Assessment: Course assessment committees and program assessment boards procedure

Procedure

Intent

Assessment and the monitoring of student progression and results play a critical role in safeguarding academic standards and ensuring comparable academic outcomes. This is particularly important when similar programs and courses are offered at different locations or modes of delivery (for example, onshore, offshore and through Open Universities Australia).

Critical tasks must be carried out at both the course and program level when managing and finalising assessment and in ensuring the quality of the assessment process and outcomes.

This procedure identifies the requirement for schools to establish course assessment committees to undertake the key tasks at the course level, and program assessment boards which are responsible for monitoring and managing student progression issues at the program level.

Scope

VET, foundation studies, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework courses and programs; and the coursework component of higher degree by research programs

Exclusions

  • VCE and VCAL courses and programs
  • the research component of higher degree by research programs

Procedure

1 Course assessment committees

The Dean/Head of School is responsible for ensuring that course assessment committees are established to monitor and manage the assessment and results outcomes for individual courses managed by the school.

This section sets out the membership and terms of reference for course assessment committees.

The course assessment committee is a decision-making body.

The findings and recommendations of the course assessment committee should be available to inform the course quality review processes.

Who is involved in this process?

  • Deputy Dean/Head (discipline area) – Chair
  • Program managers and coordinators
  • Course managers and coordinators
  • School administrators

Process step/action

Responsibility

Time-frame
1.1 Establishment of course assessment committees

1.1.1 The Dean/Head of School will ensure that course assessment committees are established for each course offered by the school, other than ungraded competency-based VET courses. Course assessment committees are not required to be convened for VET courses with ungraded competency-based assessment, although schools have discretion also to convene them for this type of course.

1.1.2 Schools will have flexibility about how they organise the committee. Meetings can be held concurrently to ensure efficiency and may deal with multiple programs and courses, as appropriate to the size and complexity of the school.

1.1.3 In schools where there are multiple disciplines separate course assessment committees may need to be established to consider the results for all the courses in the discipline. In other schools a single course assessment committee might look at the results of all courses managed by the school.

1.1.4 Depending on the number of courses being considered, the agenda for the committee meeting may be divided into year levels to enable course coordinators to be in attendance as required for the relevant year level, rather than for the whole meeting.

1.1.5 This procedure outlines a proposed quorum for the committee, so schools have flexibility about who is involved and can decide how to organise these meetings most efficiently so long as they undertake the actions under the terms of reference.

Dean/head of school

At the commencment of each academic year
1.2 Membership of course assessment committees

1.2.1 The membership of the course assessment committee will comprise:

  • Deputy Dean/Head of School Learning and Teaching or discipline head, who will be the Chair
  • Staff responsible for course management/ coordination
  • Staff responsible for marking and grading assessment. In the case of VET courses the program team may act as the committee, with the program manager/leader as the Chair

1.2.2 A quorum of a meeting of the course assessment committees will comprise:

  • Chair;
  • at least one member of staff responsible for course management/coordination; and
  • at least one marker/grader for each location in which the course is delivered

1.2.3 Appropriate secretarial support will also be provided from within the school.

1.3 Terms of reference

The course assessment committee is responsible for the following activities for all courses offered by the school:

  • finalisation of any missing and interim results
  • monitoring grade distribution
  • adjustment, scaling and moderation of results at the course level, ensuring comparability of standards of results across locations (in accordance with the Assessment: moderation and validation procedure)
  • ensuring an auditable quality process has been actioned for all narrowly failed final grades
  • granting supplementary assessment
  • approval of final grades for courses
  • allocating course-based prizes, awards or commendations
  • compiling course outcome statistics
  • ensuring that a permanent and auditable record of the minutes of the meeting is created and maintained

Course assessment committees

At the end of each main teaching period, or when student results are available (whichever is the earlier) and before the scheduled meeting of the program assessment board
1.4 Frequency of meetings

The course assessment committee will meet at the end of each semester/term, after marking has taken place and as course results are being finalised.

