Understanding Supplementary Assessment Tasks: A Fair Approach to Student Progression

-

As students, we often encounter various assessment tasks during our academic journey. These tasks serve as vital measures of our learning outcomes, contribute to our personal growth, and shape our path towards achieving our goals. In this blog post, we will delve into the concept of supplementary assessment tasks and shed light on the guidelines set forth by the academic policies at our esteemed institution. This statement aims to provide clarity on when and why supplementary assessment tasks are offered to students, ensuring equitable opportunities for all.

Academic Policies on Supplementary Assessment Tasks

According to the Assessment Policy outlined in Section 4.16, lecturers have the discretion to permit students to re-submit individual assignments if it appears they have not grasped the task requirements. The intention behind this provision is to ensure students receive a fair chance to demonstrate their understanding and achieve the learning outcomes of a particular unit. It is essential for lecturers to apply this policy equitably, preventing any disadvantage to students in the class.

The opportunity for supplementary assessment is typically offered to students who have obtained a final mark between 40% and 49% for the unit, as stated in Section 4.17 of the Assessment Policy. This approach supports student progression and helps them complete the requirements for the unit in which they received a fail mark. The supplementary assessment entails a new item designed to provide additional opportunities for students to showcase their acquired knowledge and skills.

Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment

To be eligible for supplementary assessment, a student must have attained a final mark within the range of 40% to 49% for the unit. The aim of this eligibility criterion is to provide an opportunity for those who are on the borderline of passing but require some extra support to meet the unit's learning outcomes.

Special Consideration and Supplementary Assessment

In practice, supplementary assessment tasks are usually offered to students who apply for special consideration, as specified in Section 3.0 of the Special Consideration Policy. Special consideration may be granted in situations where external factors beyond a student's control have hindered their ability to demonstrate their commitment to completing assessment tasks. Supporting documents are often required to strengthen the case for special consideration.

The Importance of Consultation Hours

As a lecturer, I strive to provide every possible avenue for my students to excel academically. In the learning guide I provide, you will find essential information such as my consultation hours, assessment task descriptions, instructions, and marking criteria. I encourage all students to utilize these consultation hours as a learning space to seek further clarification on assessment tasks and marking criteria.

Engaging in these consultations allows you to identify areas where you may need additional assistance and verify that your work aligns with the specified criteria. My expectation is that by making use of these resources, you will demonstrate your commitment to your academic pursuits.

Fairness and Equitability

It is important to highlight that supplementary assessment tasks should not be pursued by students who simply wish to improve their grades after performing poorly on an assessment. If a student has not shown a commitment to their studies or taken advantage of available resources, it would be unfair to reward them with a supplementary assessment task.

The purpose of supplementary assessments is to support students who genuinely need additional assistance in meeting the unit's learning outcomes. By adhering to this principle, we ensure fairness and maintain the integrity of our academic policies.

In conclusion, supplementary assessment tasks are an integral part of our academic policies designed to provide a fair chance for students to succeed. They are not an opportunity to replace poor performance on assessments for those who have not actively engaged in their studies. By adhering to the guidelines outlined in the Assessment Policy and the Special Consideration Policy, we can ensure a level playing field for all students, fostering an environment that promotes growth, learning, and academic success. Let us embrace the essence of supplementary assessment tasks as a means to enhance our educational journey and reach our full potential.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FPA: Organizational Process Model

-
This model centers on the fact that different bureaucracies have different standard operating procedures. These procedures are made in order to allow day to day operations to be carried out. Thus, a foreign policy decision is made based on these standard operating procedures. It is hard for a bureaucracy to make a decision or let alone function out of character or contrary to their standard operating procedure. The reading Chapter 4: Foreign policy shares a straight forward explanation of the OPM: "An alternative to the rational model of decision making is the organizational process model. In this model, foreign policy decision makers generally skip the labor-intensive process of identifying goals and alternative actions, relying instead for most decisions on standardized responses or standard operating procedures. For example, the U.S. State Department everyday receives more than a thousand reports or inquiries from its embassies around the world and sends out more than a
Read more

Commercial liberalism and the six norms

-
Image
Liberal internationalism is defined by Griffiths, O'Callaghan and Roach (2008, p.190) as a project to transform international relations so that they conform to models of peace, freedom, and prosperity allegedly enjoyed within constitutional liberal democracies. The same scholars go further by dividing liberalism into three distinct groups. They say these are the three ways to implement the project. The way they present liberal internationalism as a project makes their work interesting. Three distinct groups Firstly, commercial liberalism is about free trade between states. States bilaterally or multilaterally via a platform like APEC pursue the goal of trade liberalization. Griffiths, O'Callagahan and Roach (ibid.) argued that economic interdependence would decrease the likelihood of going to war. Republican liberalism is about democratic peace. The scholars argued that the spread of democracy among states so that governments will be accountable to their citizens makes it di
Read more

Rise and fall realism

-
Image
By Colin Elman and Michael A. Jensen Source: Williams, P. D. (Ed.). (2008). Security studies: an introduction . London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. What is rise and fall realism? Rise and fall realism remerge as a powerful alternative to the balance of power theories that predominated international relations scholarship during the 1950’s. Central theme Hegemony is the foundation for peace while balance is often associated with war (Organski). Dynamics Rise and fall realism emphasizes that war between major powers is least likely when the international system is dominated by a single state and when there are no rising challengers vying for system leadership. Given its privileged position, a dominant state is capable of shaping the rules and practices of the international system in such a way as to satisfy its selfish interest. Stability is a product of this hegemonic order, as states which are dissatisfied with the status quo lack the capabilities to change it.
Read more