meeting both these requirements and the ‘School academic responsibilities’ (outlined in section 6 of these guidelines). The specific responsibilities of the School Honours Coordinator, including their relationship to any approved Chief Examiner for the honours units, will vary between schools/departments and must be determined and approved by the head of school/department.

For example, the School Honours Coordinator might typically be responsible for overseeing all matters related to the honours program within the school/department, including:

  • membership of the ‘Science Honours Board of Examiners’;
  • coordination of applications and determining offer and enrolment status;
  • welcoming new students, ensuring appropriate supervision and facilities are available, and that a suitable program of study and research has been established;
  • ensuring all students receive written details of all assessment requirements and guidelines on preparing and presenting the honours thesis, appropriate to the nature and scope of the research;
  • monitoring and reviewing students’ progress in conjunction with the supervisor. If the student is not making satisfactory progress, the School Honours Coordinator and the supervisor will consult with the student at the earliest possible stage to determine the most appropriate course of action for the student;
  • acting as mediator and facilitator for the resolution of conflicts between students and supervisors which have not been resolved at the local level;
  • ensuring that any grievances that arise are dealt with according to the university policy and procedures for the resolution of student grievances;
  • monitoring the curriculum and methods of assessment of the school/department honours program to ensure that it provides an appropriate level of consistency of standard of curriculum and assessment in comparison both to related areas of science, and to similar courses at comparable institutions;
  • in conjunction with the supervisor, ensuring that every honours student prepares an honours project thesis in accordance with the objectives of the research component, taking account of the timeframe and the proportion of the research component;
  • establishing a school policy on the number and type of examiners and the use of external examiners to assist in benchmarking with similar courses at comparable institutions;
  • seeking nominations from the supervisor for examiners and ensure that the necessary administrative arrangements for examination occur in a timely and efficient manner;
  • seeking comments from the supervisor in determining the final grade to be awarded; and
  • on behalf of the school and recommend to the ‘Science Honours Board of Examiners’ the mark and grade of honours for each student, in a timely manner.

The School Honours Coordinator is also responsible for communicating the requirements of the honours program to all potential students, and the faculty office. The School Honours Coordinator may also be required to provide advice to the Faculty office from time to time on other aspects of the honours program.

Where the head of school/department does not assign all of the above roles to the School Honours Coordinator, they should advise all students and the Faculty Honours Committee and Board of Examiners and Associate Dean (Education) the members of staff who have responsibility for those matters.

In a number of situations outlined in this document, exceptions to normal policies and practices for the honours program may be considered by the Associate Dean (Education) and/or the Faculty Honours Committee and Board of Examiners upon the recommendation of the head of school/department teaching that area of specialisation. Normally, the final formal approval of those recommendations with the school/department cannot be delegated to the School Honours Coordinator.

3.8 Academic supervisors

Each honours student will be assigned a primary supervisor for their major honours research project. The aim of honours supervision is to guide and inspire the student through the design and conduct of an appropriate research project and to train the student in the ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate critically the literature relevant to the topic in their area of specialisation, so that the student can carry out original research.

The supervisor must normally:

  • be a member of academic staff from within one of the teaching schools of the science honours program. In the case of a supervisor being from another school or from outside the university, for example Monash Medical Centre or another hospital, an academic supervisor from the relevant school will be nominated as co-supervisor have relevant knowledge, expertise and interest in the student’s research topic;
  • be an active researcher. Where appropriate, co-supervision by qualified non-academics, for example from industry, is encouraged;
  • have access to adequate resources, and sufficient time, taking account of total workload including the supervision of other students, to provide adequate supervision.

Prior to the commencement of any honours research project, the supervisor must establish that the proposed research component is appropriate in scope and character for the honours program, and is feasible in terms of time, facilities, equipment, technical and resource requirements. Where this is not true, the supervisor should immediately advise their School Honours Coordinator or head of school/department.

At the commencement of candidature the supervisor will meet and discuss with the candidate their mutual expectations and establish an approved program of study including clearly identified objectives for the research component; as well as discussing relevant ethical and safety requirements, intellectual property issues, and at this point should establish frequency of communication and plan an appropriate program of coursework in accordance with approved requirements for honours in that area of study

The supervisor must provide regular and systematic feedback to students on all elements of their performance in the honours year as it proceeds. They should meet with students under their supervision at appropriate intervals to discuss the topic and work through any problems associated with it.

The supervisor will maintain a permanent record of any results for any individual assessment tasks by the student and make this available to the School Honours Coordinator at the completion of the research project, along with a written report on the student’s overall achievement.

3.9 Students

Prior to applying for candidature, students are required to discuss potential honours research topics with appropriate school staff. In consultation with the School Honours Coordinator, the applicant should identify areas of interest and, after discussion with an appropriate potential supervisor, nominate a suitable topic for research in their application.

Students should be made aware, and accept, from the start that their level of success in the honours program is their own responsibility. The supervisor is responsible for suggesting, guiding, advising, assisting, providing constructive criticism, but is not required to apply any pressure on a student to complete their studies in a timely manner.

Honours students have a right to receive adequate supervision. They should meet with their supervisor at appropriate intervals to discuss the topic and work through any problems associated with it.

Honours students have a right to receive constructive and critical assessment of work submitted. In particular students have a right to know when a supervisor considers progress as inadequate or standards of work as being below that generally expected.

Students are entitled to be provided with individual marks for all assigned assessment tasks and should be provided with all relevant information on the overall assessment requirements and standards required.

In addition, it is the responsibility of the student to:

  • play an informed part in planning the research project within the time limits identified by the school/department;
  • establish agreed methods of working and a schedule of meetings with the supervisor;
  • keep the supervisor informed of any difficulties and problems being experienced and take an active role in seeking solutions;
  • maintain the progress of work in accordance with the stages and timelines determined by the particular pattern of enrolment;
  • participate in the opportunities offered by the school/department which may include attendance at and presentations in non assessable research seminars;
  • be familiar with and comply with all requirements relating to ethical conduct, intellectual property, privacy, and occupational health and safety procedures;
  • conform to the faculty’s administrative requirements for enrolment, leave of absence, re-enrolment and extensions; and
  • accept responsibility for preparing an honours research project thesis for examination.