The Public Policy Professional Experience is part of the Crawford School of Public Policy’s suite of work integrated learning (WIL) options that promote reciprocal learning between academic studies and workplace application. This not for credit course provides students with an opportunity to acquire practical experience working within a public policy related environment.

 

Opportunities are self-sourced and are, for example, attached to a relevant government department, think tank, media outlet, or non-governmental organisation, and can be undertaken within Australia or, in rare instances, internationally subject to the student being able to bear the financial costs and to meet the visa requirements associated with the country concerned. This practical experience course is designed to complement studies undertaken as part of the coursework component of Crawford School degrees and promotes career literacy-based professional development.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Apply knowledge gained from Crawford School Masters courses in a public policy-relevant organisational environment.
2. Demonstrate the ability to work under professional supervision, gain useful experience of a professional context and how organisations operate, and develop enhanced awareness of how economic and societal trends affect work opportunities.
3. Demonstrate interpersonal and communication behaviours, attributes and skills that enable negotiation and collaboration with others, as well as enhanced self-awareness to identify personal characteristics and how these can support or hinder work behaviours.
4. Clarify personal and professional goals consistent with personal characteristics and interests, and understand how skills can be transferable, including an enhanced ability to demonstrate employability skills to others.
5. Develop relationships with policy makers and organisations relevant to their Crawford School degree.

Recommended Resources

Recommended readings are:

• Althaus, C., Bridgman, P. and Davis, G. 2018. The Australian Policy Handbook: A Practical Guide to the Policy-Making Process. Allen & Unwin: Sydney. Sixth Edition.
• Dunn, W. N. 2018. Public Policy Analysis: An Integrated Approach. Routledge: New York. Sixth Edition.
• Mintrom, M. 2012. Contemporary Policy Analysis. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
• O’Leary, Z. and Hunt, J. 2016. Workplace Research: Conducting small-scale research in organizations. Sage. London.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	CRWF8020 comprises an opportunity to acquire practical experience working within a public policy related environment. This practical experience course is designed to complement studies undertaken as part of the coursework component of Crawford School Masters degrees and is designed to promote career literacy-based professional development. CRWF8020 is a not for credit course. While the course is not graded, in order to successfully complete the course there is a course requirement to submit a Reflective Statement. The Reflective Statement is integrated with complementary self-development activities and designed to support the application of career literacy competencies in the context of the professional experience, for example, to understand and build individual professional preferences and skills. Students are required to complete modules assigned from the ANU Career Toolkit online resource. Because the timing of professional experiences vary according to individual student arrangements, assessment task due dates are connected to the Professional Experience End Date. The End Date is negotiated with host organisations and must be registered at crawford.internships@anu.edu.au at course commencement.	KEY COURSE MILESTONES: • Professional Experience Application Approved • Professional Experience Start and End Dates Confirmed and Registered • Complete ANU Career Toolkit ‘Understand Yourself’ Module (via Wattle) • Professional Experience Start Date • Complete ANU Career Toolkit ‘Work Style’ Module and ‘Networking’ Module (via Wattle) • Professional Experience End Date • Two (2) weeks after Professional Experience End Date - Submit Assessment Task 1: Reflective Journal (via Wattle)

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value
Reflective Statement	100 %

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Reflective Statement

Word length:

2,500 words

 

Course Weighting:

N/A (satisfactory submission required for course completion)

 

Due Date:

Two (2) weeks after Professional Experience End Date

 

Task Description and Guidance:

After completing their professional experience students must submit a Reflective Statement (the Statement). The Statement is a critical component of ‘experiential learning’ or what is also referred to as ‘reflective practice’. It provides a structured opportunity to reflect on how concrete experiences in the professional experience have helped both to enhance your understanding of academic concepts and to develop a better conception of your own personal work characteristics and work preferences. The Statement is the primary means for documenting your engagement with career-literacy based professional development.

 

The Journal should address four key areas:

 

1.     Description of the professional experience role. The Statement should outline the key tasks that were agreed with the host organisation as part of the professional experience, including the rationale, and a summary of key roles and responsibilities of both the student and the host organisation. Where relevant, a copy of the position description for the professional experience should be attached to the Statement. Approximately 250 words in conventional essay form.

 

2.     Expectations about personal and professional development. The Statement should outline the student’s ‘baseline’ understanding of their personal characteristics, work behaviours, and professional orientation. Students should identify what they wanted to learn about during the professional experience, and what they wanted to learn to do. Students must complete relevant online module/s of the ANU Careers Toolkit to inform this ‘baseline’ understanding. Approximately 500 words in conventional essay form.

 

3.     Professional experience journal entries. During the professional experience students will keep a weekly (or fortnightly) reflective journal that records key activities, interactions and experiences, and makes observations on these experiences in the context of work behaviours and professional orientation and/or how concepts and practices introduced in the classroom have helped to understand these experiences. Approximately 750 words in short journal entry form.

 

4.     Reflecting on Expectations. Building on the observations made in the journal entries, the Statement should reflect on the student’s ‘baseline’ understanding of their personal characteristics, work behaviours, and professional orientation as set out in area 2 of the Statement (above). The Statement should make observations on how the professional experience has helped to either confirm or challenge career orientation and future professional development. Where relevant, the Statement can relate specific knowledge and skills application to the student’s ‘baseline’ understanding of their personal characteristics and work preferences. Approximately 1000 words in conventional essay form.

 

Additional guidance on how to approach reflective writing tasks can be accessed here: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/writing-assessment/reflective-writing

 

The Statement must conform to the style and referencing conventions of the Crawford School Style Guide 2020.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students