• Section 1 - Content
• Section 2 - Definitions
• Section 3 - Determination of Nature of Assessment
• Section 4 - Publication of Requirements
• Section 5 - Special Consideration
• Section 6 - School Recommendations of Results
• Section 7 - Responsible Officers
• Section 8 - Responsibilities
• Section 9 - Timetable and Attendance
• Section 10 - Examination Aids/Communication Devices
• Section 11 - Rescheduled Examinations
• Section 12 - Supplementary Examinations
• Section 13 - Rules for Supervised Examinations
• Section 14 - Return of Final Exams
• Section 15 - Penalties
• Section 16 - Publication of Final Results

Section 1 - Content

(1) This Policy applies to all MEDI Course/Units offered by the School of Medicine and Public Health (University of Newcastle (UON)) and School of Rural Medicine (University of New England (UNE)) in the delivery of the Joint Medical Program (JMP).

(2) Assessment Rules for elective (non-MEDI) Course/Units undertaken by JMP students will be in accordance with the policy information provided in the Course/Unit outline of the relevant elective course/unit.

Section 2 - Definitions

(3) In the context of this document:

1. assessment item includes any form of assignment, examination, quiz, test, laboratory assignment, tutorial exercise or any other work used to measure student learning outcomes, by which the final result of a student in a Course/Unit is determined; assessment items may contain a number of components;
2. course at UON means any part of a program for which a result may be recorded;
3. examination means an assessment by way of a test by oral or written questions, undertaken by the student within a stated timeframe and in a designed location, or online, or on a computer identified for that purpose;
4. formal examination period means the period during or at the end of each teaching term set aside in the University’s calendar for assessment by way of examination;
5. Head of School means the Head of the School of Medicine and Public Health at UON and/or the Head of the School of Rural Medicine at UNE who is/are responsible for delivery of approved MEDI Course/Units;
6. JMP Teaching and Learning Committee means the joint UON / UNE committee responsible for the planning, implementation and management of the JMP including curriculum, assessment and standards;
7. Joint Medical Program (JMP) means the Bachelor of Medicine – Joint Medical Program (BMed – JMP) or Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine – Joint Medical Program (MD-JMP) as delivered in partnership by UON and UNE;
8. moderation means a review of the marks awarded for a single assessment item, or component of an assessment item, or the final results, of all students in the cohort undertaking that assessment;
9. re-mark means a review of the mark for a single assessment item, or component of an assessment item, awarded to an individual student;
10. school means the School of Medicine and Public Health at UON and/or the School of Rural Medicine at UNE;
11. supplementary assessment item means an assessment item similar in weight, nature and content to the original assessment item, unless otherwise approved jointly by the Heads of School;
12. teaching period means term of teaching in which a complete course/unit is delivered. Due to multi-sequence structure of the Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine – Joint Medical Program the teaching period will be 2 consecutive semesters in a single calendar year with the final grade being awarded at the completion of Part B in the second semester;
13. UON means the University of Newcastle;
14. Unit at UNE means any part of a Course for which a result may be recorded;
15. UNE means the University of New England;
16. Year Assessment Decision Committee means each of the committees responsible for recommending final grades to the Heads of School and for reviewing the assessment of courses / units in accordance with the Universities’ quality assurance principles.

Section 3 - Determination of Nature of Assessment

(4) In conjunction with the approval of Course/Units, the JMP Teaching and Learning Committee, in consultation with the Heads of School and the JMP Assessment Committee, shall approve the nature of assessment in MEDI Course/Units. Such assessment items may be written, online, oral, clinical or practical or any combination of these.

Section 4 - Publication of Requirements

(5) The Heads of School shall ensure the publication, in the Course/Unit Outline, of the assessment requirements in each Course/Unit by the end of the second week of the teaching period in which the Course/Unit commences. The assessment requirements will include the weight and timing of each task comprising the total assessment to be applied in determining the final result for that Course/Unit. As an ungraded pass program, JMP students will only receive notification of “UP” (Ungraded Pass) or “FF” (Fail) for each overall course/unit result.

(6) The Year Managers shall ensure that reference is made in the Course/Unit Outline, to the JMP Procedure for Re-marks and Moderations which define any circumstances in which assessment items may be re-marked or moderated and the processes to be followed in undertaking these actions.

Section 5 - Special Consideration

(7) The Universities acknowledge the right of students to seek special consideration for the possible impact of allowable special circumstances on their performance in assessment as identified in the JMP Adverse and Special Circumstances Affecting Assessment Procedure.

Section 6 - School Recommendations of Results

(8) The relevant JMP Year Assessment Decision Committee shall consider the results recorded for overall assessment for each student and shall make recommendations to the Heads of School as to the final grade to be recorded for each student in the Course/Unit.

(9) A student who claims that preparation for an assessment item, or attendance at or performance in an assessment item has been affected by illness or other serious cause, may apply under the provisions of the JMP Adverse and Special Circumstances Affecting Assessment Procedure.

Section 7 - Responsible Officers

(10) The responsible officers and structure for supervised examinations within the formal examination period are defined in the Course Management and Assessment Procedure Manual at UON and the Assessment by University Examination Policy at UNE.

