Student Assessment and Workload Policy

PURPOSE

This policy provides a framework for all assessment in all Leaders Institute (LI) units to support 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. It also provides a guide regarding the time an average student is expected to put into a unit to progress through the relevant course.

SCOPE

All courses

PRINCIPLES

LI ensures that assessments:

• are clear, reliable, equitable, and flexible measurements of learning outcome attainment;

• adhere to the LI Assessment Workload Calculator;

• include early ungraded, formative assessment to provide students with feedback on progress prior to the census date, identify students who are not engaging, and identify students who need additional support;

• due dates are mapped across the semester;

• ensure that at least one major assessment in each unit is invigilated. Professional accreditation requirements might mandate a higher weighting;

• clearly explain why, what, and how generative artificial intelligence should or should not be used;

• will ensure equity of access by requiring only subscription-free generative artificial intelligence platforms, where relevant;

• clearly explain how and where to appropriately cite generative artificial intelligence tools that assisted in the production of the assessment;

• should include the application of knowledge and skills, with a personal reflection e.g. case studies, reflections, presentations;

• ensure responses to student queries within two (2) working days and standard enquiries are resolved within five (5) working days;

• ensure timely, informative, and constructive feedback and grading usually with three (3) weeks and before the next assessment is due;

• 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;

• include a transparent grading process;

• may include group work that usually comprises no more than 30% of the total assessment;

• are relevant to the learning resources specified in a unit;

• enable students to demonstrate clearly the level of achievement that they have attained;

• accommodate student diversity;

• clearly state 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;

• meet the requirements for professional accrediting bodies, if relevant.

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

DEFINITIONS

Criterion Referenced Assessment: 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: designed to assess prior knowledge or academic readiness at the beginning of a course or unit.

Exam (closed book): allowable items are restricted to writing and drawing instruments, a basic calculator (without scientific calculations capability or networking capability), an unmarked, printed translation dictionary, and one A4-sized, double-sided page of the student's own printed or handwritten notes.

Exam (restricted): as for a closed book exam plus additional items as specified on the exam paper. Additional items might include textbooks and hard copies of learning resources downloaded from the Moodle™ page for the relevant unit.

Exam (open): any items other than devices capable of networking are allowed, provided that their total size does not exceed the equivalent of a box of five reams of 80 gsm, A4 copying paper. Devices capable of networking include computers, tablet devices, smart phones, smart watches, smart glasses, and Bluetooth pens.

Exit Grade: 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: compulsory or voluntary assessment that does not count towards the exit grade. It provides timely feedback to students about how their learning is progressing and identifies to students and academic staff any problems or obstacles that students are encountering. It typically begins early in the unit (before the end of week 3 and prior to census date).

Generative Artificial Intelligence: deep learning tools that can create high-quality text, images, and other content based on data available.

Group Assessment: undertaken in groups of two or more students.

Major Assessment: at least 25% of the total exit grade.

Marking Guide: for each marking criterion, a simple comment explains what is being sought, and the maximum mark that can be awarded.

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: compulsory assessment that contributes to the calculation of the exit grade.

Workload: time to which each student is notionally committed.

Exams

• Questions from recent assignments or exams should not be re-used.

• A mixture of question types should be included e.g. true/false, multiple choice, short answer, long answer).

• Exams should be password-protected.

• Feedback should be delayed until after the time for submission has passed.

• Additional attempts should not be allowed (if they are allowed, students should not be given additional time).

Permissible Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence

The relevant lecturer determines where and how generative artificial intelligence tools can be used in a unit, assessment task, or part of an assessment task. All specifications of use are clearly stated in the unit profile in the learning management system and published prior to commencement of semester or no later than four (4) weeks before the assessment task details are made available to students. Assessment will only require freely available generative artificial intelligence platforms. No student will have an unfair advantage through purchasing a sophisticated generative artificial intelligence platform.

Where the lecturer specifies that generative artificial intelligence is not permitted, the decision based on educational reasoning, the assessment task and its function in generating particular evidence of student learning. The reason is clearly stated in the relevant section of the learning management system and published prior to commencement of the semester or no later than four (4) weeks before the assessment task details are made available to students.

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 they submit assessments correctly and on time.

• Every assessment task submitted must be the student's own work and they will be required to sign the Academic Integrity Declaration each time an assessment is submitted.

• Students who submit an assessment item, other than an exam, after the 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%.

• Breaches of academic integrity will be dealt with according to the Academic Integrity Policy.

Extension of Assessment Due Date

• Where there are extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control, the student must submit to the relevant lecturer the Assessment Extension Form, supported by appropriate documentation. The lecturer 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 lecturer 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 re-submitted 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 Complaints, Grievances, and Appeals 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 Exit Grades);

• where it is not possible to finalise a grade in time for the Examiners Committee meeting, a temporary grade will be assigned (see Exit Grades). 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;

  • report quarterly to Academic Board.

  
  

Supplementary Assessment

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

If a student receives a 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).

Exit Grades

Student Workload

LI uses credit points to define its course requirements and provides guidance to students on what is a reasonable workload in each teaching period. In general, one (1) credit point should equate to one (1) hour of student work per week across a normal 14-week semester. A 'full-time' study load is 40 credit points which is usually expected to amount to about 40 hours of student per week. This study time could include:

• classes (on-campus or online);

• tutorials, if relevant;

• preparation time for appropriate engagement during class;

• out of class time, including access to libraries, student-to-student interaction for learning purposes, etc;

• completing assessments;

• study administration time for each unit.

This study time does not include orientation or social activities. Workload may be varied around the load norms described in the following table, depending on the course, delivery mode, and pedagogical approaches. Where class hours are reduced (e.g. intensives), reading requirements and personal study expectations are increased.

A student can enrol in up to 50 credit points a semester without formal approval. If a student wishes to enrol in more than 50 credit points in one semester, this request must be submitted to the Program Director (or delegated authority) for approval. It is noted that this provision is for extraordinary circumstances and only allowed for students who have demonstrated self-directed learning. This provision should not affect the learning or course learning outcomes, as all the assessments would need to be met.

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 exam other than where such items are approved by the relevant lecturer.

Communication During Exams

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 exam, 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, assistance to any other student;

• bringing a non-permitted item 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 Academic Integrity Policy, and the process specified in that policy will 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.