‘All Coolamon College policies are currently under review’

The following policy is presented in the conventional language of policies and may appear unfriendly. It is not our intention to make students feel threatened by any regulations, but simply to protect the rights of all people involved and to serve all of our clients with equity.

Students will be assessed in accordance with the published assessment policy and students are expected to acquaint themselves with these procedures. The following rules apply.

(a) Notification of assessment requirements

A Unit outline and study guide will be made available to each student enrolled in that unit as soon as possible after enrolment. This will contain at least the following information:

• unit objectives;
• statements of all assessment items (the unit completion date is advised separately by letter);
• procedures to be used in determining the final grade including, where appropriate, a statement of any item/s for which a pass is required in order to gain an overall pass in the unit;
• what students are expected to read.

(b) Student Support Persons/Tutor

Students in the Explore… and the Develop… Programs will have access to a Support Person who will be a source of feed-back, stimulus and encouragement for their studies. As a reflector, the Support Person may assist assignment preparation by encouraging students in their management of time and resources, through discussion with one or more students and/or the provision of appropriate additional reading material. The Support Person does not, however, participate in the teaching or assessment process.

Students in the Expand… Program and coursework students in the Focus… Program will have access to a tutor by email. The tutor will also normally be the student's assessor. Students may raise questions about assignment tasks and suitable resources for completing these tasks in the email discussion groups.

(c) Forms of assessment

Whilst studying a unit, students will usually be asked to submit assignments part way through and at the conclusion of their studies for that unit. The form of assessment will suit the aims of the unit.

(d) Late submission

Assignment work submitted later than the specified time shall incur an academic penalty unless an extension has been granted. The penalty shall be at the discretion of the Principal for non-BCT students, and as decided by the BCT for BCT students.

(e) Gradings

Assessment is reported in terms of the categories and ranges:

+ and - applies to the upper and lower 2% of each category. Examples: P+ = 63% to 64% and P- = 51% to 52%, C+ = 73% to 74% and C- = 65% to 66%

The criteria for each rating are indicated on the Assignment submission forms.

Normally a unit grade of Pass Conceded (PC) is awarded only to complete the course or to finalise a field, and a unit graded "PC" cannot contribute to the requirements of a major.

When the failure in a unit is marginal, supplementary assessment may be arranged, with the permitted margin being determined in each case. No more than two supplementaries may be granted in a year to any student, with the maximum grade given being a Pass. Students may also apply for a review of their assessment, at whatever level. Applications for supplementary examinations or for a review should be made in writing within two weeks of the receipt of results.

(f) Written work

In general, the amount of written work per unit to be expected for formative or summative assessment purposes should not exceed 2,000 words for units in the Explore… Program and 5,000-6,000 words for units in the Develop…, Expand… and Focus… Programs. Where an examination is to be set at the end of the unit, the amount of written work should be reduced accordingly. Many combinations are possible.

Because of the different processes used for the BCT 391, 392 and 395 units, it is expected that work done to complete their requirements will include a paper of 7,000 - 10,000 words.

It is expected that students acquaint themselves with the issues relating to the use of inclusive language and the use of inclusive language in essays and examinations is encouraged (see below).

While different styles of presentation and referencing are accepted, students need to be acquainted with the academic conventions (see below).

(g) Plagiarism

A student shall not plagiarise in any item of assessment. Plagiarism is the act of taking and using another person's work as one's own. Where plagiarism occurs in items of assessment contributing to the result in a unit, it will be regarded as, and treated in the same manner as, cheating in an examination. For the purpose of these rules any of the following acts constitute plagiarism unless the work is appropriately acknowledged:

• copying the work of another student;
• directly copying any part of another person's work;
• summarising the work of another person;
• using or developing an idea or thesis derived from another person's work;
• using experimental results obtained by another person.

