Assessment procedures

Departmental procedures
Assessment proposals
Variations in assessment
Notice to students

Departmental procedures

Early in the first academic semester, in order to meet Handbook requirements, heads of departments invite chief examiners of units to furnish details of the assessment methods proposed for each unit to be offered in the next academic year. Changes for off-campus units need to be made six months in advance by 31 March for Second semester and 31 October for First semester. Before presenting the proposals for approval, chief examiners are expected to consult with other academic staff who have been assigned to teach and examine in the unit (including assistant lecturers). (see Methods of Assessment )

Assessment proposals

The following factors should be borne in mind when amendments to assessment are being considered:

• the objectives and current assessment methods of the unit and course as published in the Handbook;

• any special skills that are to be developed when studying the unit and appropriate methods of learning and assessing those skills;

• predicted enrolment in the unit and the number of teaching staff with examiner status, who have been, or are likely to be, assigned to teach the unit ;

• the payment made to sessional teaching staff. This should be on the basis that they attend to preparation and related marking. Marking of work unrelated to their teaching should be undertaken only for a fee.

A Faculty guide comparing types of assessment may be helpful in understanding the rationales underlying different forms of assessment. (See Comparison of types of assessment)

Variation of approved methods of assessment

Proposed variations must be approved by the Department and submitted to the Undergraduate Studies Committee which then submits the variations to Faculty Board. Changes to assessment details specified in the Handbook are deemed to be major so require approval rather than noting by Faculty Board.

The Examination Regulations allows for the Dean to make ad hoc revisions to examinations and assessment requirements followed by subsequent reports to the Academic Board, provided that students are not disadvantaged by these ad hoc amendments, and that amendments made for semesters other than the current semester are normally to be approved according to Faculty processes and reported to the Education Committee.

Notice to students

The University requires "written notice in the form of a unit outline should be given to all students enrolled in a unit of the approved assessment regime in the unit". The notice should be given at the beginning of each semester in the unit outline that should also include, where possible, topics, submission dates, word limits and requirements for presentation. If there is provision for some negotiation of assessment tasks (e.g. allowing students to nominate topics) the procedures for this negotiation shall be clearly stated. Students will also be given an indication of the approximate date of any class test(s), and the dates on which any assignments will be distributed. This unit outline should be consistent with information in the Handbook unless there are unforeseen circumstances necessitating some change.

After the approval by the Dean the changes must subsequently be reported to Faculty Board through the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

For units where hurdle requirements apply, (e.g. a pass in the final exam is necessary for a pass in the unit), an explicit statement is to be included in the unit outline and students are to be advised in the first week of semester. A general statement should appear in the Handbook specifying that hurdle requirements (appropriately defined) may apply and referring to unit outlines.

The following statement should appear in the Handbook and in all unit outlines - "the final mark that a student receives for a unit will be determined by the board of examiners on the recommendation of the chief examiner taking into account all aspects of assessment".

Related: Methods of assessment; Examinations: custody, access and record-keeping

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