Week 1 is designed to give all students resources and tools that they need to be prepared for learning in their subjects. All students are required to prepare during week 1. The official dates can be found here.
Week 1 may include mandatory online activities such as readings, quizzes, listening to podcasts, or watching videos.
It may also include mandatory on campus activities – if they are genuinely preparatory activities. This could include diagnostic testing (including OPELA, which can also be done off-campus); lab or other equipment orientations; general induction activities at the course / discipline level. It can also include activities in which students: discuss their expectations; explore the career possibilities of a subject or course; meet peers in a subject and develop a sense of belonging. In second or later years, it could also include refresher activities for students to check their pre-requisite knowledge and skills.
Scheduled classes can begin from Week 1 for preparation activities, leading into Week 2 classes for regular subject learning activities.
Assessable activities can be communicated or distributed to students in Week 1, so long as the due date is in Week 2 or later. For example, a quiz may be conducted in Week 2 arising from material provided in Week 1. These should be genuinely low-stakes assessments, reflecting the early stage of the session and expected low complexity of the task.
Week 1 activities must have been included in Subject Outlines.
These are the basic requirements; please check with your Faculty’s Associate Dean Teaching and Learning if you would like specific information about requirements and deadlines in your Faculty.
Also, please see some guides for different online Week 1 ideas at Gold, Silver and Bronze levels of support, produced by IML.