Student Assessment Policy

PURPOSE

This policy provides a framework for all assessment in all Leadership Institute (LI) units that supports the learning and development of students. It is the basis for judgement about how well students have achieved the learning outcomes of the units in which they are enrolled.

PRINCIPLES

LI ensures that the assessments in each unit:

• are clear, reliable, equitable, and flexible measurements of learning outcome attainment;
•    adhere to the LI Assessment Workload Calculator;
•    include a diversity of genres which are authentic and industry-based, relating to student experience and career aspirations;
•   are designed and administered to minimise breaches of the Academic Integrity Policy;
•   include due dates that are mapped across the semester and atransparent grading process;
•   may include group work that usually comprises no more than 30% of the total assessment;
•   ensure timely, informative and constructive feedback and grading of assessment usually within a maximum of three weeks and before the next assessment is due;
•  are relevant to the learning resources specified in a unit;
•  meet the requirements of professional accrediting bodies, if relevant;
•  enablestudents to demonstrate clearly the level of achievement that they have attained;
•  accommodate student diversity;
•  include clearly the maximum marks available, weighting in aggregation of marks for the unit, length or duration, due dates, and marking guides or rubrics and are made available to students by the end of the first week of scheduled classes.

LI commissions external invigilators to invigilate all on-campus and online exams.

Flexible arrangements for students with a disability

Students who have registered with a disability may be approved for one or more of the following:

•  extension of due dates on assessment items other than exams;
•  additional reading and/or working time in an exam;
• time out during an exam;
• access to assistive technology;
• a scribe who can write for them;
• ready access to unwrapped food, water in a transparent container, or medication;
•  separate supervision arrangements where an assessment item, such as an exam, is invigilated.

Submission of assessments

•  Students are responsible for ensuring that theysubmit assessments correctly and on time.
•  Every assessment task submitted must be the student’s own work and they will be required to sign theAcademic Integrity Declaration each time an assessment is submitted.
•  Students who submit an assessment item, other than an exam, afterthe due date will be penalised by up to 10% of the maximum marks available for that assessment item per calendar day or part thereof.
•  To qualify for a passing exit grade in a unit, a student must achieve a final overall grade of at least 50%.
•  Where there is evidence of a breach ofAcademic Integrity Policy, a mark of zero will be recorded for an assessment item until the breach has been resolved.

Extension of assessment due date

•  Where there are extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control, supported by appropriate documentation, the Unit Coordinator may grant an extension of the due date (except for an exam), provided that the student has submitted a request on or before the due date.
•  Where there are extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control, supported by appropriate documentation, the Unit Coordinator may offer a deferred exam to be held in the official deferred exam period.
•  Academic Board is responsible for reviewing assessment practice regularly.

Review of assessment grades

•  Students have the right to request an explanation of grades for work completed during the semester. Initially, students should discuss any concerns with their lecturer. If the student is still not satisfied and feels there are grounds for requesting that an assessment task be re-marked or a supplementary assessment task be completed in the event of a fail grade, they should contact the Program Director. The Program Director may arrange for a further grading opinion from another academic staff member, or oversee a re-marking of the paper.
•  Where a resubmitted assessment for a failed assessment task is allowed, the student is eligible to earn a maximum of a pass grade (50%).
•  A lecturer may offer a student who has done the work but failed an assessment the opportunity to resubmit an improved version, or a new assessment, for a maximum pass grade (of 50%).
•  In the event of a re-marking request by a student, the re-marked result will be the officially recorded result for that assessment item, thus, the appeal may result in a lower grade being awarded for the assessment task.
•  Notwithstanding the above, the student has no automatic right to a remark, resubmission, or supplementary assessment task. The Program Director may determine that the student has no grounds for a review.

Any further appeals of an assessment grade should be directed to the Grievances and Appeals Resolution Policy.

