1. Purpose
1.1 These procedures provide guidance on the process to formally request a review of assessment or final grade for a course, setting out valid academic or procedural grounds for these types of requests.
1.2 These procedures also provide guidance on the process to formally request special consideration and the supporting evidence required for these requests.
1.3 These procedures must be read in conjunction with the linked Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs - Academic Policy and Grades and Grade Point Average (GPA) - Academic Policy.
2. Scope and application
2.1 These procedures apply to all students completing coursework programs (excluding bachelor honours research projects), staff and members of University decision-making or advisory bodies.
3. Definitions
3.1 Refer to the University’s Glossary of Terms for definitions as they specifically relate to policy documents.
4. Grounds for review of an individual assessment task, final mark or grade
4.1 When a student considers that they have been disadvantaged in an individual assessment task or the final grade awarded for a course, they must provide evidence of the disadvantage, and set out that evidence in accordance with the following valid grounds:
(a) a piece of work handed in on time was not marked;
(b) feedback on assessed work was not provided within required timeframe in accordance with Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs - Procedures;
(c) alleged wrong advice from staff teaching the course (e.g., about the content of the examination or approval of an extension for an assessment);
(d) the result/final mark/grade was not based on the assessment criteria or assessment process specified in the Course Outline, or any subsequent amendment made in accordance with the Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs - Procedures;
(e) the assessment does not comply with the requirements of the Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs - Procedures and the course was not exempt;
(f) alleged discrimination, prejudice, or bias on the part of the assessor or any other person involved in determining the result awarded. This allegation must be supported by specific examples; and
(g) other grounds (except those listed as not valid grounds) can be considered at the discretion of the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision) provided that supporting documentation is provided in accordance with Appendix 006: Supporting Documents for Student Applications.
4.2 The following are not valid grounds for a review:
(a) challenges to:
(i) the specified learning outcomes of the course;
(ii) the assessment methods approved for the course; or
(iii) the standard required to receive particular grades in the course;
(b) a study overload;
(c) personal and medical problems other than those permitted on the basis of special consideration;
(d) financial implications of not passing the course;
(e) marks or grades received by other students in the course;
(f) marks or grades received by the student in other courses;
(g) lack of language proficiency;
(h) the amount of work the student has done;
(i) a penalty imposed on a student for academic misconduct in accordance with Student Misconduct - Procedures; or
(j) the need for additional marks to achieve a higher grade.
5. Incorrect addition of results/marks
5.1 When a student identifies that the result recorded for an assessment task or the final mark for a course have not been correctly calculated this should be brought to the attention of the Course Coordinator in accordance with the Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs - Procedures.
6. Review of an assessment result other than a final mark/grade
6.1 When a student considers that an individual assessment task has been unfairly or inappropriately assessed, the student can submit a request to review the assessment result, in accordance with Section 4 – Grounds for review of an individual assessment task, final mark or grade.
6.2 All requests to review an assessment result must be submitted in writing within 5 business days of notification of the result in that assessment task and students must:
(a) contact the assessor and Course Coordinator to request a review of the assessment task outlining the grounds for seeking a review;
(b) when the matter is not resolved within 5 business days of receiving the review request, the student can refer the matter to the Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator makes a final decision on an option to re-submit or re-mark the assessment within 5 business days of being in receipt of the request; and
(c) decisions made in relation to a review of an assessment result other than a final mark/grade is considered as the ‘original decision’ for the purposes of this procedure.
6.3 When dissatisfied with the outcome of the above actions the student can, upon receipt of the final mark/grade for that course, seek a review of the final grade.
6.4 When the 5 business day period for contacting the assessor and Course Coordinator has lapsed and the student still wishes to apply for a review of an assessment result, they can submit an application for review of final grade following the release of final grades for the course as detailed in Section 7 – Process for review of a final mark/grade. Contacting the assessor and Course Coordinator in the first instance can expedite a review but is not a prerequisite to applying for a review of assessment via the review of final grade process.
6.5 Reviews of a result for an assessment can result in a re-mark of an assessment task.
6.6 When a student is granted a re-mark, they must provide a clean copy of the assessment task to the School, where applicable. The student is also required to submit the original marked assessment task. An assessor who is familiar with the content area, who has not sighted the previously marked assessment task is appointed to perform the re-mark, using the clean copy and without access to the original marked assessment task to reflect impartiality.
