Business School

School of Banking and Finance

FINS 2624
Portfolio Management

Course Outline
Semester 1, 2017

Part A: Course-Specific Information

Part B: Key Policies, Student Responsibilities
and Support

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 Table of Contents
PART A: COURSESPECIFIC INFORMATION 1
1 STAFF CONTACT DETAILS 1
2 COURSE DETAILS 1
2.1Teaching Times and Locations 1
2.2Units of Credit 1
2.3Summary of Course 1
2.4Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses 1
2.5Student Learning Outcomes 2
3 LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES 4
3.1Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course 4
3.2Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies 4
4 ASSESSMENT 5
4.1Formal Requirements 5
4.2Assessment Details 5
4.3Late Submission 6
5 COURSE RESOURCES 7
6 COURSE EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT 7
7 COURSE SCHEDULE 8
PART B: KEY POLICIES, STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND SUPPORT 9
8 PROGRAM LEARNING GOALS AND OUTCOMES 9
9 ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM 10
10 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT 10
10.1 Workload 11
10.2 Attendance 11
10.3 General Conduct and Behaviour 11
10.4 Health and Safety 11
10.5 Keeping Informed 11
11 SPECIAL CONSIDERATION 11
12 STUDENT RESOURCES AND SUPPORT 14

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 PART A: COURSE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

1 STAFF CONTACT DETAILS

Lecturer-in-charge: Dr. Elvira Sojli
Room 336
Phone No: (2) 9385 54900
Email: e.sojli@unsw.edu.au
Consultation Times Wednesday 16-17, ASB 319.

A full list of tutors will be posted on Course Website.

2 COURSE DETAILS

2.1 Teaching Times and Locations

Lectures start in Week 1(to Week 12): The Time and Location are:

Stream C Wed 13:00 15:00 Rex Vowels Theatre (K-F17-LG3)

Stream B Wed 18:00 20:00 Rex Vowels Theatre (K-F17-LG3)
Stream A Fri 10:00 12:00 Law Theater (G04)

Tutorials start in Week 2 (to Week 13). A full list of tutorials, times and tutors will be on
the Course Website.

2.2 Units of Credit

The course is worth 6 units of credit.

2.3 Summary of Course

Investment theories are introduced with an equal emphasis on theory and practice. The
Markowitz model and the CAPM are studied and applied to design portfolios, price and
manage risk, evaluate performance, identify mispriced assets, and estimate asset
betas. The pricing of stocks, bonds, and options; the theories of the term structure; the
duration concept; and the strategic use of options for hedging and investment are also
studied.

2.4 Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses

This course will introduce you to the concept of diversification, which is a key element
in portfolio design. We'll study and apply the Markowitz portfolio theory, CAPM, and
efficient market hypothesis to design portfolios, to identify under- and over-valued
securities, to measure price and manage risk and to evaluate investment performance.
We'll discuss the pricing of bonds and stock option. You'll learn how to manage a bond
portfolio and formulate option trading strategies to improve investment performance.

Portfolio Management is one of four core courses in finance. This course extends and
applies knowledge in financial mathematics acquired from FINS1613 and/or ECON
1202 to price stocks, bonds and stock options; portfolio theory from FINS1613 to rank
and select portfolios; linear programming and calculus from ECON 1202 to determine
the composition and attributes of a portfolio; frequency distribution, measures of central
tendency, mean and dispersion, the normal distribution, point estimation of population
parameters and confidence intervals from ECON 1203 to understand investment risk,

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 expected return and the Black-Scholes option pricing model; hypothesis testing, t-
distributions, and bivariate regression from ECON1203 to study the CAPM.

This course also covers the assumed knowledge required by finance courses in the
area of fund management: FINS3640 and FINS3641; real estate finance: FINS3633;
risk management: FINS3631, FINS3635 and FINS3636; and honours program:
FINS3775.

You may find the mathematical primer for this course useful. It may be downloaded at
http://dropproxy.com/f/CC9. You are also expected to be comfortable around basic
regression analysis, though I didnt find time to cover that in the document yet. You
dont have to be able to prove any of the results in the primer, but if you dont recognise
the results you should brush up on your maths before the course starts.

