Macquarie University backflips on acknowledgement of country assessment, will not do in future

Sydney’s Macquarie University has bowed to pressure and will no longer mark law students on their delivery of an acknowledgement of country.

Macquarie University backflips on acknowledgement of country assessment. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Macquarie University has bowed to pressure and will no longer mark law students on their delivery of an acknowledgement of country.

But the university maintained the ability to deliver an acknowledgement of country was an “authentic, professional skill relevant to contemporary legal practice”.

The Australian revealed last month that a law unit called ‘age and the law’ at Macquarie University marked students on their ability to deliver welcome or acknowledgement of country, in a move labelled “indoctrination” by conservative Indigenous leaders.

The presentation was worth 30 per cent of the final course mark and students were told the acknowledgement of country was one of the key five marking areas.

A high-distinction acknowledgement of country would see a student present “a brief, thoughtful, exceptionally well-written, culturally respectful ­acknowledgement of country or welcome to country at the beginning of the presentation”, the marking rubric read.

Last month, university spokesperson said the acknowledgement of country was “relevant both to this specific task and to the overall learning outcomes of the unit”.

But on Thursday, the university said a “thorough review” found the acknowledgement of country component of the verbal assessment was “not appropriate”.

“An acknowledgement of country will not form part of the assessment task in question in future offerings of the unit LAWS5005,” a university statement read.

“The unit convener has advised students that they are able to opt out of the acknowledgement of country and that students will not fail the unit, nor will their grades be adversely affected, should they decide to do so.

“The university’s standard practice of unit moderation will ensure this is the case.”

However, the university maintained “a review of contemporary legal practice, showed an acknowledgment of country is an authentic, professional skill relevant to contemporary legal practice and commonly employed across the sector, including in law firms, government agencies and legal reform submissions”.

A university spokesman said the university was “deeply committed to academic freedom and respectful debate, where diverse ideas and knowledge can be explored in a spirit of curiosity, open-mindedness and progress”.

“The Macquarie Law School has taken immediate action to address the issues raised by one student and to make future improvements.

“These actions conform with the university’s ongoing assessment strategy and commitment to authentic, well-aligned assessment tasks that are relevant and empowering for our students.”