For details of examination regulations please refer to the Examinations regulations, Monash University Calendar, available in the library.
Use of English and foreign language dictionaries
As English is the language of instruction within Monash University foreign language translation dictionaries normally are not permitted to be used by students sitting an examination held by the faculty.
* Caulfield and Peninsula: An English language dictionary is provided in each examination room by the faculty for use by students in subject examinations. Foreign translation dictionaries may be taken into an `open book' examination unless otherwise stated by the subject examiner on the examination paper.
Use of calculators
* Clayton: Calculators containing a full set of alphabetic keys will not be permitted in examinations.
Results processing
At the end of each semester, following the completion of the examinations, a board of examiners considers each student's performance as a whole before the results are published. All undergraduate and most postgraduate students who pass are graded into the categories of high distinction, distinction, credit and pass. Some courses use honours subject results and these are classified into first class, second class division A, second class division B, third class and pass.
Table 4: Marks and grades
Marks Grade
range
0-49 NN Fail
40-44 NS Fail, supplementary exam
awarded
45-49 PII Pass division II,
available only to first
year Clayton campus
students. Progression to
second year in that
discipline is not permitted
50-64 P Pass
65-74 C Credit
75-84 D Distinction
85-100 HD High Distinction
NE Not Examined. Used when a
subject is taught over two
semesters.
PGO Pass grade only. Applies
to a limited range of
subjects on the Caulfield
and Peninsula campuses.
WH Withheld. Used when
assessment is outstanding
due to a special
consideration application
or incomplete assessment
Honours grade
65-69 HIII
70-74 HIIB
75-79 HIIA
80-100 HI
Grades
only are released for subjects taught as part of honours courses and all
courses taught on the Caulfield and Peninsula campuses.Students should note that fail grades are made on the recommendation of two examiners (following the process specified under the section on Assessment). Under Monash University regulations there is no procedure for re-mark applications.
Results are mailed out to students by the Examinations Branch. They are also posted on notice boards on each campus. Student results are identified by student ID number only, not by name.
Table 5: Location of examination results
Campus Location of notice
board
Caulfield A block
Clayton Rotunda
Gippsland Student Administration
Peninsula Level 2, A building
Access
to examination scriptsAccess to examination scripts is in accordance with university policy. If students wish to inspect or have copies of their scripts, they should apply at the departmental office, where they may be given photocopies at a fee of $5 per script book for each examination or a time will be arranged for them to read through their scripts. The choice of procedure is decided by the subject chief examiner or course leader.
Students may be denied access to their scripts if the examination is a short answer or multiple choice module which the examiner intends to use again. Examination script books are routinely destroyed six months after the publication of the results.
Academic progress
Caulfield and Peninsula
Students are generally required to follow the course as structured. Where a subject has not been satisfactorily completed students are required to repeat that subject, if offered, the following semester.
Variation to pre-planned enrolment is only permitted if the student has failed a subject and must comply with the policy that they repeat the failed subject in the following semester, or a pre-planned subject is not offered in that semester, or unresolvable timetable clashes confirmed by the administrative staff necessitate the choosing of another subject.
Clayton
In first-year subjects, progression from first semester into second semester shall not be affected by the results obtained in first semester subjects. Students must successfully complete three out of four first-semester subjects in order to qualify to overload second-semester enrolments with a repeated first-semester subject. All first-semester subjects will be allowed the normal grades of NS for scores of 40-44 and PII for scores of 45-49. Supplementary or PII grades will be awarded by the board of examiners at its December meeting. In general students cannot progress into the second-year subjects of a discipline until both first-year subjects of that discipline have been successfully completed.
Students will not be allowed to enrol for a non compulsory subject more than twice without the prior consent of the head of the teaching department.
Gippsland
Students are generally required to follow the course as structured. Where a subject has not been satisfactorily passed, students are required to repeat that subject, if offered, the following semester.
Supplementary assessment
Caulfield, Peninsula and Gippsland
Students may apply for a supplementary assessment in their final subject where a pass has not been awarded. Details and an application form are available from the relevant administration office.
Clayton
Students who fail a subject, which is the last subject necessary to complete the undergraduate degree, will be given supplementary assessment in that subject provided that they have completed all the work for the subject, have sat the final examination and have obtained a mark of at least forty per cent in the subject. This may be in the form of supplementary examinations which are normally held in late January.