7. Process for review of a final mark/grade
7.1 When a student considers that the final grade awarded for a course has been unfairly or inappropriately determined, as detailed in Section 4 – Grounds for review of an individual assessment task, final mark or grade, they should submit an Application for a review of final grade form.
7.2 This form must:
(a) state the grounds for the review;
(b) be accompanied by relevant supporting documentation in accordance with Appendix 006: Supporting Documents for Student Applications; and
(c) be submitted within 10 business days of the release of final grades.
7.3 When a grade has been confirmed prior to official grade release, and the final grade is contingent on a placement start date or pre-requisite course enrolment, early consideration of a review of final grade can be completed.
7.4 On receipt of a request for a review of a final mark/grade, the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision) can:
(a) reject the review on the basis that no valid grounds for review have been provided;
(b) determine that any action taken previously was appropriate and the student's case has already been properly answered; or
(c) determine that grounds exist for a review and choose to:
(i) amend the mark;
(ii) arrange a remark; or
(iii) require the student to complete additional assessment to determine how well they can demonstrate the course's learning outcomes.
7.4.1 When it is determined that a student needs to complete an additional assessment an interim notation of Alternative Exam (AE) or Alternative Assessment – other (AO) is recorded on the student’s official record.
7.4.2 When determining the type of additional assessment to be completed, the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision) is not obliged to offer the student an opportunity to ‘re-sit’ a central examination, but instead have the discretion to use other assessment methods, including an oral examination, for the student to demonstrate the course learning outcomes.
7.5 A determination on the review must be completed in accordance with the Student Complaints Resolution - Procedures and the outcome issued to the student within 20 business days from submission.
7.6 When an application is submitted, and supporting documentation has not been provided, due to a delay in obtaining paperwork, students have an additional 5 business days to provide supporting documentation to be added to their application.
7.6.1 When all supporting documentation has not been provided by this time, the student is required to re-commence the process or risk their original application not being progressed due to insufficient evidence.
7.7 Applications submitted prior to release of final grades
7.7.1 A student can apply for a review of final grade prior to the official release of final grades for that teaching period when they have been identified for Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Stage 2 or MAP Stage 3 status prior to the release of final grades, in accordance with the Monitoring Academic Progress - Procedures and been issued with formal advice of the University’s intention to record a failing grade or a withdrawn final notation for the relevant courses.
7.8 Reviews concurrent to MAP Stage 3 Consideration for Exclusion (show cause)
7.8.1 When a student’s final grade for a course results in the student meeting the criteria for MAP Stage 3 Consideration for Exclusion, as set out in the Monitoring Academic Progress - Procedures, a student can seek a review of final grade for the courses, in the first instance, as part of their response to the Show Cause notice. The grounds for review set out in Section 4 – Grounds for review of an individual assessment task, final mark or grade and grounds for special consideration set out in Section 8 – Special consideration requests apply in these cases.
7.9 Notification and actions following a review of a final mark/grade
7.9.1 The Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision), advises Student Services of their decision, who provides the student an outcome of review, in writing. When a review is declined the reasons for this decision must be provided to the student, along with appeal information.
7.9.2 When the grounds for a review are upheld and it is considered that the circumstances have disadvantaged other students within the course, the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision) must determine whether any further action in respect of these students is also required.
7.9.3 When a final mark/grade is amended, the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision) , must complete the Change of Grade process in the Interim Results Module (IRM) and submit this to Student Services.[Note: the IRM is an internal grades system that requires user login access].
7.9.4 When a review is granted, the result awarded from that review stands as the final result for the work, regardless of whether it is higher or lower than the result originally awarded.
8. Special consideration requests
8.1 A student can submit a special consideration request where they can demonstrate that their performance in an assessment task or tasks (including exams) had been disadvantaged by exceptional circumstances beyond their control and there is evidence that the mark achieved for this assessment item has been impacted in accordance with Appendix 006: Supporting Documents for Student Applications.
