Student Academic Responsibilities

Status


Next review
Mon, 14 April 2025

To make clear what is expected of the College students as it relates to conduct, attendance and assessment submissions.

This policy has incorporated the content of student attendance, submissions, late assignments/extension and resubmissions policies, with those being retired from April 2022.

Public
visibility
Approved on: 14 Apr 2022
Review cycle: 3 Years
Owned by

Learning, Teaching and Research Committee

Approved by

Academic Board

Category: 
Policy Contact: 
Academic Standards and Risk Committee Minute Secretary
Purpose: 

To make clear what is expected of the College students as it relates to conduct, attendance and assessment submissions.

This policy has incorporated the content of student attendance, submissions, late assignments/extension and resubmissions policies, with those being retired from April 2022.

Statement: 
Each student is expected to:

  • demonstrate the highest standards of conduct at all times;
  • attend all prescribed lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical sessions regularly and punctually;
  • submit all assignment work by the due dates specified on the unit guides;
  • ensure they meet the requirements of their course as prescribed on the College website with the assistance of their Course Advisor;
  • show respect for all staff and guest lecturers;
  • show respect and consideration for other members of the student body, and respect their property;
  • comply with all policies and procedures of the College as outlined in the policy portal, paying particular attention to the Academic Integrity Policy and the Sexual Assault and Sexual Harrassment Policy;
  • advise the Registrar in writing, using the appropriate forms, if they withdraw from a unit, defer or withdraw from a course or change a course of study;
  • advise Registrar of any changes to their personal details which the College has on record to ensure contact details are accurate; and
  • comply with the laws and regulations of the country and state in which they are studying.

Attendance Expectations

Students are expected to attend and engage in prescribed sessions in face to face, online and blended formats and to fulfill any practical and field education requirements of their courses. Attendance and engagement requirements are unit-specific, and are described in each unit guide including penalties that will apply for non-compliance.

Assignment Submissions:

For all students studying for credit, assignment due dates are specified in the Unit Guide. They are to be submitted through the unit’s page on the Learning Management System (Canvas).

Assignments are to be submitted in the format specified in the Style Guide, unless specifically stated otherwise in the Unit Guide.

Students must always keep a copy of their work and keep all marked papers when they are returned. Students are required to produce an electronic copy of their work upon request.

Extensions  (Higher Education Students only)
An extension may be granted by the Registrar or the Registrar's Delegate under the following circumstances:

  • Illness (of student or immediate family member for whom student provided care) of three or more days.
  • Death of close family member.
  • Unavoidable disruption that did not make its impact known until after commencement of the unit (see definition below).

The following requirements must be met:

  • Evidence MUST be provided, such as a medical certificate or copy of a death notice.
  • The event must be less than six (6) weeks prior to the due date.
  • The request must be received at least 48 hours prior to the due date.
  • The Request for Assignment Extension form must be properly completed.

Extensions will normally be granted for the period of time that was directly lost through the incident, to the nearest week. Typically extensions will not be granted for more than two weeks but may be granted to a maximum of four weeks. Assignments submitted after the extended due date will attract the normal late submission penalty.

Extensions for assessments including class interaction or presentations with due dates that affect peers may be granted, however this decision may be made in consultation with the lecturer.

If the student feels that their circumstances will impact their ability to study for a period longer than four weeks they should meet with their Course Advisor to discuss options for continuing in the unit.

No extension will be given in the following circumstances:

  • Poor time management
  • Computer, printer or copier problems
  • Minor illness (1 or 2 days of sickness)
  • Special events (work, family, church, etc.)
  • Loss of form or failure to attach form when assignment is submitted
  • Routine demands of employment, family commitments and study commitments
  • Holidays during semester
  • Conference attendance during semester
  • Extra-curricular activities.

Unavoidable Disruption

The College defines unavoidable disruption to studies as an event or set of circumstances which:

  1. could not have reasonably been anticipated, avoided or guarded against by the student and
  2. were beyond the student’s control and
  3. caused substantial disruption to the student’s capacity for effective study and/or the completion of required work and
  4. interfered with the otherwise satisfactory fulfilment of unit or program requirements.

Students applying for extension on the grounds of unavoidable disruption must supply evidence to support their claim.

