Overview
This unit supports you in your preparation for your professional life beyond graduation. You will learn about contemporary perspectives on professional practice, professionalism, and careers, and you will develop your understanding of how these concepts are related to your future career choices. You will develop awareness of the labour market, as well as the competencies required in the pursuit of various career options. Throughout this unit, you will rely on self-analysis and reflection to establish your own level of competence and personal development needs. Based on understanding the environment, career options, and your current situation, you will strategise for future career success by setting career goals, working towards them, and planning for continued success through lifelong learning and continuous professional development.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Anti-requisite: MGMT20147 Professional Practice and Career Development
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Teaching team; self-reflection.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in the labour market and the students need to be educated on how they may encounter AI in their career management process.
Include relevant content on Artificial Intelligence in the career and labour market context.
Feedback from SUTE comments; student feedback
Practical career-related activities are important and useful.
Retain the approach of focusing on practical activities for career management in this unit.
Feedback from Student feedback
Guest speaker from the Careers team was well received.
Retain involvement of guest speaker and seek to include an additional speaker in future iterations.
- Develop an advanced and integrated understanding of contemporary perspectives on careers, professionalism, and professional practice in your cognate field
- Critically analyse and interpret industry conditions and labour market trends
- Enhance self-awareness through application of reflective practice and critical assessment of competencies and competency gaps
- Apply job search and career management strategies to set realistic career goals and identify relevant opportunities for lifelong learning and continuous professional development
- Apply professional communication skills to effectively engage with various audiences in a career transition and progression context.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 25% | |||||
| 2 - Reflective Practice Assignment - 25% | |||||
| 3 - Portfolio - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | |||||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.macht@cqu.edu.au
Week 1 - Unit and Assessment Overview
Begin Date: 10 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Unit and Assessment Overview
Chapter
There is no prescribed reading this week. Please use this week to familiarise yourself with the Moodle contents, especially the assessment resources.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces the unit and the assessments. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 2 - Contemporary Labour Market Trends
Begin Date: 17 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Contemporary Labour Market Trends
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Davis, J., Wolff, H. G., Forret, M. L., & Sullivan, S. E. (2020). Networking via LinkedIn: An examination of usage and career benefits. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103396.
Pena, L., Curado, C., & Oliveira, M. (2022). The contribution of LinkedIn use to career outcome expectations. Journal of Business Research, 144, 788-796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.047.
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces various contemporary labour market trends. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 3 - Contemporary Career Options
Begin Date: 24 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Contemporary Career Options
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Li, C. S., Goering, D. D., Montanye, M. R., & Su, R. (2021). Understanding the career and job outcomes of contemporary career attitudes within the context of career environments: An integrative meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 43(2), 286-309. DOI: 10.1002/job.2510.
Coetzee, M. & Schreuder, A. (2002). The relationship between career patterns and personality type. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 28(1), 53-59.
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces various contemporary career options. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 4 - Profession, Career, Professional Body, and Related Concepts
Begin Date: 31 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Profession, Career, Professional Body, and Related Concepts
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Khurana, R., Nohria, N., & Penrice, D. (2005). Is business management a profession? Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, available at: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4650.html.
Senapaty, S. & Bhuyan, N. (2014). Evaluating the profession and professionalism of business managers: control embedded in character. Decision, 41(3), 271–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40622-014-0051-3
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces the concepts related to professions, careers and professional bodies. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 5 - Professionalism in the (Australian) workplace
Begin Date: 07 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Professionalism in the (Australian) workplace
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Kaptein, M. (2019). Prescribing Outside-Work Behavior: Moral Approaches, Principles, and Guidelines. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 31(3), 165–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-019-09333-y
Reconciliation Australia (2024) ‘Reconciliation Australia’. Available at: https://www.reconciliation.org.au
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture focuses on the concept of professionalism in the workplace, specifically within the Australian context. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Essay Due: Week 5 Friday (11 Apr 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 14 Apr 2025Module/Topic
No classes this week unless make-up classes needed to be scheduled. Please check communications from the unit team.
