Procedure: Student assessment (coursework)

Purpose

To outline the procedures underpinning the University’s assurance of student learning outcomes through assessment activities.

Definitions

Day means a day shown on the calendar that starts at 12:00.00am (midnight) and finishes at 11:59.59pm (23:59.59) on the same day, including Saturdays, Sundays and a public holiday in the Australian Capital Territory or a University holiday as declared by the Vice-Chancellor. The term “day” shall mean calendar day whether or not expressly identified.

Working day means a day that starts at 12:00.00am (midnight) and finishes at 11:59.59pm (23:59.59) on the same day and is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a public holiday in the Australian Capital Territory or a University holiday as declared by the Vice-Chancellor.

Procedure

Assessment design

1. Teaching staff inform students of the assessment tasks required in a course, the relationship of those tasks to the learning outcomes, the assessment criteria for each assessment task, the word limit penalties that apply (where relevant), and the timing of those assessment tasks and feedback. Students enrolled in a course have the opportunity to request changes to the form and timing of course assessment and feedback before 10% of a teaching period has elapsed. Teaching staff respond to student comments and suggestions.
2. Students enrolled in a course have the opportunity to request changes to the form or timing of specified assessment tasks and associated feedback before 10% of a teaching period has elapsed. Teaching staff respond to student comments and suggestions.
3. In the case of disagreement between students, the teaching staff, and the Course Convenor, the Head of School mediates an outcome.
4. In the event of continued disagreement between students, the teaching staff, Course Convenor, and Head of School, the Associate Dean mediates an outcome.
5. Changes to specified assessment tasks after 10% of the teaching period has elapsed require approval of the Associate Dean.
6. Course examinations are conducted according to the Coursework Awards Rule, and the Assessment Rule.

Late assessment task submission

7. If a Course Convenor determines that late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted for a coursework course, this information is included in the class summary.
8. Where an assignment is submitted after the due date, students are penalised by five per cent of the possible marks available for the assessment task per 24 hour block or part thereof, after the submission deadline, excluding time periods that are not working days. Examples of how marks are deducted based on the submission of an assessment item are shown in the below tables.

9. It is the responsibility of the Course Convenor to notify a student when, as a result of submitting assessment late, a late assessment penalty has been applied. The notification forms part of the return of the assessment item and indicates the mark, the penalty and the final mark after penalty.

Word limit penalties

10. Word limit penalties can only be applied when they are described in full against the assessment item in the class summary. Where a College-wide word penalty applies, a reference to a webpage detailing the College-wide penalty must be included and that reference satisfies the requirement that the penalty be described in full.
11. It is the responsibility of the Course Convenor to notify a student when, as a result of exceeding the word limit for an assessment item, a penalty for exceeding the word limit has been applied. The notification forms part of the return of the assessment item and indicates the mark, the penalty and the final mark after penalty.

Assessment task extensions and other adjustments

12. Where an assessment task is worth less than 20% of the overall course mark, applications for an assessment task extension or adjustment are submitted in writing to the Course Convenor or nominee.
13. Where an assessment task is worth 20% or more of the overall course mark:

1. applications for an assessment task extension or adjustment are submitted in writing to the Course Convenor when both:

1. the extension period requested is less than 10 working days from the published due date in the class summary; and
2. the new due date falls before the return of the marked assessment, as specified in the class summary.

2. an Extenuating Circumstances Application is submitted when either:

3. the extension or adjustment is for 10 or more working days from the published due date in the class summary; and/or
4. the new due date falls on or after the return of the marked assessment, as specified in the class summary.

