• Section 1 - Key Information
• Section 2 - Purpose
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Key Decisions
• Section 5 - Policy Statement
• Section 6 - Standards
• Part A - Overview
• Part B - Professional Accreditation Requirements
• Part C -  Information to Students
• Part D - Designing for Learning and Feedback
• Part E - Timing and Weighting of Assessment
• Part F - Group Assessment Tasks
• Part G - Assessment of Attendance
• Part H - Hurdle Task Requirements
• Competency-Based Assessment Thresholds
• Part I - Submission of Assessment Tasks
• Part J - Recording and Reporting of Results
• Section 7 - Definitions
• Section 8 - Authority and Associated Information

Section 1 - Key Information

Section 2 - Purpose

(1) These Standards set out the expectations that the University holds for assessment in subjects and courses, and should be read in conjunction with the Assessment Policy and its associated procedures, and the Course Design Policy and Course Standards.

Section 3 - Scope

(2) Refer to the Assessment Policy.

Section 4 - Key Decisions

Section 5 - Policy Statement

(3) These Standards form part of the Assessment Policy suite which governs their application.

Section 6 - Standards

Part A - Overview

(4) Assessment determines whether students have achieved Subject Intended Learning Outcomes (SILOs) and Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs) and to what standard. Assessment also shapes learning and is therefore one of the most important elements within the teaching and learning process for both teachers and students.

(5) Significant attention is paid by students to assessment activities, their criteria and weighting. It is critical that these features of assessment are calibrated to guide and support learning.

(6) The principles outlined in the Assessment Policy apply to all assessments and are supported by the following rules. Exceptions to these rules may be allowed where supported by an academic justification (for example, professional accreditation requirements).

Part B - Professional Accreditation Requirements

(7) Where the requirements of a professional accrediting body conflict with any aspect of these Standards
course assessment should be conducted in alignment with the accrediting body’s requirements. For example, where professional accreditation bodies require students to obtain a minimum standard in particular subjects, measured by a numerical grade, Competency-Based Assessment tasks cannot be used. Accreditation requirements must be considered prior to moving to Competency-Based Assessment in a subject.

Part C -  Information to Students

(8) Students are informed about the assessment for individual subjects through the University Handbook and the Learning Management System (LMS). The University Handbook entries include the assessment tasks for each subject, including broad information about the types of assessment and their respective weightings.

(9) Changes to assessment must be made in accordance with the Course and Subject Management Procedure - Approvals). Changes to assessment not requiring formal committee approval (such as assignment instructions and due dates), may be made up to two (2) weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching period.

(10) Full details of assessment are provided to students in the LMS a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching period, and wherever possible, discussed with students at the start of the subject. Such details include:

1. the type, weighting and timing of assessment, including any requirements for assessment preparation prior to final assessment
2. any mandatory requirements (such as attendance requirements and hurdles). In the case of hurdles this must include:
   1. that a particular assessment is a hurdle
   2. the reasons why this assessment is considered a hurdle requirement and the learning outcome/s or competency/ies being assessed
   3. options for students who are unable to meet or fail these requirements. In the case of Competency-Based Assessments this must include the number of attempts allowed [see also Assessment Procedure - Adjustments to Assessment (incorporating Special Consideration)].
3. the criteria for assessment and the rubric, the relationship to learning outcomes, and the performance expectations on which marking is based.

Part D - Designing for Learning and Feedback

(11) Feedback to students on assessments tasks is integral to their learning and needs to be planned as a fundamental part of assessment design, including feedback for Competency-Based Assessment tasks (see also Course Design Policy).

(12) The majority of assessments conducted within the teaching period, whether graded or ungraded, are developmental in nature and provide students with an opportunity to apply feedback to subsequent assessment activities.

(13) Assessment tasks are designed as complete tasks that involve a single submission point, with the exception of quizzes which can occur at regular intervals across a teaching period.

(14) Assurance of learning takes place within subjects and across courses through supervised assessment. Every course must include supervised assessment activities that assure learning against CILOs (see also Course Design Standards).

(15) Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are presumed to be available to students for all unsupervised assessment. Where Subject Coordinators wish to limit or specify appropriate use of AI tools, clear instructions should be provided to students, including the need for students to acknowledge where AI tools have been used and how in any submitted work (see also Student Academic Misconduct Policy).

(16) Exemplars of relevant completed assessments are provided to students wherever appropriate.

(17) Qualitative feedback is provided in time for students to apply it to subsequent relevant learning or assessment, normally within 15 business days of submission, or within a shorter time frame as appropriate for early assessment tasks or for subjects with a shorter teaching period. Feedback may be peer-based, whole of group or individual feedback, depending on the nature of the assessment.

(18) Students are provided with links to supports or resources that facilitate further learning or the addressing of skill deficits, such as Library support services or student advisors, wherever possible and appropriate.

Part E - Timing and Weighting of Assessment

(19) The timing and weighting of assessment must align with the following:

1. an early assessment task weighted between 10 and 30% of the total assessment, must be set in each subject in order to guide needed emphasis in the curriculum, assess individual skills, and identify support needs and students who are academically at risk. The task must be set, and feedback provided, prior to the Census Date of the relevant teaching period.
2. no single assessment item is weighted at more than 60% of the final grade for a subject unless the assessment includes a major portfolio or thesis
3. the maximum weighting for supervised assessment in subject is 60% of the final grade. This can be distributed over a maximum of two separate supervised assessment tasks.
4. simple multiple-choice tests (see Definitions) make up no more than 30% of the final grade in a subject
5. zero percentage (0%) weighted tasks may be included as hurdles only when practical competencies that are required for later assessed (weighted) tasks must be met. Only Pass or Fail grades may be granted for such tasks.

