ACTL5101 Probability and Statistics for Actuaries - 2018

Subject Code
ACTL5101
Study Level
Postgraduate
Commencing Term
Semester 1
Total Units of Credit (UOC)
6
Delivery Mode
On Campus
School
Risk & Actuarial Studies

1. Course Details

Summary of Course

​This course covers probability and statistics topics relevant to actuarial studies. Topics covered include univariate and multivariate random variables, moments, moment generating functions, marginal and conditional distributions, sampling distributions, estimation methods, hypothesis tests, and linear regression. Examples relevant to actuarial studies, finance and insurance are used to illustrate the application of the topics covered.

Teaching Times and Locations

Please note that teaching times and locations are subject to change. Students are strongly advised to refer to the Class Timetable website for the most up-to-date teaching times and locations.

View course timetable

Course Policies & Support

Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses

At the end of the course you should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of probability theory;
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of statistical theory;
  3. Express your views on, and understanding of parameter estimation for parametric distributions;
  4. Express your views on, and understanding of hypothesis testing;
  5. Express your views on, and understanding of linear regression.

This course covers probability and statistics at an introductory yet mathematically rigorous level with a strong foundation in mathematics. The assumed knowledge of the course is a good understanding of mathematics as covered in a full year of university calculus and linear algebra. There is a document on Moodle with some assumed knowledge of mathematics and linear algebra. Consult the Course Coordinator if you do not have the required mathematical background.

ACTL5101 Probability and Statistics for Actuaries will have applications in other courses in the actuarial major. More advanced models are covered in ACTL5103 Foundations of Actuarial Models. The course is necessary knowledge for the more advanced coverage in ACTL5105 Life Contingencies and ACTL5106 General Insurance Techniques.

The course corresponds to the actuarial professional subject CT3 Probability and Mathematical Statistics. Students achieving Credit or higher grades will be recommended for exemption from the professional examination. Exemptions from professional actuarial examinations require above average performance in the equivalent University course.

Students should have a solid background in mathematics and are assumed to be able to use a computer to analyse financial problems. You should be able to use a word processing package (such as WORD) and a spreadsheet (such as EXCEL).

2. Staff Contact Details

Position Title Name Email Location Phone Consultation Times
Casual lecturerMrVincent TuLevel 6 Business School - Ref E12+61 2 403 740 689Friday 18-19, Business School, Level 6, East wing, Outside the School

Communication with staff​

Vincent is responsible for the lectures and related teaching and learning, as well as final assessment of the course. His consultation times are Friday 18:00-19:00, in front of the school office on Level 6 East wing of UNSW Business School. Exam preparation consultation times will be announced later on the course website.

Who should I contact?

3. Learning and Teaching Activities

Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course

The approach adopted in this course is one of assisted self-study. The approach adopted in this course is called flipped classroom. While reading this subsection, please refer to the schedule given in Section 7.

The main rationale for this new structure is to bring the face-to-face time later in the learning process, when students are more comfortable with the materials, and more likely to interact and ask questions. The first conceptual encounter with the materials happens at home when students watch the video lectures. They then move to a “lectorial”, whereby everyone is gathered in the lecture room. The word combines lectures—because they are run by the lecturer, and with the whole group, and tutorial—because their goal is not to “lecture” students, but to discuss a module at a higher conceptual level, and to cement students’ learning with other activities (such as guest lectures, discussions, advanced exercises). Finally, students move on to practicing their knowledge with tutorial exercises. At this stage, tutorial sessions provide some face-to-face on a weekly basis, to personalised help from the tutor.

Course materials are organised in 4 modules. Students are responsible to learn topics with the following materials:

  • Prescribed textbooks (and recommended books for additional support)
  • Video lectures available on the course website
  • Tutorial exercises with solutions
  • Past quizzes and exams for advanced exercises

Additionally, students who are not familiar with the software R should complete the module “R you ready?” (with videos, exercises and documents) which is available on the course website to all ACTL students.

The philosophy underpinning this course and its Teaching and Learning Strategies are based on “Guidelines on Learning that Inform Teaching at UNSW. Specifically, the lectures, tutorials and assessment have been designed to appropriately challenge students and support the achievement of the desired learning outcomes. A climate of inquiry and dialogue is encouraged between students and teachers and among students (in and out of class). The lecturers and tutors aim to provide meaningful and timely feedback to students to improve learning outcome. This is not a course where you can become proficient just by observing.