14. An application for an extension of the due date for an assessment task is submitted on or before the assessment due date. The only exception is where the student could not reasonably be expected to have applied by the appropriate date due to a significant and unforeseen event.
15. Appropriate supporting documentation is provided with a request for an extension to allow the claims to be verified.
16. The request is considered within five working days.
17. The consideration is of whether the reason a student was not able to complete an assessment task by the due date was due to exceptional circumstances beyond a student’s control. Exceptional circumstances that warrant approval of an assessment extension include, but are not limited to, the grounds set out for an Extenuating Circumstances Application (ECA) in clause 35 of the Policy: Student assessment (coursework).
18. If an assessment extension is granted an appropriate new deadline is specified. Further extensions are only considered in cases where evidence is provided of further hardship that could not have been included at the time of the original decision.The due date of an assessment task is not extended beyond the date for return of the assessment item specified in the class summary.
19. Where an extension is granted on medical grounds and is on the basis of a non-chronic condition, an extension of the due date for an assessment task is normally limited to the number of days (calculated to the nearest business day) the student is suffering from the medical condition as indicated on the medical certificate.
20. Students who have a chronic condition and require an extension because of that condition are encouraged to initially follow the Adjustments for students who disclose a disability procedure to request an Education Access Plan that will detail appropriate adjustments to the due date for assessment tasks.
21. The Course Convenor or nominee notifies the student of the outcome of their application for an extension within three working days of the decision. This advice is in writing via the ANU student email address.
22. Where the student gains an unfair advantage as a result of the extension of the assessment due date, an alternative assessment task is set.
23. Where the extension of the due date for an assessment task has been granted and the deadline for the submission of final results cannot be met, an interim grade of DA (Deferred Assessment) is published.
24. Where an application for an extension of the due date for an assessment task is not approved, the Course Convenor, or nominee, provides reasons for the decision.
25. Any appeals against a decision not to grant an extension, or the duration of any extension granted are considered under the process for an appeal of a final result in the Assessment Rule.
26. Where a student can demonstrate ongoing or further exceptional circumstances, an additional extension may be approved.

Extenuating Circumstances Application (ECA)

27. To make an Extenuating Circumstances Application (ECA), a student submits a complete application form to the Division of Student Administration and Academic Services (DSAAS) no later than five working days after the original due date for the relevant assessment. The only exception is where the student could not reasonably be expected to have applied by the appropriate due date due to significant, unforeseeable circumstances beyond their control.
28. Unless otherwise approved by a nominee of the Registrar, an application is not considered complete if:

1. any key information is missing and has not been provided within five working days from the date of the application’s submission, so long as that information has been requested from the applicant;
2. independent supporting documents do not meet the requirements to substantiate the application.

29. Where the nominee of the Registrar deems an application incomplete, the nominee seeks further information or clarification from the student. If the application remains incomplete after further information or clarification has been requested, the application is rejected and an email notification sent to the applicant.
30. Accepted applications are assessed by a nominee of the Registrar against the circumstances stated in clause 35 the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy.
31. Instances that are not approved for an Extenuating Circumstances Application include, in addition to those stated in clause 36 of the Student Assessment (Coursework) policy, but are not limited to:

32. The Registrar or nominee may liaise with the College Associate Dean or nominee to determine whether the grounds for an ECA are approved or not approved. If an ECA is not approved, the student will be provided feedback about the reason for the decision.
33. The College Associate Dean or nominee may liaise with the relevant Course Convenor to determine the adjustment for the ECA.
34. When considering an adjustment or outcome, the following may be taken into consideration:

1. a student’s overall performance and engagement in the course;
2. the severity of the event or condition and its impact on performance;
3. academic standing;
4. other assessment tasks in the course that meet the specified learning outcomes;
5. a current EAP held by the student, if applicable;
6. history of previous applications.

35. A student is notified of the outcome of an ECA within five working days of a decision being made.
36. DSAAS records the outcome of the ECA in the Student Administration System.
37. If a deferred examination is approved, DSAAS notifies the relevant College/s of the outcome who:

1. ensure that an interim result of ‘DA’ (Deferred Assessment) is published for that student;
2. schedule the deferred examination, unless the examination is administered by DSAAS; and
3. advise the student the location and time of the deferred examination, unless the examination is administered by DSAAS.

38. An applicant may appeal the outcome of an original decision in relation to a deferred examination to examinations.officer@anu.edu.au within ten working days of an outcome being notified to the student.
39. An appeal addresses the reasons why the original decision was not aligned with the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy or Procedure.
40. The appeal is considered by a nominee of the Registrar, and an outcome advised to the applicant within ten working days of being received.
41. An applicant may appeal the outcome advised in Clause 40 to the Registrar on procedural grounds only, within ten working days of an appeal outcome being advised to the applicant.
42. The Registrar advises the outcome of a procedural appeal back to the applicant within ten working days of its receipt.