2.5 Student Learning Outcomes

The Course Learning Outcomes are what you should be able to DO by the end of this
course if you participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the
assessment items.

The Learning Outcomes in this course also help you to achieve some of the overall
Program Learning Goals and Outcomes for all undergraduate students in the Business
School. Program Learning Goals are what we want you to BE or HAVE by the time you
successfully complete your degree (e.g. be an effective team player). You
demonstrate this by achieving specific Program Learning Outcomes - what you are
able to DO by the end of your degree (e.g. participate collaboratively and responsibly
in teams).

For more information on the Undergraduate Program Learning Goals and Outcomes,
see Part B of the course outline.

Business Undergraduate Program Learning Goals and Outcomes

1. Knowledge: Our graduates will have in-depth disciplinary knowledge applicable in local and
global contexts.
You should be able to select and apply disciplinary knowledge to business situations in a local and global
environment.

2. Critical thinking and problem solving: Our graduates will be critical thinkers and effective
problem solvers.
You should be able to identify and research issues in business situations, analyse the issues, and propose
appropriate and well-justified solutions.

3. Communication: Our graduates will be effective professional communicators.

You should be able to:
a. Prepare written documents that are clear and concise, using appropriate style and presentation
for the intended audience, purpose and context, and
b. Prepare and deliver oral presentations that are clear, focused, well-structured, and delivered in a
professional manner.

4. Teamwork: Our graduates will be effective team participants.

You should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and reflect on your own
teamwork, and on the teams processes and ability to achieve outcomes.

5. Ethical, social and environmental responsibility: Our graduates will have a sound awareness of
the ethical, social, cultural and environmental implications of business practice.
You should be able to:
a. Identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business

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 decision-making and practice, and
b. Identify social and cultural implications of business situations.

The following table shows how your Course Learning Outcomes relate to the overall
Program Learning Goals and Outcomes, and indicates where these are assessed (they
may also be practised in tutorials and other activities):

Program Learning Course Learning Outcomes Course Assessment

Goals and Outcomes Item
This course helps you to On successful completion of the course, This learning outcome
achieve the following you should be able to: will be assessed in the
learning goals for all following items:
Business undergraduate
students:
1 Knowledge Apply the empirical findings on the Tutorial problems
efficient market hypothesis to design Online quizzes
investment strategies. In-lecture mid-term
Exam
Apply the portfolio theory to rank and
select portfolios; the CAPM to measure
and price risk, explain the popularity of
index funds, separate market risk from
firm-specific risk, and identify mispriced
securities; the theories of the term
structure and the concept of duration to
explain the choice of bonds.
2 Critical thinking Identify violations of a no-arbitrage Tutorial problems
and problem equilibrium and outline a trading strategy Online quizzes
solving to exploit it. In-class mid-term
Exam
Apply option strategies to achieve a risk-
return profile to suit some given market
condition.
3a Written Not specifically addressed in this course. Part of tutorial
communication problems, mid-term
exam and final
exam, but not
specifically
assessed.
3b Oral Not specifically addressed in this course. Part of tutorial
communication problems, but not
specifically
assessed.
4 Teamwork Work collaboratively to complete a task. Part of tutorial
problems, but not
Explain your solution to other team specifically
members. assessed.
5a. Ethical, Understand and internalise ethical Part of tutorial
environmental consideration relating to the reporting, problems, mid-term
and evaluation and sales of mutual funds and exam and final
sustainability investment advice, e.g. as covered by the exam, but not
responsibility CFA ethics standards. specifically
assessed.
5b. Social and Not specifically addressed in this course. Not specifically
cultural assessed.
awareness

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 3 LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES

3.1 Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course

The philosophy underpinning this course is best summarized by the following list of
guidelines extracted from Guidelines on Learning that inform teaching at UNSW:

http://www.guidelinesonlearning.unsw.edu.au/guidelinesHome.cfm

1. Effective learning is supported when students are actively engaged in the learning
process.
6. Students become more engaged in the learning process if they can see the
relevance of their studies to professional, disciplinary and/or personal contexts.
10. Clearly articulated expectations, goals, learning outcomes, and course
requirements increase student motivation and improve learning.
15. Effective learning is facilitated by assessment practices and other student learning
activities that are designed to support the achievement of desired learning outcomes.
16. Meaningful and timely feedback to students improves learning

We believe that a disciplined approach to learning is important for effective learning.