You will need to get involved in class - evaluating information, asking and answering questions. You also must learn to organize your independent study and practice enough problems to gain a thorough understanding of concepts and how to apply them. This course is very condensed and the subjects each week require that you know the material of past weeks. Therefore, falling behind will lead to less effective lectures and tutorials and is thus not recommended.

The course puts emphasis on statistics, i.e., parameter estimation, hypothesis testing and linear regression (week 5-12). In order to understand statistics one should have some knowledge about probability (week 1-4). The probability part of the course is taught in only four weeks, which means that the workload in those weeks might be larger than in the second part of the course. To ease the workload, you are expected to make exercises during the tutorials. The number of examples in the lecture notes has increased substantially. In the lecture you are required to make attempts to these examples, some of them are to do at home.

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

It is expected that the students will take a pro-active approach to learning. The course is organised in the following learning activities.

Self-study

During the time periods of self-study, students should cover the readings, video lectures and tutorials for the associated module. A required learning strategy for this course is to have read all prescribed readings, watched the associated video lectures and attempted the tutorial exercises before lectures.

Lectorials

The purpose of lectorials is to provide a logical structure for the topics that make up the course, to emphasize the important concepts and methods of each topic, and to provide relevant examples to which the concepts and methods are applied. Lectorials provide opportunities to ask questions about the associated modules.

Tutorials

The more you read the more you know, but the more you practice the more you learn and understand. So the key to the understanding of this course is problem solving. The purpose of tutorials is to enable you to raise questions about difficult topics or problems encountered in their studies. Students must not expect another lecture, but must attempt the questions themselves in groups and the tutor will answer questions to the group, not to the whole class.

A required learning strategy for the tutorials (on which provision of the course materials is based) is:

  • Prior to make an attempt of the exercises, review your lecture notes and videos.
  • Prior to the tutorial, make an attempt to the exercises you should make before the tutorial (see Section 7: Course Schedule).
  • During the tutorial, make an attempt to the exercises you should make in the tutorial (see Section 7: Course Schedule).
  • After the tutorial, make an attempt to the exercises you should after in the tutorial (see Section 7: Course Schedule).
  • If you have questions about the tutorial exercises, ask them from your tutor. If you think you have a good understanding of the material, you should try and answer the questions of your peers. This will give you feedback on your ability to explain the material and hence how well you know the material.
  • Check your answer using the tutorial solution.

The “Get introduced” (explanation of course concepts in the lecture) and “Try it out” (examples in the lecture) are part of the lecture. If you are not able to make satisfactory attempt to the examples in the lecture, this is feedback that you should revise the lecture material in depth after the lecture. The “Try again” (tutorial exercises) and “Get feedback” (answers from tutor/ tutorial solutions) are part of the tutorial.

The tutorial is designed to attempt the tutorial questions in groups (typically of 3-4 students). This collaborative working is advised since it allows learning from peers and allows the more advanced student with a possibility to test whether s/he knows the material in depth and is thereby able to explain it to peers. If the group is unable to solve a question, it can ask for help from the tutor. The tutor will not provide the answer, but would help you in the direction of the solution. This is because you should practice and learn by doing, rather than seeing the solution. At the end of the week the tutorial solutions will be posted on Moodle. It will only be posted at the end of the week to give you time to attempt the questions without a solution manual. The solution manual should not be part of attempting a question, but to verify whether your attempt was correct.

It is expected that you will spend at least ten hours per week studying this course. In periods where you need to complete assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. Over-commitment (to extra-curricular activities) has been a cause of failure for many students. You should take the required workload into account when planning how to balance study with employment and other activities. In the past, students have found the amount of contents particularly challenging. Don’t allow yourself to fall behind the schedule!

5. Course Resources

​Textbooks

The prescribed textbooks for the course are:

  • [FT] The Faculty of Actuaries and The Institute of Actuaries (2002), Formulae and tables for examinations of the Faculty of Actuaries and The Institute of Actuaries. (The formulae book you can use, if unannotated, in quizzes and exams for actuarial courses.)

Suggested textbooks for the course are:

  • [W+] Wackerly, D.D., Mendenhall, W. & Schaeffer, R.L (2008), Mathematical Statistics with Applications, Duxbury, 7th ed. Well respected introductory textbook. Not as difficult as [JR].
  • [JR] Rice, J.A. (2007), Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis, Duxbury Press, 3rd ed. Well regarded and comprehensive textbook. More technical than [W+].