(h) Academic dishonesty

Unless the study materials indicate that the procedure is acceptable for the specific piece of work in question, submission of the same piece of work for more than one topic is regarded as "academic dishonesty". When detected, second or subsequent submissions will not be awarded passing grades.

(i) Penalties

A student who breaches any of the rules stated above shall be liable to incur the following penalties:

• the award of a Fail result in the unit concerned;
• exclusion from the College for a period;
• expulsion from the College.

Students accused of a breach of the rules will be given the opportunity to show cause why a penalty should not be applied

(j) Appeals procedure

If a student disagrees with the marks awarded by the assessor, he or she may appeal the mark. The process is as follows:

1. The student may have an informal discussion with the staff of the office through which s/he is enrolled.
2. If the student decides to commence a formal appeal, s/he writes a letter indicating the reasons for the appeal. This must be sent within two weeks of receiving the result. The reasons must refer to the assessment criteria on the assessment sheet. Together with the letter, a copy of the assignment(s) and the assessment form are sent. This material is sent to the office through which the student enrolled. A fee of $25 (Explore… Program unit) and $50 (Develop…, Expand…, and Focus… Program units) is sent with the appeal to cover the cost of re-assessment and administration. (The fee is refundable if a higher grade is subsequently awarded. The fee is not refundable if the same grade or a lower grade is subsequently awarded.)
3. The College will forward the material to the assessor who marked the assignment(s).
4. The assessor will respond to the grounds for the appeal and return the material to the office from which it has come. In so doing, the assessor may award a higher grade, the same grade or a lower grade.
5. The assessor's comments are returned to the student.
6. If the student is still not satisfied, s/he may then ask for the material to be sent to a second assessor. The staff of the office dealing with the appeal may dismiss the appeal or refer it to a second assessor.
7. If the student is still dissatisfied, the matter may be referred to the National Reference Committee through the Chairperson or, in the case of a Post-graduate student, to the Postgraduate Studies Committee.
8. The decision of that Committee shall be final.
9. Notwithstanding the steps in this process, where a student is a student of the Brisbane College of Theology or the Sydney College of Divinity, the procedures of that College take precedence.

(k) Special consideration

Special consideration of factors affecting a student's performance in assessment may apply. Students who consider that their performance will be or was adversely affected by illness or other exceptional circumstances beyond their control may apply for special consideration. If appropriate, this information will be forwarded to the assessor.

Applications for special consideration, including appropriate documentation (see below), should normally be submitted to the Principal prior to the specified due date for the assessment. In most cases this will be prior to the time limit set for completion of the unit, unless an extension of time has been granted. In some cases this will be prior to the time set for completion of a particular assessment item.

Students applying for special consideration on medical grounds must submit a medical certificate from a registered medical or dental practitioner stating:

• the date on which the practitioner examined the student;
• the nature, severity and duration of the complaint; and
• the practitioner's opinion of the effect of the complaint on the student's ability to complete the assessment.

It is preferred that the practitioner provides a statement on surgery letterhead or completes a medical certificate.

In the case of a student not having ready access to a medical practitioner or dentist, or having other extenuating circumstances preventing their completion of assessment, the submission of a statutory declaration, or at the very least a letter explaining the circumstances will be given serious consideration.

(l) Resubmission of assignments

A student may resubmit an assignment for assessment only when the original submission has resulted in a fail grade for that assignment and the student would like to improve the quality of the failed assignment. A resubmission cannot attract a grade higher than Pass Minus for that assignment. An assignment with a grade higher than a Fail cannot be resubmitted.

(m) Completion of all assignments

A student must complete all items for assessment in any unit to achieve a pass.

(n) Pass requirement

Expand… and Focus… students must achieve a Pass mark in all assessment items in order to achieve a Pass mark for the unit.

(o) Assessors

As a principle, all items of assessment from a student for a particular unit are to be marked by the same assessor. In the event of an assessor not being able to complete an assessment contract, the Principal will appoint an approved replacement assessor.