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Assessment Policy
Name: Assessment Policy
Approved by: General Manager –Group Quality, Accreditation & Compliance
Manager
Date Approved: O4.03.2021
Approved by: General Manager – Greenwich English College
Date Approved: 04.03.2021
Implementation Owner Academic Manager
Maintenance Owner Group Quality, Accreditation & Compliance
Review Date 04.03.2022
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SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3
1) Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 3
3) Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 3
SECTION 2 – POLICY ................................................................................................................................... 4
1) Assessment tasks ........................................................................................................................... 4
2) Quality Control .............................................................................................................................. 4
3) Principles of Assessment ................................................................................................................ 4
4) Rules of Evidence ........................................................................................................................... 5
5) Basis of Assessments ...................................................................................................................... 5
6) How Students will be Assessed ....................................................................................................... 5
7) When will Students be Assessed ..................................................................................................... 6
8) Submission of Assessment and Late Submission ............................................................................... 6
9) Assessment Regulations ................................................................................................................. 6
10) Late Submission of Assessment ................................................................................................... 7
11) Assessment Outcomes ............................................................................................................... 7
12) How Students will be Graded ...................................................................................................... 8
14) Grading of Assessment Tasks in Subject/units (VET & HE) ............................................................. 8
15) Appeals against results in Assessment tasks or subject/units ......................................................... 9
16) Feedback .................................................................................................................................. 9
17) Final Evaluation of Competency Outcomes (VET) .......................................................................... 9
18) Moderation ............................................................................................................................... 9
19) Publication .............................................................................................................................. 12
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Section 3 – Reference and Supporting Information ..................................................................................... 12
1) Definitions .................................................................................................................................. 12
2) Supporting documentation ........................................................................................................... 12
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SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION
1) Purpose
2) The purpose of this Assessment Policy is to ensure that effective mechanisms are in place to
monitor and manage assessment processes and outcomes, to ensure that they are conducted
with fairness and transparently for all students of the Greenwich English College Pty Ltd
(Greenwich), including its sub-brand Greenwich Management College.
3) Scope
This policy applies to:
i) All students (domestic and international) of Greenwich
ii) All staff of RedHill Education including employees and contractors;
iii) All courses delivered by the College including those delivered on their behalf by
education providers with whom there a licensing arrangement.
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SECTION 2 – POLICY
1) Assessment tasks
The Course Committee (CC) is responsible for oversight and key decision making in relation to
assessment. Assessment are aligned to subject/unit/Unit of Competency outcomes and to course
outcomes. There will be a minimum of 1 assessment per subject/unit or course (including short
courses).
2) Quality Control
The Academic Manager will regularly hold subject/unit committee meetings to validate assessment
tasks against course delivery requirements, training package requirements and industry needs. All
courses will be validated at a minimum of once yearly.
They will validate for:
i) Appropriateness of the assessment type against the defined learning outcomes;
ii) Appropriateness of criteria employed to measure learning outcomes;
iii) Weighting of tasks;
iv) alignment with AQF levels of tasks;
v) Usability.
The committee will refer all changes to the CC for approval; this may include a change in the:
i) Type of assessment;
ii) Assessment weightings;
iii) timing of assessment
iv) assessment instructions;
v) assessor guides.
Subject/unit specialists may also recommend that a learning outcome be revised.
Subject/unit specialists will be responsible for initial review of vocational qualifications in the case of
transitions, and will provide the CC with an overview of any/all required changes for consideration
and the CC’s development of a transition plan.
3) Principles of Assessment Fairness: The individual learner’s needs are considered in the assessment process. Where
appropriate, reasonable adjustments will be applied to take into account the individual learner’s
needs. Greenwich informs the learner about the assessment process, and provides the learner with
the opportunity to challenge the result of the assessment and be reassessed if necessary.
Flexibility: Assessment is flexible to the individual learner by:
i) Reflecting the learner’s needs
ii) Assessing learning outcomes, no matter how or where they have been acquired;
iii) Drawing from a range of assessment methods and using those that are appropriate to
the context, the learning outcome, and the individual.
Validity: Any assessment decision is justified, based on the evidence of performance of the
individual learner.
Validity requires:
i) assessment against learning outcomes and associated assessment requirements
ii) covers the broad range of skills and knowledge that are essential to the learning
outcome
iii) assessment of knowledge and skills is integrated with their practical application;
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Reliability: Evidence presented for assessment is consistently interpreted and assessment results are
comparable irrespective of the assessor conducting the assessment.