You are advised to have one (or both) of these textbooks in this course. Depending on your mathematical background, you should choose either [W+] or [JR].

Optional readings are

  • [CT] The Actuarial Education Company (2010), CT3 Combined Materials Pack, ActEd. (This is the Institute of Actuaries study material for the CT3 exam. Only the syllabus can be downloaded for free.)
  • [H] Hossack, I., Pollard, J. & Zehnwirth, B. (1999), Introductory Statistics with Applications in General Insurance, Cambridge University Press, 2ed. (Want to see how statistic is used in the most statistical actuarial practice area, general insurance? Here’s your starting place.)

Formulae & Tables

Students will only be allowed to bring into the examinations for the Actuarial courses in the BCom the text "Formulae and Tables for Actuarial Examinations". This text must not be annotated. All students in the actuarial courses should purchase a copy of this text if they wish to use this in the final examinations for this course. The text is available from the UNSW bookstore, the UK Institute of Actuaries or from ActEd Australia.

6. Course Evaluation & Development

​Each course in actuarial studies at UNSW is reviewed each session by the course co-ordinator using student evaluative feedback from UNSW's myExperience Process. Student feedback is taken seriously, and continual improvements are made to the course based on such feedback. Significant changes to the course are communicated to students taking the course. Your input into improving future offerings of the course is highly valued.

In the past years students have requested that more examples, which help to understand the lecture material, are discussed during the lectures. Further to that, the majority of students have indicated that they prefer to have the actual theory and theoretical concepts recorded in order to be able to review lecture material at any convenient time. Following this formal feedback in myExperience well as informal discussions, a flipped classroom approach is adopted.

We repeat that we take students’ feedback extremely seriously and we count on your cooperation when seeking feedback that will help us identify the strengths and weaknesses of the course contents and learning and teaching strategies. We guarantee that the process is entirely anonymous and that your feedback will not have any impact on your final results.

7. Course Schedule

Week 1: 26 Feb
Activity

Lectorial

Topic

Revision: Probability space; Calculating with probability; Counting

Module 1.1 Mathematical methods:

Random variables Measures of location Measure of dispersion Moments (central/non-central) Generating functions

Week 2: 05 Mar
Activity

Lectorial 2

Topic

Module 1.2: Univariate Distributions

Bernoulli Distribution; Binomial Distribution; Geometric Distribution; Negative Binomial Distribution; Poisson Distribution; Exponential Distribution; Gamma Distribution; Normal Distribution; Uniform Distribution; Beta Distribution; Weibull Distribution; Pareto Distribution

Activity

Tutorial 1

Topic

Based on week 1 material

Week 3: 12 Mar
Activity

Lectorial 3

Topic

Module 1.3: Joint and Multivariate Distributions

Bivariate distribution functions; Mean, variance, covariance & correlation; Conditional Distributions; Bivariate Normal Distribution; Law of iterated expectation; Conditional Variance Identity; Multivarate distribution functions

Module 1.4: Sampling and Summarizing Data

Numerical methods; Graphical methods; Sampling with/without replacement; Sample mean, variance, covariance

Activity

Tutorial 2

Topic

Based on week 2 material

Week 4: 19 Mar
Activity

Lectorial 4

Topic

Module 1.4: Sampling and Summarizing Data

Properties of sample mean and sample variance; Order statistics

Module 1.5: Functions of Random Variables

The CDF thecniques; The Jacobian transformation technique; The MGF technique; Convolution; Special sampling distributions; Properties of sample mean and sample variance

Activity

Tutorial 3

Topic

Based on week 3 material

Week 5: 26 Mar
Activity

Lectorial 5

Topic

Module 2.1: Estimation techniques

Introducition/Definitions; Method of Moments; Maxium Likelihood Estimation (MLE); Bayesian Estimation

Module 2.2: Limit Theorems

Chebyshev's inequality; Convergence concepts; Law or Large Numbers; Central Limit Theorem

Activity

Tutorial 4

Topic

Based on week 4 material

Mid Semester Break: 02 Apr
Topic

Prepare for mid-semester exam

Week 6: 09 Apr
Activity

Lectorial 6

Topic

Module 2.3: Evaluating Estimators

UMVUE's; Cramer-Rao Low Bound; Consistent and sufficient statistics; Confidence Intervals; Properties of MLEs