Chapter
Please catch up on material you may have missed and continue to build your portfolio.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6 - Career Development 1: The Current Self
Begin Date: 21 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Career Development 1: The Current Self
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Ball, B. (1997). Career management competences ‐ the individual perspective. Career Development International, 2(2), 74-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620439710163653
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture focuses on the importance of self-awareness and self-reflection in career development. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 7 - Career Development 2: The Future Self
Begin Date: 28 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Career Development 2: The Future Self
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Duffy, R. D. & Dik, B. J. (2009). Beyond the self: External influences in the career development process. The career development quarterly, 58(1), 29-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2009.tb00171.x
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture focuses on career planning, continuous professional development and lifelong learning. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 8 - Career Planning Tools
Begin Date: 05 May 2025Module/Topic
Career Planning Tools
Chapter
There is no prescribed reading this week – please, instead, familiarise yourself with the resources and tools on the CQU Careers website.
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
This week, there will be a guest facilitator from CQUni Careers. The lecture provides a demonstration of the career tools available to CQUniversity students and alumni. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Reflective Report Due: Week 8 Friday (9 May 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 9 - Job Search and Career Management Strategies
Begin Date: 12 May 2025Module/Topic
Job Search and Career Management Strategies
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Islam, Z. U., Weng, Q. D., Ali, Z., Ghani, U., Kiani, A., & Naeem, R. M. (2020). Are job seekers predisposed to job search strategies? International Journal of Manpower. 42(6), 984-1001. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-09-2019-0417
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces job search and career management strategies in a contemporary context. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 10 - Personal Branding and Personal Image
Begin Date: 19 May 2025Module/Topic
Personal Branding and Personal Image
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Rangarajan, D., Gelb, B. D., & Vandaveer, A. (2017). Strategic personal branding—And how it pays off. Business Horizons, 60(5), 657-666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.05.009
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces the importance of personal branding and personal image in the context of career development. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 11 - Networking: On- and Offline
Begin Date: 26 May 2025Module/Topic
Networking: On- and Offline
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
de Janasz, S. C. & Forret, M. L. (2008). Learning the art of networking: A critical skill for enhancing social capital and career success. Journal of management education, 32(5), 629-650. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1052562907307637
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture introduces the importance of online and offline networking for career development. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Week 12 - Career Transitions
Begin Date: 02 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Career Transitions
Chapter
Prescribed reading:
Peake, S., & McDowall, A. (2012). Chaotic careers: A narrative analysis of career transition themes and outcomes using chaos theory as a guiding metaphor. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 40(4), 395-410. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2012.704350
Please refer to the eReading list in Moodle for additional recommended readings.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The lecture focuses on the process and concepts of career transitions. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your professional and career development skills. You also need those activities to build your portfolio (Assessment 3).
Career Development Portfolio Due: Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
1 Written Assessment
LinkedIn is becoming more and more important in career development, as people increasingly use it for career activities including (but not limited to) job search, being visible in one’s profession, showcasing one’s personal brand, engaging with potential employers, and as an online portfolio of achievements.
For this assessment, you are required to write an essay that addresses the following question: How ready are you to effectively use LinkedIn for your personal career development?
In order to address this question, you need to read the practitioner and academic literature about online networking platforms like LinkedIn in the context of career development. You are also required to reflect on your own current personal career situation and your current use of LinkedIn for career purposes. You then need to bring together your reading and your reflections in the form of an essay. The essay needs to outline: 1) what the literature says about effective use of LinkedIn AND 2) specific evidence from your own personal career situation in relation to what the literature said. Your essay needs to conclude with a clear statement about how ready you currently are to effectively use LinkedIn for your personal career development AND it must include three specific recommendations for yourself to improve your level of readiness by the end of the current term.
