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Class tests and class participationPolicy
Notice to students Notice to studentsStudents should be given adequate notice of time, place, duration of a class test, the matters that are examinable and the materials (if any) that they may use in the examination room in the unit outline distributed in the first week of the semester. Additional approved details may also be given orally during regular lecture hours. University exam booksStudents are not expected to provide the paper on which they write answers to questions in class tests. Their answers should be written in the University's exam books. Supplies of these books may be obtained from the relevant administrative officer or department. Invigilation of class testsWhen class tests are scheduled during ordinary class hours, the responsibility for invigilating the test falls on the lecturer in charge of the unit. The lecturer should record the number of scripts returned at the end of the examination period. The lecturer should record the names of enrolled students who have not submitted scripts at the end of the test period. Allocation of scripts for markingNormally this will be decided by the chief examiner and the burden of marking class tests should be borne more or less equitably by the staff assigned to teach a unit. Adjustment however, may be made to take account of differential work burdens in the marking of other assessable pieces of work, (e.g. Person A will mark the class tests, and Person B and Person C will mark the assignments, or the lecturer will do all second marking and the assistant lecturers will share pro rata the first marking). Notes for guidance of examinersWhen more than one examiner is involved in the marking of class tests, it is desirable that the lecturer in charge of the test process supplies to the other examiners of the test papers some notes on issues raised by the questions and matters to be taken into account in assessing the scripts. Records of marksDesirably, each examiner of class test scripts should compile tables to indicate marks accorded by them to individual questions in the test paper, and the distributions of grades. Such records may assist the chief examiner and lecturer in charge in the discharge of their responsibilities. Second markingAssessment tasks receiving at least a pass grade will not normally be second marked. Immediately highlight in the unit outline document the practice of photocopying failed assignments or remarking them. A student cannot be failed in a unit except on the recommendation of at least two examiners. (see Examination Regulations ) The University requires the Faculty to have a process for verifying fail marks that contribute to a final fail result. Exceptions to this are pieces of work contributing no more than ten per cent of the final mark, unless the total of such pieces exceeds thirty per cent of the final mark. These items must be identified in advance. This means that if a student's aggregate mark is below the pass grade, class tests, assignments and other assessable written work (if any) which received fail grades will need to be recalled and reviewed - unless, of course, the work has already been marked by two examiners. Academic staff are nevertheless free to adopt a regime under which class test papers that are awarded a fail mark are automatically submitted to a second examiner for re-assessment. If that expedient is adopted, the fact of its adoption should be recorded in the information supplied to the chief examiner in the unit. All fails that contribute to a fail result must be remarked. It may be advisable to photocopy failed originals or remark immediately to avoid unauthorised alterations. When a student's written work needs to be recalled for review, it should not be recalled until the examination period has concluded. (Some students who have received recall notices prior to the end of the examination period have said that receipt of such notices has occasioned them great distress and has affected their performance in subsequent examinations).
Return of ResultsResults of class tests should normally be communicated to students no later than three teaching weeks after the test. Normally the results should be communicated by return of the test papers, with a mark (or marks) recorded on the front page. Staff should remind students to keep a copy of all work submitted for assessment. Assessment of class participationChief examiners are urged to think carefully about the justification for including class participation as a component of an assessment regime. Proposals for inclusion of such a component in an assessment regime should detail how the requisite class participation is to be assessed. The maximum percentage for class participation is to be ten per cent. If class participation is a component of an assessment regime, students should be provided with written guidelines about factors to be taken into account in assessing their performance under this category. This is to be included in the unit outline and the Handbook entry if relevant. Supporting InformationPurpose and RationaleTo provide guidance to Faculty staff on the development of assessment tasks. ScopeThis policy applies to all teaching staff in the Faculty of Business and Economics. Definitions"Class Test" - examinations held during scheduled lecture or tutorial hours and invigilated by academic staff. Although particular tasks may be delegated to lecturers, the chief examiner has responsibility for approving class tests. Related DocumentsGoverning Documents
Responsibilities for ImplementationAssociate Dean (Education), Heads of Departments, Unit Coordinators. Date EffectiveDecember 2003 ApprovalFaculty Board ReviewBy end December 2006 << Return to policy search page |