Awarding grades

The process for awarding exit grades is:

•  a student is assigned a mark for each summative assessment item;
•  marks for summative assessment items are aggregated by applying weights specified in the unit outline;
•  grade cut-offs are applied to the weighted aggregate marks (see schedule 1);
•  Where it is not possible to finalise a grade in time for the Examiners Committee meeting, a temporary grade will be assigned (see schedule 1). All temporary grades, with the exception of the Incomplete Grade – Mark Pending (IP), shall have a due date specified;

·   Examiners Committee will:

–    check that the distribution of grades within each unit is reasonable in the context of each unit;

–    investigate anomalies in the distribution of grades among units;

–    investigate anomalies in the distribution of grades for each student;

–    identify students for a Letter of Commendation from the Program Director (students who have achieved a GPA of 6.0 or higher);

–        identify students whose academic progress is at risk (students who have failed more than half the units attempted or who have failed the same unit two or more times);

–        approve exit grades for release to students; and report to Academic Board on above.

Supplementary assessments

Supplementary assessment is designed to support a student’s learning, course progression, and completion. Supplementary assessment is not a re-assessment of the student’s overall grade, or the mark for an individual assessment item, or a deferred assessment. It consists of a new item (or items) of assessment designed to give a student an additional opportunity to demonstrate satisfactory attainment of learning outcomes as specified for the unit.

If a student receives temporary grade, as per the definitions below, they may meet the eligibility criteria below for supplementary assessment:

•  course rules do not preclude supplementary assessment;
•  the unit is not a field placement unit; and

·   the student has satisfied any compulsory attendance requirements for the unit.

An eligible student will be offered only one supplementary assessment in one unit per semester (or study period) regardless of whether the student is studying full-time or part-time. Students must pass all other units in that semester (or study period).

DEFINITIONS

 

Criterion Referenced Assessment	Assessments designed to measure student performance against a fixed set of predetermined criteria. Criterion referenced assessment avoids ‘fitting’ to a normal distribution (norm referenced assessment).
Diagnostic Assessment	Assessment designed to assess prior knowledge or academic readiness at the beginning of a course or unit.
Exit Grade	The overall grade for a student in a unit that is awarded based on aggregating and weighting marks for individual assessment items (‘pass as a whole’).
Formative Assessment	Assessment that is compulsory or voluntary that does not count towards calculation of the exit grade.
Group Assessment	Assessment undertaken in groups of two or more students.
Marking Guide	A marking guide is very similar to a rubric, but simpler. For each marking criterion, a comment explains what is being sought, and the maximum mark that can be awarded is specified.
Rubric	A rubric makes explicit a range of assessment criteria and expected performance standards, usually specified in a matrix. A student’s performance is evaluated against the standard for each criterion.
Summative Assessment	Assessment that is compulsory and contributes to the calculation of the exit grade.