Supplementary examinations may be awarded in first-year subjects. Students shall be eligible for a maximum of three PII and/or supplementary examination results over the whole of first-year.
Special consideration and deferred examinations
Special consideration is granted to students whose performance in an examination or other assessment has been significantly affected by illness or other serious cause. Special consideration applications are referred to the examiners who take the application into account when marking the papers.
Further to the university's regulation on special consideration (Examinations regulations, subsection three), the following shall apply to candidates within the faculty.
1 Applications for special consideration will only be considered when accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation. Refer to the form Application for special consideration and/or special (deferred) examinations which can be collected from the relevant administration office.
(a) Where special consideration is sought on medical grounds the application must be accompanied by a medical certificate and should include a statement by the doctor, in the space provided on the form, as to the student's ability to study for and/or undertake the assessment concerned.
(b) Where special consideration is sought after consulting with a counsellor the application must be accompanied by a letter from the counsellor and should include a statement by the counsellor, in the space provided on the form, as to the student's ability to study for and/or undertake the assessment concerned.
2 Where insufficient documentation is submitted to support the request, the student will be informed that additional supporting evidence is required before special consideration can be considered.
3 An application should be submitted within forty-eight hours after the last examination scheduled for the candidate in accordance with subsection 3.2 of the Examinations regulations.
4 Lack of facility with English is not a sufficient reason for special consideration to be granted.
5 A student should not be granted a higher grade or mark for the sole reason that special consideration was merited.
6 In cases where special consideration is warranted, it consist of one or more of the following options:
(a) the granting of additional time in which to complete a prescribed assignment;
(b) a special or deferred test or examination be undertaken (either written or oral);
(c) in the case of a physical handicap, allowing additional time in which to complete a written examination;
(d) in extreme cases, allowing the student to withdraw from the subject without penalty;
(e) setting an additional piece of work to be completed in order to determine the final result for the subject;
(f) arranging a later examination by providing an alternative paper at a later date.
7 The following may be granted special consideration if:
(a) students who were unable to sit the final examination or piece of assessment for a valid and serious reason;
(b) students whose academic performance throughout the semester indicated that they would have performed significantly better had it not been for the circumstance necessitating the special consideration claim.
8 (Caulfield and Peninsula) Normally supplementary assessment will not be granted for students outside the 40-50 per cent range. A student who has passed a subject cannot subsequently receive a higher grade as a result of a special consideration application.
9 (Caulfield, Peninsula and Gippsland) Where an examination is to be sat as part of a special consideration supplementary assessment, this examination should, if possible, be scheduled within three weeks of the original assessment date or during a scheduled university supplementary examination period except where the subject examiner deems that special circumstances justify an alternative date.
10 (Clayton) Special examinations are normally taken at the same time as the supplementary examinations in late January. This applies to supplementary or special examinations in respect of both semesters. Applications for special examinations are referred to the dean, and at the board of examiners meeting the application for special consideration is taken into account when assessing the student's results as a whole.
Unsatisfactory progress
Students whose progress is considered unsatisfactory may be liable to exclusion from the faculty, but no decision will be taken to exclude a student until the student has been given an opportunity to present a case to the unsatisfactory progress committee. No student will be excluded without being given an opportunity to appear in person before the committee.
Any student falling into one or more of the categories listed under the following campus headings will be liable for exclusion or review by an Unsatisfactory Progress Committee. The rules relating to Statute 6.2 Exclusion for unsatisfactory academic performance shall apply.
Caulfield, Gippsland and Peninsula
The academic performance of the student is deemed to be unsatisfactory if:
1 the student fails for the second time to pass a subject;
2 the student fails, in the two most recent semesters during which the student was enrolled, to pass subjects amounting to more than half of the student's workload;
3 the student fails to comply with any condition imposed upon the enrolment or re-enrolment.
Clayton
The academic performance of the student is deemed to be unsatisfactory if:
1 a first-year student fails in more than half of the subjects taken in the year. Subjects discontinued during the year may also be taken into account.
2 a later-year student has repeated failures in a compulsory subject; failure in a substantial proportion of the year's work (normally greater than 50 per cent); or where the course is unlikely to be completed in eight years.
3 a student fails twice in a non-compulsory subject in later years may not re-enrol in that subject without the approval of the head of department or nominee. Students who are referred to the unsatisfactory progress committee are asked to show cause in writing as to why they should not be excluded.