Late Submissions (Higher Education Students only)

Due dates for assessments are clearly specified on unit guides. Unless students have been granted formal extensions, the following are the normal penalties for late submission of assessments:

  • Assessment marks will be reduced at the rate of 5% of the total possible marks for the assessment item per calendar day, up to five (5) days late.
  • If an assessment is submitted more than five (5) days late, a mark of zero will be awarded for the assessment upon submission of the completed assessment.

Students are expected to complete all assessments, and must demonstrate all unit learning outcomes in order to pass a unit. The course co-ordinator must consult with the Registrar or Dean of Studies in any cases of unsubmitted assessments in order to ensure that all unit learning outcomes have been met as mapped in the unit guide, otherwise the student will receive a failing grade.

An assessment task to be marked with a non-graded-pass will be a fail if not submitted within five (5) days of the due date.

Assessments submitted to a lecturer by email due to technical difficulties in uploading an assignment will be considered as submitted on the date the email is timestamped unless the College has:

  • record of system outage or misconfiguration
  • proof such as a screenshot or photograph of a computer screen from the student that there were technical difficulties.

These penalties do not apply for a resubmisson as resubmissions must be on time.  Refer below for circumstances where a resubmission may occur.
 

Resubmissions – (VET Students only)

VET students are permitted to resubmit tasks during the duration of a competency-based unit until they are competent. Once competency has been demonstrated, no further resubmissions are allowed.

Resubmissions – (Higher Education Students only)

Higher Education student may apply for resubmission based on one of following three categories.

  • failure due to poor quality of work
  • failure due to late submission
  • breach of academic integrity.

Each category is treated differently. The result given for the resubmitted assessment task becomes the recorded grade.

Category 1 (failure due to poor quality of work)
As the College wants to see students succeed, a student who submits a bona fide response to the assessment task and does not pass (receives a mark of 50% or more) is permitted to resubmit the assessment task provided the following guidelines are met.

  • Either the lecturer requests the student to resubmit or the student has discussed the possibility of a resubmission with the Academic in Charge who has agreed to such.  In either case the initiator must complete the  Resubmission Request form [1].
  • The revised essay must be submitted no more than 2 weeks after the approval of the request for resubmission. The resubmitted assessment task will be marked on its merit but a result of not more than 64% will be recorded for the assessment task.
  • There will be no opportunity for a subsequent resubmission.

The mark given to the resubmitted paper will be the final mark.

In the event that one or more fail marks of less than 50% causes a student to fail the unit and the unit is a core unit for the student's course the student must re-enrol in the unit, pay all associated fees and complete all the work specified in the Unit Guide of the re-enrolled unit to permit recording of a result for the re-enrolled unit.

Category 2 (failure due to late submission)
A student who fails an assessment task due to late submission but does not consequently fail the unit is not permitted to resubmit.

A student who fails to submit an assessment task by 5 days after the due date is not permitted to resubmit.

A student who fails an assessment task due to the application of the late submission penalty and consequently fails the unit may be permitted to submit a new assessment task provided they are expected to graduate at the end of the current semester and the following criteria are met:

  • The student must make an appointment with their Course Advisor to discuss the possibility of submission of a new assessment task and complete the Resubmission Request form [1].
  • ​The Academic Standards and Risk Committee agrees that the student is allowed to submit a new assessment task.
  • The new assessment task must be based on a different question to the first assessment task.
  • The new assessment task must be submitted within three weeks of the Resubmission Request form [1] being approved by the Academic Standards and Risk Committee.
  • The resubmitted assessment task will not attract the original late penalty, but will attract any further penalties if submitted after the arranged date, as for Late Assignments as detailed above. The resubmitted assessment task can earn a maximum mark of 64%.
  • There will be no opportunity for a subsequent resubmission.

Category 3 (breach of academic integrity)
A student who has breached academic integrity may be permitted to resubmit an assessment task with appropriate acknowledgements of sources and correct references/citations. This possibility is subject to the Academic Integrity Policy [3].

Appeals
A student can appeal against any consequence arising from this policy by following the Complaints and Grievance Policy

Related Documents: 
Request for Assignment Extension form [2]
Academic Integrity Policy
Complaints and Grievance Policy