8.2 A student can apply for special consideration at any time during the assessment period, even when they have not had an opportunity to submit a review of individual assessment task, final mark or grade, within the specified timeframe set out in Section 6 - Review of an assessment result other than a final mark/grade.
8.3 Circumstances for special consideration include:
(a) death or serious illness of a close family member or friend;
(b) an unexpected illness;
(c) a re-occurrence of a chronic illness;
(d) significant personal circumstances;
(e) a severe disruption to domestic arrangements;
(f) being a victim of crime; and
(g) an accident.
8.4 When a student has already received an extension for the submission of the assessment task or tasks or alternative arrangements are made to the assessment task due to the above circumstances or an existing illness or disability, the same grounds cannot be used to request special consideration unless they can demonstrate that:
(a) the grounds were compounded by an unexpected and exceptional change in circumstance; or
(b) there is an additional circumstance, supported by relevant evidence in accordance with Appendix 006: Supporting Documents for Student Applications.
8.5 When assessing requests for special consideration the relevant Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision) can decide to:
(a) not approve;
(b) approve and adjust the marks based on other assessment already completed (which does not always result in a change of grade); or
(c) approve and require the student to complete additional assessment to demonstrate their understanding of the learning outcomes of a course through:
(i) an alternative assessment task – which provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate learning outcomes related to the original assessment task (e.g., an oral exam can take the place of a written exam); or
(ii) a replacement assessment task – which resembles as closely as possible the original assessment item and carries the same percentage of total weighting for the course.
8.6 When the independent evidence provided supports a special consideration request for other tasks not identified by the student, the decision maker can seek further information from the student, in relation to each assessment task, before making their decision.
8.7 When the relevant Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching or Discipline Lead (not involved in the original decision), determines that additional assessment is required, the interim notations of Alternative Exam (AE) or Alternative Assessment – other (AO) are applied.
9. Status of a student awaiting the outcome of a review or special consideration
9.1 The University makes determinations on reviews and special considerations as soon as practicable however, some cases are not resolved before teaching commences for the next teaching period.
9.2 A student waiting for the outcome of a review or special consideration which can impact upon the requisite requirements for a course in the following teaching period must consult the Program Coordinator or Student Central for guidance on course selection. Students should be formally enrolled in any courses they commence.
9.3 When a student is required to withdraw from a course after the census date, following the outcome of a review of grade or special consideration the School must advise the Academic Registrar and Director, Student Services, who determines whether a retrospective withdrawal and removal of financial liability is applicable.
10. Mechanisms for appeal
10.1 When a student is dissatisfied with the decision following an application for a review of final mark/grade or a special consideration request, they can exercise their right to appeal (Step 3) under the provisions of the Student Complaints Resolution - Academic Policy and Student Complaints Resolution - Procedures.
10.2 In cases where a review of final grade is considered concurrently with a student’s show cause response, as indicated in Section 7.7 - Reviews concurrent to MAP Stage 3 Consideration for Exclusion (show cause), students should submit only one appeal, which will address both matters.
11. Authorities and responsibilities
11.1 As the Approval Authority, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) approves these procedures to operationalise the Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs - Academic Policy and Grades and Grade Point Average (GPA) - Academic Policy.
11.2 As the Responsible Executive Member the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) can approve guidelines to further support the operationalisation of these procedures. All procedures and guidelines must be compatible with the provisions of the policy they operationalise.
11.3 As the Designated Officer the Academic Registrar and Director, Student Services can approve associated documents to support the application of these procedures.
11.4 These procedures operate from the last amended date, with all previous iterations of procedures on the review of assessment and final grade are replaced and no longer operating from this date.
11.5 All records relating to the review of assessment and final grades must be stored and managed in accordance with the Records Management - Procedures.
11.6 These procedures must be maintained in accordance with the University Policy Documents – Procedures and reviewed on a standard 3-year policy review cycle.
11.7 Any exception to these procedures to enable a more appropriate result must be approved in accordance with the University Policy Documents – Procedures prior to any deviation from these procedures.
11.8 Refer to Schedule C of the Delegations Manual in relation to the approved delegations detailed within these procedures.
12. Appendices
Appendix 006: Supporting Documents for Student Applications
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