Assessment

Presentation of work for assessment
Collusion, collaboration, plagiarism and cheating
Unsatisfactory progress

Students should note carefully the general information on assessment of students contained in the student information handbook. In addition, students enrolled in undergraduate degrees at the Peninsula campus will receive, at the commencement of each academic year, a booklet entitled Assessment policy, which will set out the faculty's policy on a range of matters regarding assessment in these programs.

The faculty uses a variety of methods for assessing the performance of enrolled students, including assignments and other prepared work, practical work, examinations, presentations and performance. The specific means of assessment for each subject is generally included within the outlines of subjects contained in this handbook. Further information, including prerequisites, corequisites and reading lists may also be found there or will be distributed at the initial class for each subject.

In terms of examination grades, the faculty applies the following grades and symbols to its subjects:

High distinction - HD
Distinction - D
Credit - C
Pass - P
Fail - NN

The faculty does not allocate numeric marks.

The three schools of the faculty each have their own boards of examiners which meet at the end of each semester to approve results for all courses. Results are then forwarded from each school to the examinations office of the university for official publication

Students who believe their performance in a subject has been adversely affected may apply for special consideration which may include the sitting of supplementary or deferred examinations. Students are advised to consult in the first instance with the lecturer in charge of the relevant subject.

Presentation of work for assessment

All work presented for assessment must be of good academic quality, including sound English expression. Written work must be clearly legible and all references used must be acknowledged in the list of references and the bibliography. Late work, without prior permission, may not be assessed towards the result in the particular subject. Details of workload and assessment will be issued as soon as possible after enrolment. Students are required to observe assessment regulations as approved by the faculty board. A copy of the regulations is available in the library, or from the administrative offices at each of the three schools.

Collusion, collaboration, plagiarism and cheating

The submission of essays, assignments and homework is an essential part of the learning process and a vital way of assessing students' understanding of a subject. The submitted work must therefore be students' own work. This does not mean that students may not make use of the work of others. However, in quoting or paraphrasing material from other sources, those sources must be acknowledged in full. It may be useful to seek the help of a tutor in preparing the piece of work and to enlist the help of fellow students in sorting out ideas, but the final product must be written by the student in his or her own words.

If students present as their own work that which is nearly identical to that of another student, that which is copied from another person, has been presented by a previous student, or has been presented by a student at another institution, this may be interpreted as cheating.

Plagiarism is regarded as a form of theft and the Pocket Oxford Dictionary defines `plagiarise' as `publish borrowed thoughts, etc., as original; steal (thoughts), steal from (work, author)'. Plagiarism is therefore `theft' and is a serious offence.

Plagiarism occurs when students fail to acknowledge that ideas have been borrowed. Specifically it occurs when:

phrases and passages are used verbatim without quotation marks and without a reference to the author;
an author's work is paraphrased and presented without a reference;
other students' work is copied;
items of assessment are written in conjunction with other students (without prior permission of the relevant staff member);
a piece of work has already been submitted or assessed in another course/subject.

Plagiarism is regarded as a serious misconduct. Students suspected of plagiarism will be given the opportunity to explain their plagiarism to the lecturer and head of school.

If it is agreed that plagiarism has occurred, students will normally receive no marks for the piece of work concerned. Cases of deliberate plagiarism will be dealt with in accordance with the university's disciplinary regulations as outlined in the Monash University Calendar, volume 2, 1996, page 149.

Unsatisfactory progress

A student is generally considered to have made satisfactory academic progress when he or she has successfully completed all subject requirements in a given year. The definition of unsatisfactory progress, for all coursework programs, is (except the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary)):

failure in half or more than half of the year's work;
failure in a subject after two attempts;
failure to comply with relevant regulations (for instance, on time limits of the period of candidature).

Each of the three schools of the faculty has an Unsatisfactory Progress Committee which considers action appropriate for students whose progress is deemed to have been unsatisfactory and are therefore liable for exclusion.

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