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Methods of assessment

Acceptable methods of assessment
Approval of proposed methods of assessment
Assessment by final examination
Assessment hurdles
Open book examinations
Written assignments
Assessment in different streams, modes or year levels
Student choice in assessment
Grading system
Examples of grades and corresponding achievement levels
Multi-Campus Units

The following statement will appear in all unit outlines that should be distributed to students in the first week of semester and in the Assessment section in the first chapter of the handbook:

"The final mark that a student receives for a unit will be determined by the Board of Examiners taking into account all aspects of assessment".

Acceptable methods of assessment

Methods of assessment employed in the Faculty of Business and Economics include:

final (i.e. terminal), invigilated examinations
class tests (normally held in scheduled lecture or tutorial ours) - (see Class Tests and Class Participation)
written assignments - (see Written assignments)
class participation - (see Class participation)
research projects
oral presentations and assessment
mid-semester tests
group assessment
self-administered computer tests.

Approval of proposed methods of assessment

The proposed methods of assessment should be approved by the relevant department, the undergraduate studies committee and then by faculty board at the time the unit is approved. Any subsequent amendment that is significant enough to affect the Handbook entry, must also be approved by the department committee and the board. (See Faculty Guidelines for major and minor changes to units.)

Assessment by final examination

All units must have an examination or invigilated assessment component. Exemptions may be approved by Faculty Board for units at third year level or above that have prerequisite units that have a substantial examination component on a case-by-case basis.

Assessment hurdles

A student should normally achieve at least fifty per cent in total to pass a unit, including a mark of at least forty per cent in the final invigilated examination, although Departments can increase this latter minimum requirement. For third-year and higher-level units, exemption from this final examination requirement may be approved by Faculty Board on a unit-by-unit basis.

A ‘hurdle’ is an additional requirement needed to pass a given unit. Hurdle requirements must be set out in the unit outline that is distributed in the first week of the teaching semester. A 'marks hurdle' is a requirement to achieve a certain mark in a specified component or components of the assessment of the unit. Examples of other hurdles include a minimum attendance requirement or a requirement to complete all components of assessment. In situations where the Faculty Discipline Committee or the chief examiner disallows a piece of work submitted for a unit the student will not be considered to have completed that component of the unit.

Where the result on an assessment task with a hurdle is below 40%, the maximum returned for the unit must be 43%.

For cases where the result on the assessment task that has the hurdle requirement is between 40% and the required hurdle level, the Chief Examiner has the option of returning either:

A result for the unit that would ensure that the student was never eligible for an NP, that being up to 43%; or
A result for the unit that may allow the student to obtain an NP if it became the last unit for the degree, that is, up to 48%.

(The Chief Examiner may make this choice for each relevant student based upon the circumstances of that student).

The procedure to be followed should be made clear to students at the start of the semester in the unit outline. A general statement should appear in the Handbook specifying that hurdle requirements (appropriately defined) may apply and referring to unit outlines.

Open book examinations

Most examinations and class tests are of the closed book variety, (i.e. are examinations to which students may not bring any texts). If it is proposed that an examination (or test) be by an open book examination, such a proposal should be noted by the Undergraduate Studies Committee and published in the Handbook. When open book examinations are held, the materials are to be none other than those approved and specified by the Chief Examiner.

Written assignments

A maximum word limit should be established for each assessable written assignment. As a general guideline, the weight attributable to such assignments is ten per cent of the final mark for each 1000 words. This should be specified in the unit outline distributed in the first week of the semester. Assignments involving computing or quantitative methods will normally be equated in a different way. Assessment solely by a written assignment is not normally acceptable except in relation to a research unit (or as specified in Assessment by Final Examination).

Assessment in units taught in streams, different modes & at different year levels

This may be achieved by different essay or examination questions. In all cases, equivalent assessment should be sought. Where this is not possible, this difference should be noted in the unit outline for each mode and in the handbook.

Where a unit of the same credit-point value is offered at different academic year levels, there must be a qualitative difference in the assessment.

Teaching a unit in different streams or different modes (such as on-campus and by distance) may require some variations in some or all components of assessment. However, these different assessment regimes may present problems when it comes to moderating marks.

Unit assessment for multi-campus units

All variations of a unit taught under the same code should be identical in syllabus and assessment, although local variations could occur in emphasis and examples.
Where it is necessary to vary the syllabus to any significant degree the correct approach is to create a new unit with a different code.

Giving students a choice in relation to the methods by which they are to be assessed

Students may be offered a choice as to the methods by which they are to be assessed, e.g. a class test in lieu of a written assignment, in some components of assessment of specified weights. The choice cannot be changed after the deadline has been specified. The procedures and rules governing such student choice should be specified in the unit outline.

The grading system

Refer to the University's Grading Scale policy.

Examples of grades & corresponding achievement levels

Examples of grades corresponding to levels of achievement in assignments in some discipline areas follow.
These may not be as applicable to quantitative units. Consideration should be given to communicating to students the relevant criteria for an item of assessment.

	HD High Distinction 80-100%	D Distinction 70-79%	C Credit 60-69%	P Pass 50-59%	N Fail 0-49%
General description	Outstanding or exceptional work in terms of understanding, interpretation and presentation	A very high standard of work which demonstrates originality and insight	Demonstrates a high level of understanding and presentation and a degree of originality and insight	Satisfies the minimum requirements	Fails to satisfy the minimum requirements
Reading	Strong evidence of independent reading beyond core texts and materials	Evidence of reading beyond core texts and materials	Thorough understanding of core texts and materials	Evidence of having read core texts and materials	Very little evidence of having read any of the core texts and materials
Knowledge of topic	Demonstrates insight, awareness and understanding of deeper and more subtle aspects of the topic. Ability to consider topic in the broader context of the discipline	Evidence of an awareness and understanding of deeper and more subtle aspects of the topic	Sound knowledge of principles and concepts	Knowledge of principles and concepts at least adequate to communicate intelligently in the topic and to serve as a basis for further study	Scant knowledge of principles and concepts
Articulation of argument	Demonstrates imagination or flair. Demonstrates originality and independent thought	Evidence of imagination or flair. Evidence of originality and independent thought	Well-reasoned argument based on broad evidence	Sound argument based on evidence	Very little evidence of ability to construct coherent argument
Analytical and evaluative skills	Highly developed analytical and evaluative skills	Clear evidence of analytical and evaluative skills	Evidence of analytical and evaluative skills	Some evidence of analytical and evaluative skills	Very little evidence of analytical and evaluative skills
Problem solving	Ability to solve very challenging problems	Ability to solve non-routine problems	Ability to use and apply fundamental concepts and skills	Adequate problem-solving skills	Very little evidence of problem-solving skills
Expression and presentation appropriate to the discipline	Highly developed skills in expression and presentation.	Well developed skills in expression and presentation.	Good skills in expression and presentation. Accurate and consistent acknowledgement of sources.	Adequate skills in expression and presentation	Inadequate skills in expression and presentation. Inaccurate and inconsistent acknowledgement of sources.

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