EXIT GRADES

Grade	Code	Grade Point	Definition
Final Grades
Fail – No Assessment Submitted	FNS	0	Student did not submit any assessment item
Fail – Did Not Sit Final Exam	DNS	3	Student did not attempt final exam
Incomplete Fail	IF	3	Student sat final exam but did not submit one or more other assessment items
Withdrawn	W	–	Student enrolled but withdrew without academic penalty
Withdrawn Fail	WF	3	Student enrolled but withdrew with academic penalty
Fail	F	3	When a student has demonstrated an unsatisfactory quality of performance and/or standard of learning achievement, insufficient to pass (i.e. the weighted aggregate mark is <50%)
Conceded Pass	CP	3	Student almost achieved a passing grade (at least 47% weighted aggregate mark) after supplementary assessment. Granted only once at each level (e.g. 100). Not available in any unit that is a prerequisite or corequisite, or is a core unit, or where conceded passes are not permitted by a relevant professional body
Aegrotat Pass	AegP	4	Student was unable to sit or complete the final exam owing to sicknesses as evidenced by a valid medial certificate and, in the judgment of the Unit Coordinator, based on other assessment items, would have passed the exam if not impaired by sickness
Compassionate Pass	ComP	4	Student was unable to sit or complete the final exam owing to extenuating circumstances beyond control of the student as evidenced by documentation such as a valid medical certificate in the case of sickness of a close relative, a death certificate, police report, flight details or witness account signed in the presence of a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Declarations and, in the judgment of the Unit Coordinator, based on other assessment items, would have passed the exam if not impaired by the extenuating circumstances
Non-graded Pass	NGP	4	Student met the cut-off to pass the unit (>50% weighted aggregate mark), but the unit is assessed on a pass/fail basis
Pass	P	4	When a student has demonstrated satisfactory quality of performance and/or standard of learning achievement (50% – <60% weighted aggregate mark)
Credit	C	5	When a student has demonstrated a good quality of performance and/or standard of learning achievement (60% – <70% weighted aggregate mark)
Distinction	D	6	When a student has demonstrated a high quality of performance and/or standard of learning achievement (70% – <80% weighted aggregate mark)
High Distinction	HD	7	When a student has demonstrated an exceptionally high quality of performance and/or standard of learning achievement (>80% weighted aggregate mark)
Temporary Grades
Incomplete Grade –Supplementary Exam	IE	–	Available at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator where a student has almost passed the unit (around 45% weighted aggregate mark) and achieved around 40% in the exam
Incomplete Grade – Supplementary Assessment	IA	–	Available at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator where a student has almost passed the unit (around 45% weighted aggregate mark) and achieved around 40% in the assessment item
Incomplete Grade – Deferred Exam	ID	–	Available where the student has sat but not completed or not sat the exam owing to documented extenuating circumstances beyond their control (e.g. illness, motor vehicle accident or breakdown, urgent family need)
Incomplete Grade – Extension	IX	–	Student has been granted an extension on an assessment item, with a specified due date, other than the final exam
Incomplete Grade – Mark Pending	IP	–	Student has completed all assessment items, but one or more assessment items have not yet been marked

Scope

All courses

Key Stakeholder

All staff and students

Procedures

INVIGILATION OF EXAMS

 

Permitted and Non-Permitted Items

Students are permitted to take the following items into an exam room either on campus or online:

•  student ID card (or equivalent);
•  water in a transparent bottle with the label removed and no writing, logos, or pictures on the bottle;
•  food that is not wrapped;
•  any electronic device required for completing the exam must be approved by the invigilator.

 

Students are not permitted to take and/or access anything which contains, or conveys, or is capable of conveying information concerning or otherwise having reference to the subject matter under examination other than where such items are approved by the Unit Coordinator.

 

Communication during the exam

Students are not permitted to communicate with any other people during the exam, except the invigilator. Any student who communicates with another person will be reported by the invigilator. Failure to abide by these rules will be regarded as a failure to meet student academic integrity requirements under the Academic Integrity Policy, even if it cannot be demonstrated that a student gained an advantage because of the failure.

 

Failure to abide by exam rules

A failure to meet student academic integrity requirements in exams may include, but is not restricted to:

• being in possession of any material or device which contains or conveys, or is capable of conveying, information concerning the subject matter under examination, other than where this is permitted under these rules;
• permitting a student to copy from or otherwise use another student’s work;
• obtaining or endeavouring to obtain, directly or indirectly, assistance during the exam from any student or any other person;
• giving or endeavouring to give, directly or indirectly, assistance to any other student;
• bringing a non-permitted items into the exam room;
• touching/accessing a prohibited electronic device after starting the exam.

 

An invigilator who detects or suspects a failure to abide by these rules will report the matter in accordance with the Student Academic Integrity Policy, and the process specified in those procedures will then be applied. Exceptions to the application of these rules may only be made with the prior approval of the Program Director.

 

In the case of online delivery, exams are conducted via video conferencing. Students must demonstrate that their exam environment is clear of all technology or unit content information. A video and screen recording will be made of the entire exam through the webcam on the student’s computer. Students are not permitted to leave the view of the webcam at any time during the exam, unless permitted by the rules of the exam or special consideration has been granted for students registered with a disability. Any student who leaves the view of the webcam will be reported by the invigilator. Recordings will be referred to the Unit Coordinator and may be made available to other LI staff for review as authorised by the Program Director.