CIVIL 733 : Coastal Engineering Dynamics
Engineering
2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
The objective of this course is to provide students with a fundamental knowledge of the dynamics of the coastal zone affecting engineering design. The course will introduce waves, water levels and currents and the coastal processes that these drive, with an application to coastal hazards and management. The course will focus on coastal dynamics in a New Zealand context, though it will also draw on internationally recognised literature and guidance and will be orientated towards applying students' fundamental knowledge within an engineering design framework. By the end of the course, the students will have an overview of the processes occurring within the coastal zone and how this affects the selection of appropriate design conditions.
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the mechanics of waves in deep water, and the transformations they undergo as they approach the coast. (Capability 3.1, 3.2 and 4.1)
- Describe the key hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes affecting the coastal zone. (Capability 3.1, 3.2 and 4.1)
- Apply knowledge of coastal processes to determine the mechanisms and impacts of various coastal hazards. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1 and 6.1)
- Evaluate options for management of the coastal zone in the context of climate change and sea level rise. (Capability 3.2, 5.1 and 6.1)
- Derive design conditions for the purpose of engineering design. (Capability 5.1)
- Understand the options available for modelling in the coastal zone, and their relative advantages and disadvantages. (Capability 3.2)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Final Exam | 50% | Individual Examination |
| Take-home Assignments | 15% | Individual Coursework |
| Project | 25% | Group & Individual Coursework |
| Laboratories | 10% | Individual Coursework |
| 4 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| Final Exam | ||||||||||
| Take-home Assignments | ||||||||||
| Project | ||||||||||
| Laboratories | ||||||||||
A passing mark, comprising the sum of all assessment types, is 50% or higher, according to University policy. In addition, a minimum of 40% is required in the exam to pass the course.
Late submissions will not be accepted/allowed for the Final Exam, Take-home Assignments, and Laboratories. It is possible to submit late for the Project, and the late submission penalty will be 25% of the total available marks per day.
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 2 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 5 hours of work on take-home assignments and/or exam preparation.
Note that in some weeks the assignment work will include a laboratory session. The laboratory sessions are intended to reinforce the conceptual learning within the course, and to provide students with hands-on experience in data acquisition and analysis. Each laboratory session will include a short laboratory report, which will be submitted after the lab as an individual assessment item.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including labs/tutorials to complete components of the course.
Lectures and tutorials will be available as recordings, although students are strongly encouraged to attend in person. The laboratory sessions must be completed in person.
The course will not include live online events.
Unlike previous years, where the take-home assignment functioned as a test in an online format, this year the take-home assignments will be linked to the tutorial sessions.
The final presentations for the project must be delivered on campus.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Health & Safety
Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. Laboratory sessions in the multi-disciplinary learning spaces (MDLS) will require you passing a H&S online assessment in Canvas and wearing closed-toe footwear.
Health and Safety considerations relating to the field trip will be communicated to the class at the start of the semester.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
- In response to very positive feedback on the field trip and guest lectures, we'll keep these parts of the course in 2025. Time and resources permitting, the field trip may contain a quantitative element.
- The part of the course requiring the most work in 2024 was the tutorials. We'll look at options to improve the questions, solutions and incentives to attend and complete the problems prior to or during the tutorial session. In particular, the take-home assignments will use tutorial questions; the tutorial time will be divided into discussions of upcoming take-home assignment problems and a discussion of solutions from previous tutorials.
Other Information
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.