MBIO19012 - Microbiology

Showing: 2026 HE Term 2
General Information

Unit Synopsis

On successful completion of this unit, you will have a sound understanding of the fundamentals of microbiology. You will be able to explain the principles by which microbes are classified, the relationship between form and function, the mechanisms by which genetic change occurs and the dynamics of growth and multiplication. Mixed mode and Rockhampton students must attend a compulsory residential school or on-campus laboratory classes in order to achieve the learning outcomes.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Corequisite:

BIOL11099 Living Systems or BIOL 11100 Functional Biology or SCIE11022 Introductory Science or BIOH11005 Introductory Anatomy and Physiology or BMSC11001 Human Body Systems 1 or BIOL11102 Life Science Laboratory or BMSC11007 Medical Anatomy and Physiology 1 or BMSC11010 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026

Term 1 - 2027 Profile
Bundaberg Mixed Mode Rockhampton

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).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate 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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 30%
2. In-class Test(s) 20%
3. Laboratory/Practical 0%
4. Online Test 50%

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

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

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.

Source: Teaching staff
Feedback:
 One group of students displayed very unprofessional behaviour during residential school and were disrespectful to staff.

Recommendation:
 The practical competencies will be amended to include professional behaviour criteria, and a statement will be added to the laboratory induction that students may be asked to leave if displaying unprofessional conduct.

Action Taken:
 The practical competencies were ammended to include Professional Behaviours this year.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback:
 Students loved the residential school.

Recommendation:
 The residential schools will continue in their current format.

Action Taken:
 The residential schools continued in their current format.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback:
 Rockhampton students would prefer weekly labs to residential school.

Recommendation:
 At present internal labs are not possible due to the lack of suitable laboratory space. This will be re-evaluated once laboratory renovations are complete.

Action Taken:
 It is unlikely that we will be able to have internal weekly labs in addition to residential schools, due to not enough internally enrolled students.
Source: SUTE data and comments
Feedback:
 Students generally loved the residential school, stating it helped contextualise their learning. A couple suggested a longer res school.

Recommendation:
 The residential schools will continue in their current format. It's unlikely that they will be lengthened due to logistics.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: SUTE data and comments
Feedback:
 A couple of students would prefer being provided with detailed lecture notes.

Recommendation:
 The current lecture design intentionally uses concise slides containing key concepts and prompts, while detailed explanations are delivered verbally during lectures. This approach supports active engagement and reduces reliance on text-heavy slides. Students are able to revisit the material through lecture recordings and automatically generated transcripts. While no major changes are planned at this stage, opportunities to further support student learning through supplementary resources will continue to be evaluated.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Explain the principles by which microbes are classified, using traditional and molecular approaches
  2. Describe the relationship between form and function in the major groups of microbes
  3. Describe the mechanisms by which genetic exchange occurs in bacteria, fungi and viruses
  4. Explain the dynamics of growth and multiplication of the major types of microbes, and the methods by which these can be investigated in the laboratory
  5. Demonstrate basic practical microbiological procedures and professional behaviours in the laboratory in a safe and efficient manner
  6. Interpret the results of laboratory experiments in the context of the underlying microbiological principles.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - In-class Test(s) •
3 - Laboratory/Practical • •
4 - Online Test • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication • • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10