(11) The Heads of School shall be the responsible officers for the administration and supervision of assessment items, in courses/units offered by the Schools, including any supervised examinations that are not the responsibility of Universities.

Section 8 - Responsibilities

(12) For each MEDI Course/Unit, the Heads of School shall arrange for:

1. the Course/Unit Co-ordinator to jointly contribute to:
   1. the preparation of assessment items, including any examination in the Course/Units; and
   2. in consultation with others involved in the tuition or supervision of JMP students, the marking of assessment items and other work submitted by students; and
2. the Year Managers to ensure the recording of a result in respect of each student for submission to the relevant Year Assessment Decision Committee.

(13) For each MEDI Course/Unit, the relevant Year Assessment Decision Committee shall act in accordance with the JMP School Assessment Responsibilities Guideline.

(14) For each MEDI Course/Unit, the Schools are responsible for the retention of all assessment items for 6 months after the term’s fully graded date and may then be destroyed.

Section 9 - Timetable and Attendance

(15) A timetable showing when assessment items will be due or held will be published as part of the Course/Unit outline.

(16) It shall be the responsibility of students to submit assessment items or attend assessable activities prescribed for the courses/units in which they are enrolled.

(17) Notification of the venue of examinations will be provided at least one week prior to the examination. In the case of a granted supplementary assessment, students will be notified of the time and venue details at least 48 hours prior to the assessment.

(18) At UON and UNE where a School is holding supervised examinations during the formal examinations period, it is the responsibility of the JMP Assessment Officer to ensure that there are no timetable clashes with examinations being administered by the respective university.

(19) Unless granted a rescheduled exam under the JMP Adverse and Special Circumstances Affecting Assessment Procedure, students who fal to attend an examination which is shown on the examination timetable will be deemed to have sat for and failed the examination.

Section 10 - Examination Aids/Communication Devices

(20) The Schools will advise in advance of the examination what examination aids and communication devices will be permitted (if any) into the examination. It is the responsibility of the Schools to ensure that examination aids comply with the pre-examination formal notification.

Section 11 - Rescheduled Examinations

(21) Where the Year Assessment Decision Committee considers it justified on religious, compassionate or other grounds, and the student applies no later than ten calendar days before the date of the examination, special arrangements may be made for  a rescheduled examination to allow a student to attend an examination at a time and place different from that in the published timetable but within the formal examination period. Misreading the Course/Unit Outline or examination timetable, having travel plans, returning home, work commitments or early commencement of holiday employment will not be accepted as grounds for rescheduled examination.

(22) Applications for rescheduled examinations must be completed in line with the procedure detailed in the JMP Adverse and Special Circumstances Affecting an Assessment Item Procedure.

Section 12 - Supplementary Examinations

(23) If circumstances arise after the cut-off date for seeking a rescheduled examination (i.e. ten calendar days prior to the first date of the examination period) that prevent a student from attending, or completing an examination, or adversely affect their performance at the examination, an application for special consideration using the JMP Adverse and Special Circumstances Procedure must be submitted no later than three calendar days after the date of the examination.

(24) Outcomes of applications for special consideration will be determined by the JMP Year Assessment Decision Committee in accordance with the outcomes available under the JMP Adverse and Special Circumstances Procedure.

(25) A supplementary examination (if offered) will – except in exceptional circumstances – be scheduled: 

1. only once; and
2. AFTER the originally scheduled examination.

Section 13 - Rules for Supervised Examinations

(26) University supervised examinations will be conducted in accordance with the respective University’s rules and guidelines.

(27) School supervised examinations will be conducted in accordance with the rules advised to students prior to the examination by either the JMP Assessment Officer or the respective Year Manager. Notification will normally be done via Blackboard.

Section 14 - Return of Final Exams

(28) If requested by a student, an opportunity may be provided for students to view completed examination papers with the course/Unit Coordinator (or nominee). However, Multiple Choice Question papers are not available to be viewed by students at any time.

Section 15 - Penalties

(29) Penalties for late submission of assessment items must be documented in the Course/Unit outline.

(30) In instances when a late submission penalty applies, an assessment item submitted after the due date, without an approved extension of time, will be penalised by the reduction of the mark awarded for the assessment item. Ten percent of the possible maximum mark for the assessment item will be deducted for each day or part day that the item is late. Note: this applies equally to week and weekend days. Assessment items submitted more than five days after the due date will be awarded Not Satisfactory for that assessment item.

(31) The late submission penalty may be varied following agreement jointly by the Heads of School, provided that any alternative penalties to be imposed for late submission of an assessment item are notified to students in advance of the due date.

(32) An infringement of any of the Rules for supervised examinations or failure to comply with instructions relating to an assessment item may constitute misconduct, and represent an offence under the JMP Student Academic Misconduct Rule.

Section 16 - Publication of Final Results

(33) There will be only one set of official results of students’ performance in assessment within a Course/Unit. This is the list of final results approved by the relevant Head of School and published on the relevant University’s examination results webpage.

(34) All other information on results for individual assessment items or final results are “unofficial results” which have no legal standing and should be read as advisory only.

(35) In accordance with the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (1998) and the Commonwealth Privacy Act (1988), the Universities will not list students by name but only by student number. This applies to both official and unofficial results for individual assessment items and for final results.