Assessment arrangements for students from language backgrounds other than English

43. Applications must be made

1. On the approved University proforma;
2. By the census date for that semester, or for non-standard semester courses, before 10% of a teaching period has elapsed and, in either case, at least two weeks before the assessment item is due;
3. Only for courses in the first 12 months of enrolment.

44. The Associate Dean appoints, for the purposes of this procedure, one or more nominees for a College.
45. Applications are considered by a nominee. In making a decision, a nominee addresses a student's disadvantage while maintaining standards for learning outcomes and consistency in eligibility, application and action.
46. Applicants who are deemed eligible are given an appropriate level of support and case-by-case arrangements which may comprise:

1. an upper limit of one-third extra time, relative to the time available as published in the class summary, for the timed assessment. Assessment tasks where more than one day passes between release and return of tasks would only be considered timed assessment in exceptional circumstances. This time may be used for writing and/or reading in written examinations, other written assessment tasks, oral examinations, certain task-oriented assessment tasks or online examination or assessment tasks. It may be in addition to other time provided under a student’s EAP, but does not exceed the date specified in the class summary for the return of the assessment item.
2. Access to a suitable language dictionary during an assessment as a supplementary aid. The type of dictionary is determined by a nominee.

47. The College notifies the student at least two weeks before the scheduled examination/assessment task of the outcome of the request for concessions.
48. Students given conditional approval are required to supply evidence of meeting the English development eligibility requirement prior to the due date of the assessment item.
49. The College notifies examinations.officer@anu.edu.au of any special arrangements to be made for centrally-managed examinations.
50. Appeals against the decision of a nominee regarding assessment arrangements for students from language backgrounds other than English can only be made on procedural grounds to the Associate Dean or, where the nominee is the Associate Dean, the Dean of the College offering the course, within five working days of the decision.
51. The Associate Dean or Dean who considers an appeal informs the student of the outcome in writing within 20 working days of receipt of the appeal. The decision of the Associate Dean or Dean is final.

Feedback, grading and marking

52. College Education Committees monitor the distribution of assessment tasks over the semester to ensure a reasonable distribution of major assignments.
53. Excluding thesis (coursework) courses, for semester length courses:

1. with the exception of laboratory reports or tutorial presentations/ tutorial papers, all final assessment tasks (including examinations) are held or due in the examination period;
2. mid-semester undergraduate examinations are held in a common period agreed by all Colleges, and
3. no assessment tasks are due during the period between the end of teaching and the beginning of the examination period.

54. Students must be provided with two or more assessment tasks per course to demonstrate attainment of all of the course learning outcomes, unless it is a College-approved thesis or project course.
55. Where moderation of marks occurs in a course, a statement is included in the Class summary notifying students of this.
56. If a thesis is not completed in one semester, the interim grade KU is used until there is a final result.
57. All interim and unresolved grades (PX, DA, RP) for courses are resolved to an NCN by the College three months after those grades have been reported to the Academic Quality Assurance Committee in an Interim and unresolved Grade Report. For clarity, KU grades are excluded from this process.

Service restrictions

58. Service restrictions are applied to students who:

1. attend a university examination without photo identification and are yet to provide appropriate identification to the Examinations Office; or
2. have an outstanding accommodation debt; or
3. have an outstanding debt in relation to a financial assistance program or field trip; or
4. have outstanding tuition fees, late fees, or services and amenities fees; or
5. have any other outstanding financial liability to the University; or
6. fail to comply with a request from the University to provide original documentation as part of an audit of an application submitted by the student.

59. Service restrictions include withholding students’ access to:

1. enrol or re-enrol in a program or course;
2. a transcript of academic record;
3. results of any assessment in a course or program;
4. receiving a degree, diploma, certificate or other award of the University.

60. Resolving the financial or administrative matter/s that led to the service restriction/s will result in the restoration of withheld services.