Students enrolling in programs in any of the member universities are able to utilise any part of the VIEPS network. Collaborative teaching programs provide higher-quality and more broadly-based undergraduate courses, having access to a much wider range of expertise than perhaps anywhere else in Australia.
Coordination of equipment also provides greater access to major analytical facilities as well as optimising their use by research staff members. Shared access ensures that equipment is used efficiently for the benefit of all and is maintained to high standards. VIEPS students have access to a range of major facilities that is second to none.
MCA Shortcourse Program
VIEPS offers courses as part of the MCA Shortcourse Program which was created by funds provided by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) and the Department of Education, Training and Youth Australia (DETYA) to ensure that Australia will be provided with highly qualified graduates for employment in the minerals industry. The MCA Shortcourse Program comprises two components, an MSc coursework program and a BSc (Honours) program, both of which are delivered at a national level.
Any VIEPS student who is interested in pursuing a career in the minerals industry should consider taking those VIEPS and other courses which have been designated as MCA Shortcourse Program courses and bear the MCA logo. These courses will be delivered by VIEPS lecturers as well as by lecturers from interstate who will present their courses in Melbourne. VIEPS students are also able to travel interstate to take MCA Shortcourse Program courses offered at other MCA Shortcourse Program universities.
Details of the MCA Shortcourse Program (Honours) can be found by selecting “Tertiary Education” on the Minerals Tertiary Education Council (MTEC) Honours website at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/mtec/.
WHO TO CONTACT
The Contact Page includes a list of names and telephone numbers for VIEPS personnel who you may need to talk to at various times. Additional information can be obtained from the VIEPS office (in the School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne) – tel: 83449866 or email: vieps@earthsci.unimelb.edu.au.
ENROLLING IN VIEPS
Go to the VIEPS Coursework Honours Program to see a full list of courses available in 2010. You can view them by alphabetical listing or by discipline group. Decide which courses you would like to undertake, making sure:
- you have consulted with your supervisor
- the total combined duration of your courses is at least 20 days (students from universities other than Melbourne are advised to consult with their honours coordinator regarding required hours)
- you have selected two core courses
- you have selected two MCA courses, if appropriate (some MCA courses are also core courses)
- the dates for each course do not clash
When you are ready to enrol, go to the Courses page and click on Login page. Create an account by entering your email address. A password will be emailed to you. Login with your user name (email address) and password. Fill in your profile. Select your courses and click select. Review your selections and click confirm. Your enrolment will then be confirmed.
For enrolment in MCA courses, go to www.adelaide.edu.au/mtec and follow the online enrolment procedure.
The deadline for 2010 VIEPS enrolments is 9 February 2010
CHANGING ENROLMENT DETAILS
You can make changes to your VIEPS course enrolment by logging in to your VIEPS account (see the Courses page). Your enrolment is taken as a definite commitment from you to attend the listed courses. If you withdraw without a satisfactory explanation less than two weeks prior to the start of a course, part or all of your course fees will be forfeited.
WELCOME DAY
There will be an important information session at the start of the new academic year for all commencing Honours and postgraduate students enrolled in VIEPS Schools/Department. You are expected to attend the Welcome Day which will be held at 11 am on Tuesday 2 February 2010, at The University of Melbourne. You will learn more about VIEPS and what you need to know during the year about access to facilities and courses. The meeting will also be attended by the heads of VIEPS departments, and chairpersons of the VIEPS Joint Curriculum Committee and Major Facilities Committee. We also extend invitations to representatives from relevant professional societies to come along and introduce themselves and their societies to you. This information session will be followed by a lunch nearby, provided by VIEPS, to welcome everybody to the new year.
FIELD EXPENSES
All courses incorporating field trips may incur additional field expenses. These costs are indicated in the course descriptions. If you have any queries about course fees please contact the course leaders or the VIEPS Office prior to the running of the course. See the Contact Page for telephone numbers and email addresses for course leaders. Costs quoted include GST.
COURSE NOTES
Many course leaders produce detailed booklets of notes for their course. If other sources are unable to fund the production of these notes, leaders may charge a fee. This is limited to a maximum of $5 (incl. GST) for a two-day course and $10 (incl. GST) for a five-day course, unless specified in advance.
COURSE CANCELLATIONS
Any course may be cancelled if there are less than five registered attendees. Whether to cancel a course will be the decision of the course leader(s). Please try to register for courses early to help us minimise course cancellations.
Notice of course cancellations is displayed on the VIEPS website (see Course Updates).
We aim to make decisions about the viability of courses, and to reassign students if necessary, during the week following the closure of enrolments.
The number of courses offered by VIEPS and external staff is much greater than is needed to supply each Honours student with the minimum number of coursework days required. This means that cancellations are almost inevitable, because there may be insufficient students to place five or more in every course. VIEPS has so far chosen to accept the risk of cancellations in return for offering a wider choice of courses to our students. (The likelihood of cancellations can be reduced by additional enrolments, too – if you decide to take an additional course beyond the bare minimum, you might help make another course viable. You only run the risk of learning something!)
Presenters may only be permitted to cancel viable courses in extreme circumstances.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
Course coordinators are asked to enter marks within three weeks of course completion.
Because of major cuts to university funding and increased workloads, all course leaders should simplify methods of assessment. In general, methods of assessment for individual courses are not outlined in course descriptions. Courses both require a mark out of 10. Most students who have been accepted into the Honours year will gain marks from 6 to 8, which is within the range H3 to H1. Decimal places are acceptable. It is suggested that 7.5 should be the PAR mark.
Based on simple class exercises a simple method is to assess students as Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory (PAR) and Excellent. Only students showing exceptional ability should be classified as Excellent.
These categories can then be allocated marks as shown on the table below:
| Simplified Assessment |
VIEPS Mark |
| |
10 |
| Excellent |
9 |
| |
8 - H1 boundary |
| Satisfactory |
7 - H2A–H2B boundary |
| |
6 |
| Unsatisfactory |
5 - H3–Fail boundary |
| |
4 |
PAYMENT
Payment of applicable course fees prior to course start date is required in order to confirm your enrolment.
Payment should be made to the particular University running the course in which you are enrolled. Each course description provides payment details.
