Learning Connection
Assessment measures the knowledge and skills you have developed during a course and your grade is determined by the evidence of these and the Graduate Qualities. There is an Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual that has full details on assessment at UniSA.
Your assignments may include both written and oral assessment tasks. You may be asked to write essays, reports, short answers, case studies, web designs, contracts or practical reports. You may be asked to participate in tutorial discussions, interviews or to do an oral presentation on a specified topic. In some courses you could produce artifacts for assessment and, of course, examinations are a common form of assessment. All assessment items carry a weighting of between about 5% and 70% of the final grade for the course.
You will have all the information about your assessment within the first two weeks of each study period. This means that you will know right from the start of the study period what you must do to pass each course. You can then plan to meet all the deadlines. Any changes that the course coordinator or lecturer wishes to make to the assessment items should be given to students within these first two weeks.
Some students with particular circumstances can negotiate variation to the standard requirements for assessment with the course coordinator. These variations may be for the overall assessment of a course or for examinations only.
For example:
See Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual for more detail.
The grades you may receive for graded courses are identified in the following table.
Name |
Grade |
Percentage |
Grade Units |
|---|---|---|---|
High Distinction |
HD |
85 – 100 |
7 |
Distinction |
D |
75 – 84 |
6 |
Credit |
C |
65 – 74 |
5 |
Pass 1 |
P1 |
55 – 64 |
4.5 |
Pass 2 |
P2 |
50 – 54 |
4 |
Supplementary PassThe course has been passed on the basis of a supplementary assessment. |
SP |
50% |
3.5 |
Supplementary Fail |
F |
below 50% |
0 |
Conceded Pass |
CP |
not applicable |
3 |
Terminating Pass |
TP |
not applicable |
3 |
Fail level 1 |
F1 |
40 – 49 |
1.5 |
Fail level 2 |
F2 |
below 40% |
1.5 |
Non-Graded PassNon-graded courses are assessed as a pass or fail only |
NGP |
50% and above |
Value of 4 units, but these are only calculated if the GPA is less than 4 |
Non-Graded Fail |
NGF |
below 50% |
0 |
Withdraw – not failStudent withdrew from course before the date prescribed by the University |
W |
not applicable |
0 |
Withdraw – failStudent withdrew from course after the date prescribed by the University |
WF |
not applicable |
0 |
There are also some interim notations that are used where no final grade has been given. These are detailed in the following table.
Name |
Interim notation on MyUniSA |
ExplanationRefer to Assessment and results i n the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual. |
|---|---|---|
Supplementary assessment |
S
|
Often referred to as a “supp”. |
Deferred assessment |
D |
Indicates that you have been granted, on medical or compassionate grounds, permission to complete the assessment at a later time. |
Incomplete assessment |
I |
Indicates that the assessment for the course is not completed and an extension of time has been allowed. |
If you fail the course with a mark between 45% and 49%, and achieve a grade point average (GPA) for the study period of at least 3.75 , you may be eligible for a ‘conceded pass’ as part of the Academic Review of student progress. A conceded pass permits you to use the course as a pre-requisite for another course.
As part of the academic review of student progress for
undergraduates, you may be given a terminating pass if the marks
achieved are between 45-49%. This can only be done when your overall
results for the study period are considered as well as other
course-specific rules for terminating passes. A terminating pass does
not permit you to use the course as a pre-requisite for another course.
Other conditions apply and are available in the policy documents.
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is the average of all your grades for the study period by using the following formula:
GPA = Sum of (grade units x course units values) divided by Sum of course units values
If you need a 'Notification of Grade Point Average', you need to
contact Campus Central. A small charge applies. You will be able to collect the
Notification of Grade Point Average at Campus Central or arrange to have it
posted out to you.
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is used to determine your eligibility for:
As soon as you know that you can't meet the deadline set for an assignment, contact the lecturer to negotiate an extension of the due date. The best way to do this is by email.
Extensions are not given on demand - look in your Course Information Booklet for details and your lecturer may tell you in class. You always need a good reason for an extension of time. Generally, you can only get an extension on medical evidence or compassionate grounds and some kind of documentary evidence like a doctor’s certificate is usually necessary.
If you are not satisfied with the grade you received for an assignment, you may be eligible to have it remarked but this can only occur under within 5 days of receiving the grade. The course coordinator will respond to your request within 5 working days of receiving your request. If you want help in negotiating with your lecturers, you can contact the Student Advisory Officer (SAO) in the Students Association on your campus. This person will advise you what to do. Re-marking is not available for final examinations or research theses.
In some cases your lecturer will ask you to resubmit your assignment. In other cases you can initiate the request for a resubmission. In both cases, this means that you are able to improve your assignment by changing it, adding to it or re-writing it. However, resubmission is not available for final examinations or research theses.
There are many students sitting for examinations, so UniSA uses several venues like the Brookman building at City East campus and Ridley Hall at the Showgrounds in the suburb of Wayville. Refer to information about the location of examinations. Special arrangements can be made for students who have temporary or permanent disabilities to take their examinations at other venues. If you require an alternative venue please contact Disability Services at Learning Connection on your Campus.
If you are unable to sit for an examination for medical, disability through accident or other special circumstances (e.g. personal reasons), you can apply to sit for a deferred examination. Applications must be lodged no later than 4 working days after the examination. An application form is available online or from Campus Central and must be completed by a registered doctor, dentist or counsellor. Deferred examinations are usually conducted at the beginning of each study period.
If you believe that illness, disability through accident and/or other special circumstances affected your performance in an exam you may apply for special consideration. Applications for special consideration must be lodged no later than 4 working days after the exam. An application form is available online or from Campus Central and must be completed by a registered doctor, dentist or counsellor.
In these cases, the course coordinator may make no changes to your final grade, may adjust the mark for an assessment item, may provide an extension of time to complete an assignment, may recommend a final grade on the basis of your performance across the course or may provide another assessment tasks which resembles the original one.
If you are found to have breached or contravened the examination procedures in any way, you will be guilty of academic misconduct. The invigilator (supervisor) of the examination will make a note on the examination booklet to inform the course coordinator of your suspected cheating. The Head of School will investigate the incident and if there is insufficient evidence, action will not be taken. If the Head of School finds that there is evidence of misconduct, you will receive a letter asking you to attend a formal inquiry. The inquiry committee will consist of the Head of School, one staff member chosen by the Pro Vice Chancellor of your Division, another staff member, the Registrar (or nominee) and the Student Association President (or nominee). The formal inquiry takes place whether the student attends or not.
In these cases, you may be given a zero score, a note in your file and a reprimand from the Head of School; or you may fail and be suspended from the course for up to a year; or you may be suspended from the university for three years, or at worst you may be expelled from the university.
If you want help dealing with a formal inquiry of this kind, you can contact the Student Advisory Officer (SAO) in the Students Association on your campus. This person will advise you about what to do.
Details about your exam results are available to you through MyUniSA on the University website.
There is a lot that happens after you have sat the exam.
If you want to appeal against the final grade for your course, you need to discuss this with the course coordinator or program director. You must make this contact within 10 working days of the formal notification of the final grade. The usual grounds for appeal are that the specified assessment requirements were not adhered to, or that the course coordinator did not give due consideration to the necessary provisions for students with a disabilities.
At the end of each study period the School Board conducts a formal review of all students’ academic progress: this is called ‘Academic Review’. If you are identified as making unsatisfactory progress you will receive a letter from the University. If you require further information about the academic review process please refer to Academic review of student progress in the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual. The online workshop Responding to Unsatisfactory Academic Progress may also be of assistance.
Visit Learning Connection on your campus for further information and advice.
