This guidance sets out the institutional interpretation of GEAR and there is an expectation that the guidance will be followed.

Transcription

1 s Academic Services Quality and Standards / Academic Standards and Assessment AREA EXAMINATION BOARDS - GUIDANCE ON NORMAL DECISIONS (2017/18) This guidance sets out the institutional interpretation of GEAR and there is an expectation that the guidance will be followed. The Area Examination Board (AEB) is responsible for determining the results of modules within its remit. All results must be presented to the Board but discussion will normally be limited to those students who have failed to satisfy the requirements of the assessments. All Boards should also consider statistical information on the relative performance of each module. REFERRAL/REPEAT BY ASSESSMENT ONLY TASKS Where the Area Examination Board recommends to the Course Examination Board that a student should be referred / re-assessed, the Area Examination Board must determine: the additional work to be undertaken by the student (which may or may not be a repeat of a previous element of assessment, or a new task designed to test the same learning outcomes); whether any marks for previously passed tasks (where there is more than one) may be carried forward (see GEAR Section C 5.2(iv), page 52) the deadline for submission (which will normally be advised by the school) the level of support that is to be offered to the student (e.g. availability of tutor support or workshop opening hours.) Please see additional guidance for students registered at Hastings RESULT PRESENTED An extension has been granted beyond the date of the Area Examination Board Mark is below 40% (for level 4-6 modules) or 50% (for M level / level 7 modules) REFERAL Referral attempts are capped at the module pass mark The AEB should advise the Course Examination Board that the result is HELD. Note: GEAR discourages granting extensions beyond the date of the examination board wherever possible Where the overall module mark is below 40% (50% PG) and where an attempt has been made for at least part of the overall assessment the normal decision will be REFER. The attempt need not include an attempt at every task where multiple tasks are required. There is no minimum mark below which referral is not permitted and a referral opportunity should normally be offered to students in the first instance. The principal criterion for considering low fails is whether it is reasonable to expect the student to be able to retrieve the module without undertaking further learning and attendance. Page 1 of 5 Academic Services April 2018

2 Where a module contains multiple tasks of which one (or a subset) are referred, the module mark as a whole will be capped REPEAT WITH ATTENDANCE REPEAT WITHOUT ATTENDANCE/BY ASSESSMENT ONLY MULTIPLE ASSESSMENTS, THRESHOLD MARKS AND Q- FLAGS Alternative decisions: FAIL REPEAT WITH ATTENDANCE- this should be used when the only reasonable or practical possibility of the student meeting the learning outcomes of the module is to repeat the module in full (e.g. for placement modules or where the assessment is structured into class activities and no referral task is appropriate). It may also be used where the initial attempt suggests that there is no reasonable prospect of success without further learning. Repeat attendance will usually be subject to a fee. FAIL - REPEAT WITHOUT ATTENDANCE/BY ASSESSMENT ONLY - this option should be used with caution as it precludes the student receiving further learning/tuition for the failed module. It may however be appropriate where there is evidence of engagement with the module (but an aberrant assessment performance). The repeat without attendance may be scheduled in the referral period thus enabling the student to progress (if successful) without slowing down and without being subject to additional fees. GEAR specifies a threshold mark of 30% (levels 4-6) and 40% (level 7). The threshold applies where a module has multiple assessments. Where there is more than one assessment task students are required to achieve an overall pass mark with all tasks meeting at least the threshold mark (e.g. evenly weighted 60+30= 45 overall, both marks meet the threshold = PASS). Thus where multiple assessments lead to an overall pass and all tasks meet the threshold mark the Board must pass the student. The only exception to this is where the module specification as published on StudentCentral makes explicit that both (or all) tasks must be passed Where one of the marks fails to meet the threshold the module will receive a Q-flag (qualified mark). E.g. evenly weighted 60+28=44 overall, Q-flag as one mark is below the threshold. The mark will be reduced to 39 and the student will be referred in the failed task. Boards may however remove the Q-flag where there is evidence that the module learning outcomes have been met. Where the multiple assessments share learning outcomes the marks should be combined to derive the threshold mark (see GEAR B 8.2.2). Where a Board decides to remove the Q-flag, the original overall mark stands. If the Q-flag is retained the mark for the module is reduced to 39 and the module failed (SEE GEAR B 8.2.3) MODERATING MARGINAL FAILS (MULTIPLE ASSESSMENTS) GEAR Section B allows a near fail mark to be moderated to the pass level where the examination board considers that the mark does not appropriately represent the student s performance in the module. This can only apply where the overall module mark is very near the pass mark and where there is more than one assessment task and all thresholds have been met. The Board must be confident that the student has met the module learning outcomes. In these circumstances the Board may moderate the mark to the minimum pass mark. This option is appropriate to reduce the need for minor referrals. It is very unlikely to be used where the overall module mark is below 38% (48% PG). Page 2 of 5 Academic Services April 2018