At the end of each main teaching period, or when student results are available (which ever is the earlier) and before the scheduled meeting of the Program Assessment Board

2 Program assessment boards

The Dean/Head of School is responsible for ensuring that a program assessment board is established to monitor and manage student academic progress at a program level in all programs managed by the school. This section sets out the membership and terms of reference for program assessment boards.

The program assessment board is a decision-making body.

The findings and recommendations of the program assessment board should be available to inform the program quality review processes.

Who is involved in this process?

  • Deputy Dean/Head, Learning and Teaching
  • Deputy Dean/Head (discipline area)
  • Program managers and coordinators
  • Other academic staff who play a significant role in the delivery of the program
  • School administrators

Process step/action

Responsibility

Time-frame
2.1 Establishment of program assessment boards

2.1.1 The Dean/Head of School will ensure that a program assessment board is established to monitor and manage student academic progress at a program level in all programs offered by the school.

2.1.2 A program assessment board may be organised by school or by program (or by program by location in regional and transnational situations). In VET programs, the membership of the program assessment board may comprise all members of the program team.

Deans/heads of school

At the commencment of each academic year
2.2 Membership of program assessment boards

2.2.1 The membership of the program assessment board will comprise:

  • Deputy Dean/Head, Learning and Teaching (Chair)
  • Deputy Dean/Head (discipline area)
  • Program manager, leader, coordinator or manager
  • Year or course coordinators
  • Representatives of other schools involved in shared double degrees or service teaching courses

2.2.2A quorum of a meeting of the program assessment board will comprise

  • Chair; and
  • At least two members of the academic and teaching staff from the discipline from any membership category

Secretarial support will be provided from within the school.
2.3 Terms of reference

The program assessment board is responsible for the following activities within the program/s for which it is constituted:

  • approving, or in the case where a course is managed by another school, requesting, the award of a supplementary assessment on the basis of a narrow failure in one course which is the final course needed by the student to graduate
  • reviewing the grades or competencies achieved and academic progress of each student in the program in each teaching period
  • determining honours degree classifications and pass with distinction for completing students
  • graduation eligibility checking
  • approving allocation of program-level prizes and awards
  • identifying students who are at risk of unsatisfactory academic performance (first stage) and nominating an academic advisor to develop a performance improvement plan with the student (or without the student if they choose not to participate)
  • monitoring interventions made with students at risk of unsatisfactory academic progress and recommending to the Dean/Head of School actions to improve the effectiveness of academic advisors
  • identifying students with established unsatisfactory academic progress (final stage) and requesting the secretary to invite the student to show cause why they should not be excluded from the University
  • considering student ‘show cause’ submissions (written and/or in person) against exclusion and deciding whether the student has demonstrated cause to remain in the program. The program assessment board will either recommend to the Dean/Head of School that the student should be excluded from the program or decide other actions where a student provides an acceptable case, in accordance with the procedures for unsatisfactory academic progress (coursework programs)
  • arranging for students formally identified as at risk first or final stage to be recorded on the student database in accordance with the instructions of the Academic Registrar
  • ensuring that a permanent and auditable record of the minutes of the meeting is kept

Program assessment board

At the end of each main teaching period, when student results are available
2.4 Frequency of meetings

The program assessment board will meet at the end of each semester/term, after course results have been finalised by the course assessment committees. It may be necessary for the board to meet on more than one occasion to consider results arising from supplementary and deferred assessments, and to consider show cause submissions received from students who have reached final stage of unsatisfactory academic progress.

Depending on the number of programs being considered, the agenda for the program assessment board meeting may be divided into sections grouping a number of programs together where those attending for particular sections of the agenda will be the relevant deputy dean/head (discipline area), and program managers and other academic staff making a significant contribution to the program.

At the end of each main teaching period after the conduct of deferred assessments, and after the receipt of show cause submissions.

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