Students should engage in the learning process through regular class attendance, and
regular staff or peer consultation to resolve any learning issues.

We also believe that a well-organized and structured course is important for effective
learning and teaching. Besides designing a coherent lecture and tutorial program to
present and discuss the syllabus, we'll
use actual examples and research findings in lectures to demonstrate the
relevance of the subject to the finance profession and
give students a variety of questions to practice and apply concepts.

The teaching strategies and assessments that we formulate below are due entirely to
the learning outcomes and philosophy underpinning this course.

3.2 Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

In lectures, we introduce you to investment theories and securities pricing. Whenever
a finance theory is discussed we give it a thorough theoretical motivation, explain its
merits and applications, and use practical examples to relate the theory to the real
world. We believe that this logical sequence of discussion can help you assimilate
knowledge due to understanding rather than memorization.

To gain deeper understanding of the materials taught, you need to revise the lesson
soon after each lecture by studying the lecture slides, the notes you took in class, and
the prescribed readings. In addition to the face to face mode of consultation with the
lecturers, we will open a discussion forum for students to post questions and seek
peer assistance. By sharing the questions and responses in the forum, the discussion
forum should benefit the whole class and is the preferred mode of electronic
communication. If you email individual instructors questions about the course, you will
be asked to post it in the discussion forum instead, so please post your question there
directly.

The tutorial and problem sets and extra exercises are used to help you improve
your critical thinking and problem solving skills, and to prepare you for the assignment
and examination.

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 Learning will not be completed without feedback.
The problem sets will be discussed formally in tutorials. We value and will
reward your active participation to ask and answer questions. The tutor will
correct any misunderstandings and help you understand the approach we use
to solve the problem.
For the extra exercises the answers are available from a separately sold
solutions manual.
For the weekly online quizzes you will receive the correct answer whenever a
mistake is made.
The tutors will monitor and participate in the discussion forum during their
consultation times to complement the peer assistance.

4 ASSESSMENT

4.1 Formal Requirements

The grade of Unsatisfactory Failure (UF) may apply if the composite mark is between
46 and 57, inclusive.
In order to pass this course, you must satisfy the following:

achieve a composite mark of at least 50; and

achieve at least 50% in the final examination; and
make a satisfactory attempt at all other assessment tasks (see below).

4.2 Assessment Details

Assessment Weighting Learning Length Due Date

Task Outcomes
assessed
Class 10 1-9 N/A Weekly as per tutorial
Participation enrolment
Online Quiz 20 1-9 N/A Wednesday midday
each week
2 x In-Lecture 2x15=30 3 45 min In lecture week 6 and
Midterm week 12 Laptops
required in class
Final Exam 40 1-8 2 hours UNSW Final exam
period

Class participation - Students must go to their enrolled tutorial classes (as per
myUNSW) for attendance keeping. Students are expected to be prepared for the
tutorials, participate actively in tutorial discussion, and show respect to their
classmates and the tutor by arriving on time, paying attention, and staying for the
entire duration of the tutorial. Students are required to complete at least 10 out of
the total 11 problem sets (i.e., anyone could choose to skip one problem set). 10
marks, i.e. one per problem set, are allocated to the tutorials on the basis of
participation. Specifically, students need to turn in suggested solutions for the problem
set each week. The solutions need not be correct, but they need to constitute an
honest attempt. Students that do not turn in a suggested solution will not be
considered to have prepared for that weeks tutorial. In addition, students need to
contribute to answering or solving a question in order to be awarded a participation
grade. Attendance to the lectures is recommended but not mandatory. However, if you
choose to attend a lecture, it is your responsibility to arrive on time and not to disrupt

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 the class by talking with your friends (although you are obviously encouraged to ask
questions).

We have zero tolerance to unruly and disruptive behaviour. The tutor will not award
any tutorial marks to unruly or disruptive students. Students that disrupt a lecture may
be asked to leave and suffer deductions from their participation marks.