3 RESULT PRESENTED 0% - NON-SUBMISSION Where the module comprises a single assessment task which has not been submitted or comprises a single examination which has not been attended the module will be recorded as a non-submission and will receive 0% Note: where the module comprises more than one assessment task and at least one task has been submitted/attended, the module mark is derived from the work completed and decisions follow the Referral guidance above (with associated alternatives). FAIL - REPEAT WITH ATTENDANCE REPEAT WITHOUT ATTENDANCE/BY ASSESSMENT ONLY The non-submission normally means that there is no evidence of the student s ability to successfully achieve the learning outcomes of the module without repeating it in full. Exceptionally, where there is strong evidence that a student can achieve the learning outcomes of the module without attending module sessions, they can be given the opportunity to repeat the module by assessment only. Where appropriate, the AEB may recommend that this can be completed during the normal referral period to avoid having to slow down the student s progress. The student would not normally be charged for this repeat module since it would be by assessment only. However, the AEB must be mindful that should the student not pass this reassessment, there are no further opportunities for the student to attend the module. LATE SUBMISSION See GEAR B3.3 Work submitted within the 2 week late period will be marked and feedback will be provided. Work submitted up to 2 weeks after the published deadline will be deemed late and will be subject to a standard penalty (unless mitigating circumstances are upheld). The work will be marked normally and the face value mark should be recorded, but the mark will be capped at the minimum pass mark (40% UG/50% PG). Work submitted more than 2 weeks after the published deadline will not be accepted or marked and the work will be treated as a non-submission (0%). LATE SUBMISSION - MULTIPLE TASKS Where there are two or more assessment tasks any penalty will apply to the individual task and not to the module as a whole. Thus where there are two tasks, one of which is on time and one of which is late, the module mark will be derived from the full mark (on time work) + capped mark (late work). Where there is a single assessment task with multiple components the assessment will be deemed late if one or more of the components is late. Example 1: Single task comprising Essay + Lab Notes leading to a single mark. Page 3 of 5 Academic Services April 2018

4 RESULT PRESENTED The Lab Notes are submitted on time but the Essay is late. The whole submission is therefore late and is capped at 40% Example 2 Two tasks comprising: Task 1 - Essay / Task 2 Lab Notes (leading to two evenly weighted marks) The Lab Notes are submitted on time (and receives 65%) and the Essay is submitted late (with a Face Value Mark of 55%). The Essay is capped at 40 and the mark is derived from 65+40/2=52.5% LATE SUBMISSION - REFERRALS/ DEFERRALS/REPEATS Note: there is no late period for referrals which must be submitted on time. This reflects the fact that referrals are already capped and allowing late submission would simply extend the submission date with no penalty. Repeats and deferrals submitted during the referral period are allowed late submissions. LATE SUBMISSION AND MARK BELOW PASS MARK Where a late submission receives a face value mark below the pass mark there is no additional penalty for the late submission. The student will normally be referred (see referral section). LATE SUBMISSION AND EXTENSIONS In all cases above where an extension has been granted the late period becomes effective from the revised submission date agreed by the extension. MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES Mitigating Circumstances are presented to the Course Examination Board where the overall performance of the student is considered. However, a student who has submitted valid mitigating circumstances will be flagged at the Area Examination Board so that it can recommend alternative decisions depending on whether or not the mitigating circumstances are accepted by the Course Examination Board. For example: If Mitigating Circumstances are Rejected (i.e. normal decision) PASS If Mitigating Circumstances are Accepted Normally PASS - no immediate action is taken and the face value mark is awarded; however, if the mitigating circumstances have been claimed for poor performance, these may subsequently be considered by the Course Examination Board should the student fall into a borderline between award classifications at the end of their course. Exceptionally DEFER - if the mark achieved by the student is very unrepresentative of their usual achievement, the Course Examination Board may agree a deferral and allow the student to submit a re-assessment task as if for the first time (the face value mark for the reassessment task is awarded). REFER FAIL - REPEAT WITH FULL ATTENDANCE FAIL - REPEAT BY ASSESSMENT ONLY DEFER - the student submits a reassessment task as if for the first time and the face value mark for the reassessment task is awarded. DEFER the student takes the module in full as if for the first time and the face value mark for this repeat assessment is awarded. DEFER - the student submits a reassessment task as if for the first time and the face value mark for the reassessment task is awarded. Page 4 of 5 Academic Services April 2018

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