You are not expected to present a comprehensive list of all possible uses of LinkedIn – instead, you need to choose an appropriate number of arguments that allow you to address the task in the context of your personal career, as outlined above. While there is a need to make reference to appropriate literature, it is crucial you also reflect on your personal situation, by using specific examples and specific evidence that underlines your own assessment of your current readiness. Please note that essays without personal reflection or essays without literature references will not be able to achieve a pass mark. You may write this essay in first person and you are allowed to include screenshots of elements of your LinkedIn profile as evidence if this suits your arguments.
You are required to use a MINIMUM of 6 high-quality literature sources for this assignment: this must consist of a minimum of 3 high-quality academic sources, AND a minimum of 3 high-quality practitioner sources. Note: High-quality academic literature refers to peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles. High-quality practitioner information refers to material published by reliable practitioner and industry bodies, such as reports from professional bodies or career experts, reputable news outlets, etc. ALL sources, which you have used in the text of your essay, need to be referenced correctly in the text AND within a reference list at the end of the essay.
This is an individual assessment. The required length for this essay is 1,000 - 1,200 words, excluding diagrams, tables, and reference list. Tables and figures are optional and should only be used if relevant and clearly referred to in the body of the essay. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing. A professional title page should be provided, but abstract/executive summary, table of contents, and structured headings should not be included.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement: This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. For this assessment, you may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.
Week 5 Friday (11 Apr 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Please submit your essay as a Word document via Moodle.
Results and feedback will be available in Moodle within 10 business days.
As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level unit, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.
You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:
- Demonstrate understanding of professional online networking literature (25%)
- Demonstrate evidence of own personal career situation (20%)
- Ability to critically assess own level of readiness for effective use of LinkedIn for personal career development (15%)
- Ability to identify suitable recommendations for improving own readiness (15%)
- Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing (10%)
- Professional written communication (15%)
Late submission and academic misconduct penalties will be applied in accordance with the university policies.
- Develop an advanced and integrated understanding of contemporary perspectives on careers, professionalism, and professional practice in your cognate field
- Critically analyse and interpret industry conditions and labour market trends
2 Reflective Practice Assignment
This is an individual, written assessment, in the form of a report. You are required to:
- Identify a role/job that you would like to get within 6-12 months after you have completed your Masters course.
- Use job search portals to identify two (2) current job advertisements that correspond to the role/job you have identified. Please make sure you download/screenshot ALL details of the job advertisements so you can attach them as appendices to your assignment.
- Identify the various requirements/criteria outlined in the two job advertisements. Map them out in a table (see assessment briefing in Moodle for examples).
- Critically reflect on your own current competencies in comparison to all of the requirements/criteria from the two job advertisements. Competencies include skills, knowledge, attitudes, etc. (you may ignore qualifications, licenses, visas, and vaccinations as these do not allow for reflection). To reflect effectively, you should identify specific examples of past/current behaviour relating to the assessment of your competencies.
- Compare your own current competencies to the requirements outlined in the job advertisements – establish competency gaps. Please ONLY reflect on those competencies that are included in the job advertisement requirements/criteria.
- Develop a realistic action plan for filling the competency gaps you have identified.
- Prepare a report, which includes: a short introduction that outlines the purpose of the report; the table mapping the requirements/criteria of the job advertisements; your reflection on current competencies, and identification of competency gaps; and a realistic and specific action plan that outlines how you plan to fill the competency gaps between now and 6-12 months after your graduation. The action plan functions as the conclusion - you do not need to write an additional conclusion paragraph.
The report must clearly demonstrate the reflection, not just the outcome thereof – this means specific reference to past/current behaviour must be made; please do NOT use diagnostic tools for reflection, but focus entirely on your past/current behaviour. You must present your chosen two job advertisements in their entirety in an appendix. Academic literature references should NOT be used in this assessment.