On-line quizzes are interactive online learning activities where questions are randomly
selected from a test-bank. We use the online quizzes to encourage timely revision and
engage student learning. The questions in the quiz are representative of the partial
exam and exam questions. If you cannot solve these questions without the use of the
lecture notes or the textbook, most likely you will not pass the exam.

There is one online quiz for each lecture. Each online quiz is worth two marks and has
ten questions (mainly multiple-choice) of equal weighting. There are eleven online
quizzes all together and it is possible to achieve a maximum of twenty marks.

The online quizzes will open to student access progressively online every Friday
commencing week 1 to test your knowledge of the lecture given in the week, i.e. the
quiz opening on Friday 3rd of March Week 1 will cover the lecture material delivered in
Week 1. You are expected to have completed the quiz before the first lecture in
the following week, i.e. by Wednesday midday Week 2 for Quiz 1. Students
frequently ask for extensions to these deadlines for various reasons. In the interest of
fairness there will be no extensions allowed, with the exception of the provision of a
doctor's note explaining the student's inability to complete the quiz in all three weeks.

You are allowed three attempts for each online quiz. The highest mark achieved from
each online quiz is selected for grading purposes. After completing an online quiz, you
must click "submit" before exiting the online quiz to ensure that the answers are
processed and marked by Moodle. Otherwise, you will not receive any marks. In the
past, some students have claimed to have submitted quizzes but that the system has
lost them. If you think you lost a quiz the IT guys will look into it, but if they cannot find
anything in the system we cannot give you any marks. You are encouraged to take a
screen shot of your submitted quiz if you dont have faith in Moodle.

Midterm - There will be two mid-term exams (45 minutes each) administered via
Moodle during lectures in weeks 6 and 12 worth 15 marks each and 30 marks in total.
The two midterms will cover all material covered up to and including lecture 5 and
lecture 6 to 11 (inclusive), respectively. The format of the two midterms will be clarified
in due time, but it is likely to include multiple choice, fill in the blanks, and one or two
short answer questions. It is necessary to attend the two lectures and bring an
electronic device with access to Moodle, to participate in the exam.

Final exam The final exam covers all the materials discussed in the lectures from
week 1 to week 12. We will not specify the questions in advance. You must observe
the exam rules and regulations set by the university. The format of the final exam will
be specified in due time.
Students who are absent from the final exam may apply for special consideration (see
section 8.3).

4.3 Late Submission

For the online quizzes, late attempts will not be accepted.

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 Quality Assurance
The Business School is actively monitoring student learning and quality of the student
experience in all its programs. A random selection of completed assessment tasks may
be used for quality assurance, such as to determine the extent to which program
learning goals are being achieved. The information is required for accreditation
purposes, and aggregated findings will be used to inform changes aimed at improving
the quality of Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be
treated as confidential.

5 COURSE RESOURCES
There are two alternative textbooks for the course. Student may choose either of the
following:

Bodie, Z., A. Kane and A. Marcus, 2013, Investments, 10th edition, Irwin
McGraw-Hill
The custom version of Bodie et al (2014) called FINS2624 - Portfolio
Management, prepared by Shen Jianfeng

The difference between these books is that the former is the full, standard textbook
and the latter contains only the chapters from that book that are used in this course.
The advantage of the full book is that students may find it useful (and required) in other
courses. The advantage of the latter book is that it is cheaper. We recommend
students that mean to major in finance to buy the full textbook and students that do not
intend to take further finance courses to buy the custom version. For the purpose of
this course there is no difference between the two. There are older editions of the
textbooks. These do not exactly correspond to the books were using. However, the
differences between editions are typically small. There are references for both the 9th
and 10th editions where they differ in the essential readings and recommended extra
exercises, so students that wish to use the 9th edition can safely do so.

If you are planning to do revision questions in Bodie et al. and would like to check your
answers the following book is helpful:

Student Solutions Manual for Investments (10th edition), McGraw-Hill (optional)

Students are expected to log in to the course website regularly to complete the online
quizzes, read course announcements and participate in the discussion board.

Before the course starts you might want to look at the mathematical primer at
http://dropproxy.com/f/CC9. This is not part of the course material, but we will use the
mathematical results in the lectures.

