14th February, 2007.

 

SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES FOR 2007

 

The assessment procedures listed below only apply to undergraduate courses taught by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Courses forming parts of the programs in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering, but which are taught by other schools or faculties, will be subject to the assessment policies of those schools or faculties. Students should consult the assessment documents issued by those schools or faculties for details of assessment procedures, as they may differ from the procedures listed in this document.

For levels 2, 3 and 4, courses will normally be examined on the basis of end of semester examinations of duration 2 or 3 hours, depending on the unit weighting of the course. The length of the exam will be reduced if a substantial assignment or project forms part of the assessment. There will be no choice of questions, but there may be choice within questions. Each question will be allocated a value of approximately 20 marks. For all examinations, answers to examination questions must be expressed clearly and written legibly and these aspects will be taken into account in assessment. Examination papers are subjected to rigorous moderation by independent academic staff within the School.

Assessment for each of the courses is based primarily on the overall result in the course, but a performance of at least a prescribed minimum standard may also be required in constituent parts.

Course results will be graded as follows:

High Distinction               85-100

Distinction                        75-84

Credit                               65-74

Pass                                50-64

Conceded Pass              45-49

Fail                                     0-44.

A limited number of courses with a "Conceded Pass" classification may be presented for the degree. The rules concerning the allowed number of Conceded Passes have changed in 2007 as follows: (1)

  • A Conceded Pass is not acceptable for any course with a unit value of more than 3 units.
  • For single degrees, no more than 10% of the total number of units presented for the degree may be presented at the Conceded Pass level (up to a maximum of 9 units)
  • For double/combined degrees nor more than 10% of the total number of units presented for the double/combined degree may be at the Conceded Pass level, with no more than 12 units in total. In addition the limits on the constituent programs must also be satisfied.
  • For students given credit for studies completed elsewhere, no more than 10% of the units undertaken at the University of Adelaide (with a minimum of 3 units and up to a maximum of 9 units) can be presented with at the Conceded Pass level.

If these limits are exceeded, it will be the student's responsibility to repeat courses. See the note on CONCEDED PASSES following.

Details on assessment for individual courses will be announced at the beginning of each course, and may be found in the course descriptions accessible through MyUni or the School web pages http://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS

For all courses for which there is a final examination supplementary examinations will be available on academic, medical or compassionate grounds.

Supplementary examinations on academic grounds will be automatically offered by the Board of Examiners of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering to students who have obtained a final mark of between 40 and 49 (inclusive) for a course and who have achieved a satisfactory level of performance in all continuous assessment components of the course. University policy is that the maximum mark obtainable as a result of an academic supplementary examination is 50 Pass. The granting of academic supplementaries is automatic and no application is required.

Applications for supplementary examinations on medical or compassionate grounds must be made to the Academic Registrar of the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE INCIDENT AFFECTING THE EXAM PERFORMANCE. If a student accepts a medical or compassionate supplementary exam, the supplementary exam mark will replace the original exam mark. Thus the final mark may increase or decrease.

For courses taught by other schools or faculties, students should consult the relevant assessment notices. This School is not able to vary or influence the supplementary examination policy or practices of other departments.

Where laboratory work or class exercises contribute to an assessment, these will be incorporated in the supplementary assessment in the same way as in the original assessment. However students should note that there will not be any opportunity to redeem a poor performance in these components of assessment.

CONCEDED PASSES

Students who have exceeded the limits on the number of conceded passes will be required to resolve this situation by repeating courses. Students are encouraged to achieve a 'pass' or better classification, particularly in courses that are prerequisites or assumed knowledge for higher level courses.

CALCULATORS IN EXAMINATIONS

For all examinations in courses taught by the School (except for courses where a calculator is not required) the use of approved calculators is permitted, this equipment to be supplied by the candidate. No pre-recorded material nor calculator instruction book is permitted. Currently the only calculators not approved are those with remote communication capabilities, and these may not be taken into examinations.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is forbidden by the University under its Rules for Examinations and Other Forms of Assessment. Under these rules the School is obliged to investigate all cases of suspected plagiarism and may assign zero marks to an assessment component in which it finds that plagiarism has occurred. This may lead to a student failing and having to repeat a course.

Records will be kept of instances of plagiarism and the University is empowered to apply significant penalties in cases of repeated or serious plagiarism.

Students are advised to read carefully the University's Policy on Plagiarism, http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/?230 . If at any time you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism or acceptable practice in collaborating or copying the work of others, seek clarification from your lecturer or tutor.

Each homework or assignment presented for assessment must be accompanied by an Assessment Cover Sheet in which each student must declare that the work is their own, and that they have read the Policy on Plagiarism.

AWARD OF HONOURS

The honours policy includes a requirement for students to obtain a minimum weighted average mark of 60 at levels 2 and 3 in order to qualify for admission to the Honours stream at level 4.

Students in the Honours stream who have satisfied all of the requirements for the award of the degree will have their degree classified as either Class I Honours, Class IIA Honours, Class IIB Honours or Pass. The classification will be based on the weighted average of the marks obtained in the last three years of the program according to the rules set out in the attached Policy on the Awarding of Honours.

 

Assoc. Prof. M.J. Liebelt, Head of School                                                                                                                                    February 2007



(1)  For students who commenced their studies prior to 2007 the previous rules will apply: a maximum of 3 units in Engineering courses at Level 1

and a maximum of 6 units total at Level 2 and above including a maximum of 4 units at Level 4