The required length for this report is 1,200 words (+/-10%), excluding preliminaries, diagrams, tables, appendices, and reference list. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing. Preliminaries include: title page; executive summary; table of contents with numbered, hierarchical headings; and any other optional elements (e.g. table of figures, etc.) you wish to include to make your report more professional.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement: This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. For this assessment, you must not use AI at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.
Week 8 Friday (9 May 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Please submit your report as a Word document via Moodle.
Results and feedback will be available in Moodle within 10 business days.
As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level unit, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.
You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:
- Ability to analyse job advertisements to identify current job requirements (10%)
- Ability to critically reflect on own current competencies (30%)
- Ability to identify competency gaps (20%)
- Ability to devise a realistic and specific action plan to address competency gaps (20%)
- Professional written communication (15%)
- Inclusion of job advertisements as appendix (5%)
Late submission and academic misconduct penalties will be applied in accordance with the university policies.
- Critically analyse and interpret industry conditions and labour market trends
- Enhance self-awareness through application of reflective practice and critical assessment of competencies and competency gaps
- Apply job search and career management strategies to set realistic career goals and identify relevant opportunities for lifelong learning and continuous professional development
- Apply professional communication skills to effectively engage with various audiences in a career transition and progression context.
3 Portfolio
This is an individual assessment, which takes the form of a portfolio. Throughout the term, the workshops will expose you to various activities relating to professional practice and career development. These activities allow you to develop a range of artefacts (e.g. written or infographic resume, brief reflections, elevator pitch video, cover letter), which you need to collate and compile into one single Word document (a template is available in Moodle). A list of acceptabe artefacts is available in Moodle and you must ensure that TEN (10) of these are included in your portfolio - please note that some of the artefacts on the list are compulsory for all students, while the remaining artefacts are to be considered a pool, from which you need to choose artefacts relevant to you and your career aspirations.
At the end of term, you must produce a short overview introduction (700 words +/- 10%) that provides a very brief overview of your background, your short- to medium-term career aspirations, and a comment on each of your artefacts that should outline each artefact's relevance to your personal career development.
The portfolio (including the overview introduction) will be submitted at the end of term via Moodle, but it is crucial you compile the artefacts THROUGHOUT the term, not all at the end.
The portfolio can contain multimedia artefacts (e.g. YouTube links; screenshots of LinkedIn page; PowerPoint slides) but any text-based documents you create yourself (e.g. reflective statements, resumes, cover letter) need to be provided in Word format within the portfolio – screenshots of these documents are not permissible. Please also note that access to any online artefacts (e.g. YouTube videos; LinkedIn page hyperlinks) is your responsibility – any broken links or inaccessible artefacts will not be able to attract marks. Some artefacts require referencing - if that is the case, you should provide in-text referencing in the artefact and a reference list after the relevant artefact (this may mean your portfolio contains multiple small reference lists, each following the artefact it refers to). There is no word or page limit for the portfolio itself.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement: This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. For this assessment, you may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.
Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Please submit your portfolio via Moodle, in the form of a Word document, by using the template available in Moodle.
Results and feedback will be available in Moodle on certification day.
As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level unit, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.
You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:
- Overview introduction (background, aspirations, and clear statement of relevance of included artefacts for the student’s personal situation) (15%)
- Ability to apply professional practice and career development skills demonstrated through accurate and complete artefacts (70%; all artefacts are weighted equally at 7% per artefact)
- Professional presentation of portfolio (15%)
Late submission and academic misconduct penalties will be applied in accordance with the university policies.
- Develop an advanced and integrated understanding of contemporary perspectives on careers, professionalism, and professional practice in your cognate field
- Enhance self-awareness through application of reflective practice and critical assessment of competencies and competency gaps
- Apply job search and career management strategies to set realistic career goals and identify relevant opportunities for lifelong learning and continuous professional development
- Apply professional communication skills to effectively engage with various audiences in a career transition and progression context.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