6 COURSE EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Each year feedback is sought from students and other stakeholders about the courses
offered in the School and continual improvements are made based on this feedback.
UNSW's myExperience survey is one of the ways in which student evaluative feedback
is gathered. In this course, we will seek your feedback through end of semester
myExperience responses.

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 7 COURSE SCHEDULE
Tutorials start in Week 2 and finish in Week 13.
Lectures start in Week 1 and finish in Week 12.

COURSE SCHEDULE
Recommended Extra exercises
Week Lecture Topic Tutorial Topic (subject to changes)
readings
Course outline,
Week 1 Introduction to bond
BKM 14 (14.2- NO TUTORIALS
February 27 pricing
14.3)
Term structure of BKM 15 (all Introduction to bond BKM 14: 3-5, 8, 9,
Week 2
interest rates sections) pricing 13, 16, 17, 23, 31a
March 6
(problem set 1)
Duration Term structure of
Week 3 BKM 16 (16.1 - BKM15: 1-3, 7, 11,
interest rates
March 13 16.3) 13, 14, 18, 19
(problem set 2)
Markowitz portfolio BKM6 (6.1), Duration
Week 4 theory BKM7 (7.1 - (problem set 3) BKM16: 1-4, 9, 12,
March 20 7.2, 7.4, 14, 15, 23
Appendix B)
Optimal portfolios BKM6 (6.2 - Markowitz portfolio BKM 6: 4, 6, 7, 13
Week 5
6.6), BKM7 theory
March 27
(7.3 - 7.4) (problem set 4)
In-lecture EXAM 1 BKM 8 (8.1 - Optimal portfolios BKM6: 1-3, 21, 27,
Week 6
CAPM 8.4), BKM 9 (problem set 5) 28 + BKM 7: 9, 12,
April 3
(9.1) 13, 16
SIM and Factor BKM 8 (8.1- CAPM BKM9: 1-4, 9, 17-
Week 7
models 8.4), BKM 10 (problem set 6) 21
April 10
(all sections)
Mid-semester break: Friday 13 April Saturday 22 April inclusive
Efficient market BKM 11 (11.1- SIM and Factor BKM8:8,9,10,11,12
Week 8
hypothesis and 11.5), BKM 12 models BKM10:1,4,5,11,19
April 24
behavioural finance (12.1-12.2) (problem set 7)
Efficient market BKM11: 1, 14, 17,
hypothesis and 18, 22, 29 +
behavioural finance BKM12: 3, 6, 9-12
(problem set 8)
BKM 20 (20.1- Discuss answers
Week 10 Revision and
Option strategies 20.4) consultation
to In-lecture Exam
May 8
1 and quizzes
Week 11 BKM 21 (21.1, Option strategies BKM20: 1, 3, 4, 8,
Option valuation 21.3) 10, 13, 20, 24, 27
May 15 (problem set 10)
In-lecture EXAM 2 BKM 24 (24.1- BKM21 : 1, 2, 5, 6,
Week 12 Performance 24.3), CFA Option valuation 11, 14, 16, 17, 19-
May 22 measures, CFA ethics module (problem set 11) 21, 23, 25
ethics V
Week 13 Revision and
May 30 consultation

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PART B: KEY POLICIES, STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND
SUPPORT

8 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. These are our overall learning goals for you and are
sought after by employers.

You can demonstrate your achievement of these goals by the specific outcomes you achieve
by the end of your degree (e.g. be able to analyse and research business problems and
propose well-justified solutions). Each course contributes to your development of two or more
program learning goals/outcomes by providing opportunities for you to practise these skills
and to be assessed and receive feedback.

Program Learning Goals for undergraduate and postgraduate students cover the same key
areas (application of business knowledge, critical thinking, communication and teamwork,
ethical, social and environmental responsibility), which are key goals for all Business
students and essential for success in a globalised world. However, the specific outcomes
reflect different expectations for these levels of study.

We strongly advise you to choose a range of courses which assist your development of
these skills, e.g., courses assessing written and oral communication skills, and to keep a
record of your achievements against the Program Learning Goals as part of your portfolio.