Activity

MID-SEMESTER EXAM

Topic

Date: Friday, 13 April 17.00-19.00

Location: TBA

Assessment/Other

Mid-semester exam covers Module 1.1-1.5 (i.e. weeks 1-4 and tutorial of week 5 that is based on week 4)

Activity

Tutorial 5

Topic

Based on week 5 material

Week 7: 16 Apr
Activity

Lectorial 7

Topic

Module 3.1: Statistical test procedure

Selection of the null hypothesis, alternative hypothesis; Regection region; Best critical region; Neuman Pearson Lemma; Uniformly most powerful test; Generalized Likelihood Ratio test

Activity

Tutorial 6

Topic

Based on week 6 material

Week 8: 23 Apr
Activity

Lectorial 8

Topic

Module 3.2: Properties of the hypothesis testing

Type I & II error; Power of the test; p-value; k-sample test; Jacque-Bera test

Activity

Tutorial 7

Topic

Based on week 7 material

Week 9: 30 Apr
Activity

Lectorial 9

Topic

Module 3.3: Parametric tests

Fisher's exact test; Contingency table; Chi-2 goodness of fit test; r-sample multinomial test

Module 3.4: Nonparametric tests

One-sample sign test; Two-sample sign test

Module 3.5: Goodness-of-fit test

Anderson-Darling &Kolmogorov-Smirnov test

Activity

Tutorial 8

Topic

Based on week 8 material

Week 10: 07 May
Activity

Lectorial 10

Topic

Module 4.1: Simple Linear Regression

Correlation coefficient; Assumptions Relationship between MLE and LSE; Partitioning the variability

Module 4.2: Testing in Simple Linear Regression

Inference on Slope (t-test); Inference on intercept (t-test); Conference intervals; Prediciton intervals; Hypothesis test for population correlation

Activity

Tutorial 9

Topic

Based on week 9 material

Week 11: 14 May
Activity

Lectorial 11

Topic

Module 4.3: Multiple Linear Regression

Matrix notation; Assumptions; Statistical properties of LSEs; Inference on regression parameters; Inference on functions of regression parameters

Activity

Tutorial 10

Topic

Based on week 10 material

Week 12: 21 May
Activity

Lectorial 12

Topic

Module 4.4: Modelling with Linear Regression

Confounding effects; Collinearity; Heteroscedasticity; Special Explanatory Variables: Interaction of explanatory variables; Special Explanatory Variables: Categorical explanatory variables; Model selection and validation

Activity

Tutorial 11

Topic

Based on week 11 material

Week 13: 28 May
Activity

Tutorial 12

Topic

Based on week 12 material

8. Policies

Information about UNSW Business School protocols, University policies, student responsibilities and education quality and support.

Program Learning Goals and Outcomes

The Business School Program Learning Goals reflect what we want all students to BE or HAVE by the time they successfully complete their degree, regardless of their individual majors or specialisations. For example, we want all our graduates to HAVE a high level of business knowledge and a sound awareness of ethical, social, cultural and environmental implications of business. As well, we want all our graduates to BE effective problem-solvers, communicators and team participants.

You can demonstrate your achievement of these goals by the specific outcomes you achieve by the end of your degree (i.e. Program Learning Outcomes—henceforth PLOs). These PLOs articulate what you need to know and be able to do as a result of engaging in learning. They embody the knowledge, skills and capabilities that are identified, mapped, taught, practised and assessed within each Business School program.

