Assessment
Responsibilities and policies
Teaching staff should be aware that the University and Faculty have strict policies on assessment and staff should familiarise themselves with these policies.
Before you start your teaching, you should consult your unit coordinator about the department's processes regarding assessment, marking and grading, and any associated deadlines.
Academic integrity
Staff should note that the University has clearly defined policies in relation to student academic integrity. All assessment tasks are subject to these policies.
For equity reasons, it is important that any breaches of academic integrity are dealt with officially and it is important that you do not take punitive action against students without first seeking proper advice on procedure and possible penalties.
Each department has a nominated Academic Integrity Officer, a member of academic staff who can advise you on how serious a breach of conduct is, any precedents that have been set in terms of action to be taken and penalties that should be imposed. Staff are encouraged to seek advice from the Academic Integrity Officer before making any contact with a student who you believe has breeched University academic integrity rules.
Academic staff should note that it is your responsibility to help students by providing them with due warning about University rules regarding referencing, plagiarism and cheating. In addition to communicating this via the Unit Outline, you should also ensure that students are aware of the conditions under which you expect them to work to complete their assessment tasks.
A particular example of this is group vs individual assessment. It is important that you clearly communicate the circumstances under which students are expected to collaborate on assessment tasks. Furthermore, you should ensure that you record the names of any students assigned to groups for the purposes of assessment as, under normal circumstances, these students will each be awarded the same mark for the assessment task.
Special consideration
A student whose work during a teaching period, and attendance, performance in a semester test, class presentation or assignment has been affected by illness or other serious cause may apply for special consideration. The Faculty has a clearly defined process which students and staff are required to follow. See Special Consideration Policy and Procedures at
Students must apply for special consideration on the official university application form and lodge the application with the Faculty student administration office or service centre, not the individual lecturer.
Special consideration normally takes the form of either (i) an extension of time to make a presentation, undertake a class test, or submit an assignment, (ii) waiving of penalty for late submission, or (iii) some adjustment to the assessment of the work.
Extensions and deferrals
No extensions or deferrals can be granted to in-semester assessment or end-of-semester assessment without a formal special consideration request being submitted. For equity purposes, and to avoid misunderstanding, you must not grant extensions or deferrals on an ad-hoc basis.
Results recording
Boards of Examiners (BOEs) are responsible for verifying the results of students enrolled in the Faculty and for transmitting those results to the University. They are also responsible for monitoring action taken on special consideration cases and special examination and, in accordance with Faculty policy, identifying candidates for supplementary examinations, near passes and unsatisfactory progress.
The Faculty has five BOEs:
- Graduate courses, managed by the Caulfield campus
- Graduate courses and honours courses, managed by the Clayton Campus
- Bachelor of Business (Specialised) family of degrees at Caulfield
- Bachelor of Business and Commerce family of degrees at the Berwick, Peninsula, Gippsland , Malaysia and South Africa campuses
- Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics family of degrees at Clayton
The BOEs meet three times a year, once at the end of each semester, and at the end of summer semester. Meetings are convened for winter semesters as required.
The BOEs are chaired by the Course Director, as the Dean's nominee, for the relevant degree family and are supported by a senior member of general staff involved in the administration of each degree family who acts as secretary to the board.
Heads of Department are responsible for reviewing and confirming results for all students enrolled in their units and you should consult your Head regarding the key deadlines and procedures for submitting results.
Record keeping
The unit coordinator is responsible for maintaining proper records of assessment and marking. If you are not the unit co-ordinator, before commencement of semester you should clarify what records need to be kept and who will be responsible for collation and storage of such records.
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