Business Undergraduate Program Learning Goals and Outcomes

1. Knowledge: Our graduates will have in-depth disciplinary knowledge applicable in local and global
contexts.
You should be able to select and apply disciplinary knowledge to business situations in a local and global
environment.

2. Critical thinking and problem solving: Our graduates will be critical thinkers and effective problem
solvers.
You should be able to identify and research issues in business situations, analyse the issues, and propose
appropriate and well-justified solutions.

3. Communication: Our graduates will be effective professional communicators.

You should be able to:
a. Prepare written documents that are clear and concise, using appropriate style and presentation for the
intended audience, purpose and context, and
b. Prepare and deliver oral presentations that are clear, focused, well-structured, and delivered in a
professional manner.

4. Teamwork: Our graduates will be effective team participants.

You should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and reflect on your own teamwork,
and on the teams processes and ability to achieve outcomes.

5. Ethical, social and environmental responsibility: Our graduates will have a sound awareness of the
ethical, social, cultural and environmental implications of business practice.
You will be able to:
a. Identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business decision-
making and practice, and
b. Identify social and cultural implications of business situations.

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 Business Postgraduate Coursework Program Learning Goals and Outcomes

1. Knowledge: Our graduates will have current disciplinary or interdisciplinary knowledge applicable in
local and global contexts.
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.

2. Critical thinking and problem solving: Our graduates will have critical thinking and problem solving
skills applicable to business and management practice or issues.
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.

3. Communication: Our graduates will be effective communicators in professional contexts.

You should be able to:
a. Produce written documents that communicate complex disciplinary ideas and information effectively
for the intended audience and purpose, and
b. Produce oral presentations that communicate complex disciplinary ideas and information effectively for
the intended audience and purpose.

4. Teamwork: Our graduates will be effective team participants.

You should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and reflect on your own teamwork,
and on the teams processes and ability to achieve outcomes.

5. Ethical, social and environmental responsibility: Our graduates will have a sound awareness of
ethical, social, cultural and environmental implications of business issues and practice.
You should be able to:
a. Identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business decision-
making and practice, and
b. Consider social and cultural implications of business and /or management practice.

9 ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM

The University regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct, and has very strict
rules regarding plagiarism. 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

To see if you understand plagiarism, do this short quiz:

https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism-quiz

For information on how to acknowledge your sources and reference correctly, see:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/harvard-referencing

For the Business School Harvard Referencing Guide, see the Business Referencing and
Plagiarism webpage (Business >Students>Learning support> Resources>Referencing and
plagiarism).

10 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 in UNSW Current Students Managing
your Program webpages: https://student.unsw.edu.au/program.

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 10.1 Workload
It is expected that you will spend at least nine to ten hours per week studying this course.
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.

Information on expected workload: https://student.unsw.edu.au/uoc

10.2 Attendance
Your regular and punctual attendance at lectures and seminars, as well as in online
activities, is expected in this course. University regulations indicate that if students attend
less than 80% of scheduled classes they may be refused final assessment. For more
information, see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/attendance

10.3 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. More information on student conduct is available at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/conduct

10.4 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. For more information, see
http://safety.unsw.edu.au/ .

10.5 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.

11 SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
You must submit all assignments and attend all examinations scheduled for your course. You
should seek assistance early if you suffer illness or misadventure which affects your course
progress.

General information on special consideration for undergraduate and postgraduate

courses:
1. All applications for special consideration must be lodged online through myUNSW
within 3 working days of the assessment (Log into myUNSW and go to My
Student Profile tab > My Student Services > Online Services > Special
Consideration). You will then need to submit the originals or certified copies of your
completed Professional Authority form (pdf - download here) and other supporting

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 documentation to Student Central. For more information, please study carefully in
advance the instructions and conditions at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/special-consideration
2. Please note that documentation may be checked for authenticity and the submission
of false documentation will be treated as academic misconduct. The School may ask
to see the original or certified copy.
3. 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.
4. Decisions are made by lecturers-in-charge for all other assessment items aside from
the final exam, not by tutors.
5. Applying for special consideration does not automatically mean that you will be
granted a supplementary exam or other concession.
6. Special consideration requests do not allow lecturers-in-charge to award students
additional marks.