All UNSW programs and courses are designed to assess the attainment of program and/or course level learning outcomes, as outlined in the UNSW Assessment Design Procedure. It is therefore important that you become familiar with the Business School PLOs, as they constitute the framework which informs and shapes the course components and assessments of the courses within your program of study.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate Coursework
Knowledge You should be able to identify and apply disciplinary knowledge to business situations in a local and global environment.
Critical thinking and problem solving You should be able to identify and research issues in business situations, analyse the issues, and propose appropriate and well-justified solutions.
Written communication You should be able to prepare written documents that are clear, concise and coherent, using appropriate style and presentation for the intended audience, purpose and context.
Oral communication You should be able to prepare and deliver oral presentations that are clear, focussed, well-structured, and delivered in a professional manner.
Teamwork You should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and reflect on your own teamwork, and on the team’s processes and ability to achieve outcomes.
Ethical, social and environmental responsibility
  1. You should be able to identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business decision-making and practice.
  2. You should be able to identify social and cultural implications of business.
Workplace skills (Co-op programs only) You should be able to conduct yourself in a professional manner in the work environment, communicate effectively in diverse workplace situations and be able to apply discipline knowledge and understanding to real business problems with initiative and self-direction.
Related PLO Documents View the Undergraduate Honours PLOs (pdf)
Knowledge You should be able to identify and apply current knowledge of disciplinary or interdisciplinary theory and professional practice to business in local and global environments.
Critical thinking and problem solving You should be able to identify, research and analyse complex issues and problems in business and/or management, and propose appropriate and well-justified solutions.
Written communication You should be able to produce written documents that communicate complex disciplinary ideas and information effectively for the intended audience and purpose.
Oral communication You should be able to produce oral presentations that communicate complex disciplinary ideas and information effectively for the intended audience and purpose.
Teamwork You should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and reflect on your own teamwork, and on the team’s processes and ability to achieve outcomes.
Ethical, social and environmental responsibility
  1. You should be able to identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business decision-making and practice.
  2. You should be able to identify social and cultural implications of business.
Related PLO Documents View the Master of Philosophy PLOs (pdf)
View the Doctor of Philosophy PLOs (pdf)

UNSW Graduate Capabilities

The Business School PLOs also incorporate UNSW graduate capabilities, a set of generic abilities and skills that all students are expected to achieve by graduation. These capabilities articulate the University’s institutional values, as well as future employer expectations.

UNSW Graduate CapabilitiesBusiness School PLOs
Scholars capable of independent and collaborative enquiry, rigorous in their analysis, critique and reflection, and able to innovate by applying their knowledge and skills to the solution of novel as well as routine problems.
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Knowledge
  • Oral communication
  • Research capability
  • Teamwork
  • Workplace skills
  • Written communication
Entrepreneurial leaders capable of initiating and embracing innovation and change, as well as engaging and enabling others to contribute to change
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Knowledge
  • Oral communication
  • Workplace skills
  • Written communication
Professionals capable of ethical, self- directed practice and independent lifelong learning
  • Ethical, social and environmental responsibility
  • Workplace skills
Global citizens who are culturally adept and capable of respecting diversity and acting in a socially just and responsible way.
  • Ethical, social and environmental responsibility
  • Oral communication
  • Written communication

The Business School strongly advises you to choose a range of courses that assist your development against these PLOs and graduate capabilities, and to keep a record of your achievements as part of your portfolio. You could use these records for work or further study. For support with selecting your courses contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Academic Integrity is honest and responsible scholarship. This form of ethical scholarship is highly valued at UNSW. Terms like Academic Integrity, misconduct, referencing, conventions, plagiarism, academic practices, citations and evidence based learning are all considered basic concepts that successful university students understand. Learning how to communicate original ideas, refer sources, work independently, and report results accurately and honestly are skills that you will be able to carry beyond your studies.

The definition of academic misconduct is broad. It covers practices such as cheating, copying and using another person’s work without appropriate acknowledgement. Incidents of academic misconduct may have serious consequences for students.

Plagiarism

UNSW regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct. UNSW has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism at UNSW is using the words or ideas of others and passing them off as your own. All Schools in the Business School have a Student Ethics Officer who will investigate incidents of plagiarism and may result in a student’s name being placed on the Plagiarism and Student Misconduct Registers.

Below are examples of plagiarism including self-plagiarism:

Copying: Using the same or very similar words to the original text or idea without acknowledging the source or using quotation marks. This includes copying materials, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document, presentation, composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, website, internet, other electronic resource, or another person's assignment, without appropriate acknowledgement of authorship.

Inappropriate Paraphrasing: Changing a few words and phrases while mostly retaining the original structure and/or progression of ideas of the original, and information without acknowledgement. This also applies in presentations where someone paraphrases another’s ideas or words without credit and to piecing together quotes and paraphrases into a new whole, without appropriate referencing.