(20) The scheduling of assessment due dates takes into account the composition of assessment in subjects for a course. Wherever possible assessment due dates are not scheduled during the SWOTVAC period, especially where most subjects in a course have heavily weighted assessment taking place during the Final Assessment Period.

(21) If a subject includes an examination to be conducted during the Final Assessment Period, no other assessments for that subject may be due during this period.

Part F - Group Assessment Tasks

(22) Where a group assessment task is weighted at 40% or more of the final grade in a subject, individual students are given an opportunity to demonstrate their individual achievement of the learning outcomes.

(23) Information about how group assessment tasks will be assessed and the extent to which students will receive individual or a shared group mark will be included in the Subject Learning Guide.

Part G - Assessment of Attendance

(24) Attendance in subjects is not mandatory except where there is a necessary minimum attendance for practice, performance or external requirements, such as for accreditation, a placement or practice assessment.

(25) In subjects where attendance for specific activities is mandatory students are advised through the Subject Learning Guide on the LMS, and verbally or in writing at the commencement of the particular activity of the following:

1. that specified minimum attendance at a particular activity or series of activities is required in addition to the standard subject information
2. under what circumstances and with what documentation a student is permitted to miss a session. These requirements must align with University procedures as outlined in the Assessment Procedure - Adjustments to Assessment (incorporating Special Consideration)
3. students’ options for completion if they fail to meet the attendance requirements, e.g. make-up sessions, alternative activities.

(26) Marks cannot be awarded for attendance in any subject. However, where a subject has mandatory attendance requirements records must be kept and students are given access to their own attendance records upon request.

Part H - Hurdle Task Requirements

(27) Within a subject, it is expected that the SILOs will be assessed using a variety of assessment tasks. However, in certain instances it may not be possible to assess a particular learning outcome using more than one assessment task. In this case that task must be designated as a hurdle. Such a learning outcome may involve the demonstration of a particular skill or activity:

1. where the level of competency can only be assessed through an actual demonstration, or
2. which is intrinsic to the student's ability to achieve a professional skill or to complete professional registration requirements.

(28) All hurdles must be conducted as supervised assessment tasks (see Part E of these Standards). A student must pass these hurdles in order to pass the subject. Provisions for supplementary assessments for failed hurdle tasks are outlined in the Assessment Procedure - Adjustments to Assessment (incorporating Special Consideration).

Competency-Based Assessment Thresholds

(29) In subjects with only Competency-Based Assessment, students need to pass all Competency-Based Assessment tasks to be awarded an Ungraded Pass (P) grade.

(30) In order for students to be awarded a Pass (P) grade for a subject with both graded assessment and Competency-Based Assessment tasks, students need to achieve:

1. a Competent (C) grade for all Competency-Based Assessment tasks
2. a total mark of 50% for all graded assessment tasks. 

Part I - Submission of Assessment Tasks

(31) Assignments are submitted online by the deadline of 11:59pm on the due date within the LMS wherever possible.

(32) All essays and reports or similar written assessments are submitted through Turnitin or other text-matching software for review and the resulting originality reports are reviewed by the assessor prior to grading.

Part J - Recording and Reporting of Results

(33) All results for assessments, including examination results, are recorded in Gradebook. Where a task is to be moderated, results are only released to students via the LMS following moderation.

Section 7 - Definitions

(34) For the purposes of these Standards:

1. assurance checkpoints: assessment tasks within designated subjects that are specifically designed to evaluate Course Intended Learning Outcomes
2. Competency-Based Assessment: the assessment of a student’s ability to apply skills and knowledge to a designated learning outcome, or set of learning outcomes, at a designated standard of performance
3. Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): brief statements defining the knowledge, skills and dispositions that a student should have attained and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course of study
4. simple multiple-choice questions: those that test a student’s recall or replication of knowledge content covered in a subject. This contrasts with more complex multiple-choice questions that test other subject learning outcomes, such as those providing opportunities for application, integration and evaluation. To be termed a simple multiple-choice test, all questions in the test or assessment task would be simple.
5. Subject Intended Learning Outcomes (SILOs): brief statements defining the knowledge, skills and dispositions that a student should have attained and can reliably demonstrate by the end of a subject
6. Supervised Assessment: an evaluation of student learning where students complete tasks under direct supervision. These assessments are primarily used for measuring Course Intended Learning Outcomes and are designed to ensure integrity through the following measures:
   1. tasks are conducted in a controlled setting such as an exam hall, classroom, or online environment with proctoring or a locked down browser
   2. the identity of students is verified
   3. access to external resources and unapproved technology is restricted
   4. the use of AI is not permitted.
7. SWOTVAC: Study Without Teaching Vacation is a study period free of classes before the Final Assessment Period
8. Unsupervised Assessment: an evaluation of student learning where students complete tasks independently or in a group. These assessments support self-directed learning and application of knowledge and typically:
   1. are conducted in a flexible environment such as at home or in an unsupervised setting
   2. allow access to resources such as AI, textbooks, notes or online tools.

Section 8 - Authority and Associated Information

(35) These Standards are made under the La Trobe University Act 2009.

(36) Associated information includes:

1. Course Design Policy
2. Course Design Standards
3. Guidelines Structured and Unstructured Teaching and Learning Hours
4. Guidelines and templates on the Assessment Policy intranet