Business School Protocol on requests for Special Consideration for Final Exams:

The Business School Faculty panel 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 impact on the student, must
be stated by the medical practitioner (severe, moderate, mild). A certificate without
this will not be valid.
2. Has the student performed satisfactorily in the other assessment items?
Satisfactory performance and attempted all other assessment items and meeting
the obligation to have attended 80% of tutorials.
3. Does the student have a history of previous applications for special consideration?
A history of previous applications may preclude a student from being granted
special consideration.

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. The dates for Business School
supplementary exams for Semester 1, 2017 are:

Wednesday 12 July 2017 School of Banking and Finance, Management, Risk and
Actuarial Studies

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 If a student lodges a special consideration for the final exam, they are stating they will
be available on the above dates. 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 students 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

Special consideration for the In-Lecture Exams:

Applications for special consideration must be lodged online through myUNSW. Please
refer to the information above (General information on special consideration) for the
application procedure and policies. Applications for special consideration in relation to the in-
lecture exams are considered by the lecturer-in-charge. If a special consideration is granted,
this will entitle the student to sit a supplementary examination which will be scheduled in the
next two weeks following the regular in-lecture exams.

If you attend the regular in-lecture exams, you are extremely unlikely to be granted a
supplementary exam. Hence if you are too ill to perform up to your normal standard in the
regular in-lecture exams, you are strongly advised not to attend. However, granting of a
supplementary exam in such cases is not automatic. You would still need to satisfy the
criteria stated above.

Where a student is granted a supplementary examination as a result of a request for special

consideration, the students original exam (if completed) will be ignored and only the mark
achieved in the supplementary examination will count towards the final grade. Failure to
attend the supplementary exam will not entitle the student to have the original exam paper
marked and may result in a zero mark for the mid-term exam.

Special consideration for the tutorial participations/questions:

If you are unable to sit in a tutorial in your designated tutorial class with justifiable reasons,
you should contact your tutor before or on the date of tutorial class to seek the permission to
sit in another tutorial class offered by the same tutor in the same week. You should provide
relevant medical certificate or other proof documents. The tutor should evaluate each
application and decide case by case whether to allow the student to sit in another tutorial
class. The tutor has the full discretion in his/her decision.

Please refer to the detailed grading guideline for tutorial participation available at the course
website.

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12 STUDENT RESOURCES AND SUPPORT
The University and the Business School provide a wide range of support services for
students, including:

Business School Education Development Unit (EDU)

https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/students/resources/learning-support
The EDU offers academic writing, study skills and maths support specifically for
Business students. Services include workshops, online resources, and individual
consultations. EDU Office: Level 1, Room 1033, Quadrangle Building. Phone: 9385
7577 or 9385 4508; Email: edu@unsw.edu.au.
Business Student Centre
https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/students/resources/student-centre
Provides advice and direction on all aspects of admission, enrolment and graduation.
Office: Level 1, Room 1028 in the Quadrangle Building; Phone: 9385 3189.
Moodle eLearning Support
For online help using Moodle, go to: https://student.unsw.edu.au/moodle-support. For
technical support, email: itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au; Phone: 9385 1333.
UNSW Learning Centre
www.lc.unsw.edu.au
Provides academic skills support services, including workshops and resources, for all
UNSW students. See website for details.
Library services and facilities for students
https://www.library.unsw.edu.au/study/services-for-students
IT Service Centre:
https://www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/index.html
Provides technical support to troubleshoot problems with logging into websites,
downloading documents, etc. Office: UNSW Library Annexe (Ground floor). Phone:
9385 1333.
UNSW Counselling and Psychological Services
https://student.unsw.edu.au/wellbeing
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. Office: Level 2, East Wing, Quadrangle Building; Phone:
9385 5418; Email: counselling@unsw.edu.au.
Disability Support Services
https://student.unsw.edu.au/disability
Provides assistance to students who are trying to manage the demands of university
as well as a health condition, learning disability or have personal circumstances that
are having an impact on their studies. Office: Ground Floor, John Goodsell Building;
Phone: 9385 4734; Email: disabilities@unsw.edu.au

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