Collusion: Presenting work as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people. Collusion includes:

  • Students providing their work to another student before the due date, or for the purpose of them plagiarising at any time
  • Paying another person to perform an academic task and passing it off as your own
  • Stealing or acquiring another person’s academic work and copying it
  • Offering to complete another person’s work or seeking payment for completing academic work

Collusion should not be confused with academic collaboration (i.e., shared contribution towards a group task).

Inappropriate Citation: Citing sources which have not been read, without acknowledging the 'secondary' source from which knowledge of them has been obtained.

Self-Plagiarism: ‘Self-plagiarism’ occurs where an author republishes their own previously written work and presents it as new findings without referencing the earlier work, either in its entirety or partially. Self-plagiarism is also referred to as 'recycling', 'duplication', or 'multiple submissions of research findings' without disclosure. In the student context, self-plagiarism includes re-using parts of, or all of, a body of work that has already been submitted for assessment without proper citation.

To see if you understand plagiarism, do this short quiz: https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism-quiz

Cheating

The University also regards cheating as a form of academic misconduct. Cheating is knowingly submitting the work of others as their own and includes contract cheating (work produced by an external agent or third party that is submitted under the pretences of being a student’s original piece of work). Cheating is not acceptable at UNSW.

If you need to revise or clarify any terms associated with academic integrity you should explore the 'Working with Academic Integrity' self-paced lessons available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/aim.

For UNSW policies, penalties, and information to help you avoid plagiarism see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism as well as the guidelines in the online ELISE tutorials for all new UNSW students: http://subjectguides.library.unsw.edu.au/elise. For information on student conduct see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/conduct.

For information on how to acknowledge your sources and reference correctly, see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/referencing. If you are unsure what referencing style to use in this course, you should ask the lecturer in charge.

Student Responsibilities and Conduct

Students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to university policies in relation to class attendance and general conduct and behaviour, including maintaining a safe, respectful environment; and to understand their obligations in relation to workload, assessment and keeping informed.

Information and policies on these topics can be found on the 'Managing your Program' website

Workload

It is expected that you will spend at least nine to ten hours per week studying for a course except for Summer Term courses which have a minimum weekly workload of eighteen to twenty hours. This time should be made up of reading, research, working on exercises and problems, online activities and attending classes. In periods where you need to complete assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. Over-commitment has been a cause of failure for many students. You should take the required workload into account when planning how to balance study with employment and other activities.

We strongly encourage you to connect with your Moodle course websites in the first week of semester. Local and international research indicates that students who engage early and often with their course website are more likely to pass their course.

View more information on expected workload

Attendance

Your regular and punctual attendance at lectures and seminars or in online learning activities is expected in this course. The Business School reserves the right to refuse final assessment to those students who attend less than 80% of scheduled classes where attendance and participation is required as part of the learning process (e.g., tutorials, flipped classroom sessions, seminars, labs, etc.).

View more information on attendance

General Conduct and Behaviour

You are expected to conduct yourself with consideration and respect for the needs of your fellow students and teaching staff. Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable and students may be asked to leave the class.

View more information on student conduct

Health and Safety

UNSW Policy requires each person to work safely and responsibly, in order to avoid personal injury and to protect the safety of others.

View more information on Health and Safety

Keeping Informed

You should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course web site. From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your university e-mail address without providing you with a paper copy. You will be deemed to have received this information. It is also your responsibility to keep the University informed of all changes to your contact details.

Special Consideration

You must submit all assignments and attend all examinations scheduled for your course. You can apply for special consideration when illness or other circumstances beyond your control, interfere with your performance in a specific assessment task or tasks. Special Consideration is primarily intended to provide you with an extra opportunity to demonstrate the level of performance of which you are capable.

General information on special consideration for undergraduate and postgraduate courses can be found in the Assessment Implementation Procedure and the Current Students page.

Please note the following:

  1. Applications will not be accepted by teaching staff. The lecturer-in-charge will be automatically notified when you lodge an online application for special consideration
  2. Decisions and recommendations are only made by lecturers-in-charge (or by the Faculty Panel in the case of final exam special considerations), not by tutors
  3. Applying for special consideration does not automatically mean that you will be granted a supplementary exam or other concession
  4. Special consideration requests do not allow lecturers-in-charge to award students additional marks

Business School Protocol on requests for Special Consideration

The lecturer-in-charge will need to be satisfied on each of the following before supporting a request for special consideration:

  1. Does the medical certificate contain all relevant information? For a medical certificate to be accepted, the degree of illness and its impact on the student must be stated by the medical practitioner (severe, moderate, mild). A certificate without this will not be valid. Students should also note that only medical certificates issued after physically visiting a registered medical practitioner will be accepted. Medical certificates submitted for Special Consideration should always be requested from a registered medical practitioner that you have seen at a medical practice. Certificates obtained online or via social media may be fraudulent and if relied upon could result in a breach of the UNSW Student Code.
  2. Has the student performed satisfactorily in the other assessment items? To understand what Satisfactory Performance means in this course, please refer to the 'Formal Requirements' section in Part A of your Course Outline

Special Consideration and the Final Exam in undergraduate and postgraduate courses

Applications for special consideration in relation to the final exam are considered by a Business School Faculty panel to which lecturers-in-charge provide their recommendations for each request. If the Faculty panel grants a special consideration request, this will entitle the student to sit a supplementary examination. No other form of consideration will be granted. The following procedures will apply:

  1. Supplementary exams will be scheduled centrally and will be held approximately two weeks after the formal examination period.

    Supplementary exams for Semester 1, 2018 will be held during the period 14 - 21 July, 2018. Students wishing to sit a supplementary exam will need to be available during this period.

    The date for all Business School supplementary exams for Summer Term 2017/2018 is Wednesday, 21 February, 2018. If a student lodges a special consideration for the final exam, they are stating they will be available on this date. Supplementary exams will not be held at any other time.

  2. Where a student is granted a supplementary examination as a result of a request for special consideration, the student’s original exam (if completed) will be ignored and only the mark achieved in the supplementary examination will count towards the final grade. Absence from a supplementary exam without prior notification does not entitle the student to have the original exam paper marked, and may result in a zero mark for the final exam.

The Supplementary Exam Protocol for Business School students is available at: http://www.business.unsw.edu.au/suppexamprotocol

For special consideration for assessments other than the final exam refer to the ‘Assessment Section’ in your course outline.

Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts

The UNSW Business School has set a protocol under which students may view their final exam script. Please check the protocol here.

Given individual schools within the Faculty may set up a local process for viewing final exam scripts, it is important that you check with your School whether they have any additional information on this process. Please note that this information might also be included in your course outline.


Student Support and Resources

The University and the Business School provide a wide range of support services and resources for students, including:

Business School EQS Consultation Program
The Consultation Program offers academic writing, literacy and numeracy consultations, study skills, exam preparation for Business students. Services include workshops, online resources, individual and group consultations.
Level 1, Room 1035, Quadrangle Building.
BUS.EQS.Consultations@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 4508

Business School Student Centre
The Business School Student Centre provides advice and direction on all aspects of admission, enrolment and graduation.
Level 1, Room 1028 in the Quadrangle Building
02 9385 3189

UNSW Learning Centre
The UNSW Learning Centre provides academic skills support services, including workshops and resources, for all UNSW students. See their website for details.
Lower Ground Floor, North Wing Chancellery Building.
learningcentre@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 2060

Educational Support Service
Educational Support Advisors work with all students to promote the development of skills needed to succeed at university, whilst also providing personal support throughout the process. Check their website to request an appointment or to register in the Academic Success Program.
John Goodsell Building, Ground Floor.
advisors@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 4734

Library services and facilities for students
The UNSW Library offers a range of collections, services and facilities both on-campus and online.
Main Library, F21.
02 9385 2650

Moodle eLearning Support
Moodle is the University’s learning management system. You should ensure that you log into Moodle regularly.
externalteltsupport@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 3331

UNSW IT
UNSW IT provides support and services for students such as password access, email services, wireless services and technical support.
UNSW Library Annexe (Ground floor).
itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 1333

Disability Support Services
UNSW Disability Support Services provides assistance to students who are trying to manage the demands of university as well as a health condition, learning disability or who have personal circumstances that are having an impact on their studies. Disability Advisers can arrange to put in place services and educational adjustments to make things more manageable so that students are able to complete their course requirements. To receive educational adjustments for disability support, students must first register with Disability Services.
Ground Floor, John Goodsell Building.
disabilities@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 4734

UNSW Counselling and Psychological Services
Provides support and services if you need help with your personal life, getting your academic life back on track or just want to know how to stay safe, including free, confidential counselling.
Level 2, East Wing, Quadrangle Building.
counselling@unsw.edu.au
02 9385 5418


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