4) Rules of Evidence
i) Validity: The assessor is assured that the learner has the skills, knowledge and attributes
as described in the learning outcomes and associated assessment requirements.
ii) Sufficiency: The assessor is assured that the quality, quantity and relevance of the
assessment
(a) evidence enable a judgment to be made of learning outcome.
iii) Authenticity: The assessor is assured that the evidence presented for assessment is the
learner’s own work.
iv) Currency: The assessor is assured that the assessment evidence demonstrates current
5) Basis of Assessments
Grades and learning outcomes will comply with Greenwich’s published grading system and designate
a level of achievement or outcome. Constructive feedback will be provided to students for all
assessment outcomes.
Assessments are designed to measure a student’s skills and knowledge from a developmental
perspective and will be supplemented through activities and tasks allowing practice.
6) How Students will be Assessed
i) Reports and reviews: Reports and reviews provide opportunities for students to
consolidate and contextualise knowledge. The ability to effectively condense knowledge,
assimilate and communicate using a structured written medium is an important skill set
for future employability.
ii) Presentations: Some subject/units and units of Competency require students to give
presentations. These are used to evaluate and improve students’ abilities to effectively
communicate (persuasion and exposition) to an audience, undertake research, construct
reasoned argument, draw information from a range of sources.
iii) Project & case study submission: Project based subject/units usually have the
production of a single output as their final result. However, there are significant project
milestones which are evaluated in the course of the entire project subject/unit, through
the course of a term.
iv) Small project submission: Lab and studio based subject/units concentrate on the
production of a series of small outputs. Small project submissions allow the quality of
output to be regularly evaluated, through the course of a term.
v) Practice tasks: This may vary between subject/units and Units of Competency, but
generally consists of a range of small tasks. Typical these tasks might include:
participation in class and online discussions, involvement in lectures, short
presentations, small projects, small practical tutorials, short tests/quizzes, brief research
tasks.
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vi) Tests & quizzes: Many higher education subject/units have periodic test components.
These are used to evaluate ongoing progress in a particular subject/unit. Tests are
normally brief in duration and occur within class for on campus students. Quizzes are
often used in vocational Units of Competency to provide progressive feedback in
relation to the development of more complex skills, particularly where there is specific
underpinning knowledge.
vii) Tutorial or online engagement: Some subject/units or units of Competency require
students to regularly participate in discussions, whether in tutorial groups or through
online social media platforms. The participation rate and nature of engagement is used
to evaluate the student’s ability to effectively communicate in small groups regardless of
the format employed. Guidelines are provided to students and checklists are developed
for educators to support the measurement of engagement/participation and to ensure
reliability, fairness and validity.
7) When will Students be Assessed
The “training plan” provides vocational students with a summary of Units of Competency and
assessment requirements. Assessment briefs and the Assessor Guidelines provide the following
information to students and assessors:
i) name of assessment
ii) nature of assessment
iii) Unit(s) of competency and elements covered
iv) assessment guidelines/instructions
v) skills and knowledge outcomes
vi) Unit(s) of Competency outcomes
vii) due date
viii) submission requirements
8) Submission of Assessment and Late Submission
Submission of work
brief.
must be made on or before the due date and in the form indicated on the assessment
It is the responsibility of individual students to ensure that any assignment submitted in electronic
form is readable and generally accessible by the assessor. Accidentally un-copied data, OR corrupt
data, OR data copied in an unreadable format OR the use of defective disks or other storage media is
not acceptable as a submission. In these cases, assessors will be obliged to treat the assignment as
un-completed. Students are required to keep a copy of all assessments submitted.
Where a student seeks an extension a formal written request along with supporting evidence must
be submitted in accordance with Assessment Appeals Policy and Procedure.
Late submission of work: See the relevant sections of the Late Submission Policy
9) Assessment Regulations
Plagiarism and cheating of any kind is not allowed and may result in a fail/Not yet Competent
outcome (refer to Academic Integrity Policy).
Students may have a maximum of 2 attempts of assessments where the nature of assessment
permits.
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Students have the right of appeal for an assessment outcome (refer to Assessment Appeals Policy).
10) Late Submission of Assessment
If a deadline is missed due to circumstances beyond the control of a student, an application may be
made to submit at a later date. This applies to all forms of assessment.
Applications for special consideration must be made in writing. Special consideration will be
determined by the nature of the circumstance. Applications must be made within five days of the
initial due date or where a student is hospitalised upon release, (medical certificate are required as
part of the application).
Applications for special consideration will result in one of the following outcomes:
i) rejection
ii) extension granted
iii) extension granted and alternate assessment to be assigned
(1) includes examinations for higher education students
11) Assessment Outcomes
Assessment outcomes measure students’ performance against the learning outcomes and indicate
the level of achievement in accordance with Greenwich’s criterion-based grading. This approach is
informed by AQF level, nature of the task and industry needs.
All assessing must be against the approved rubric for that assessment
Assessment outcomes must be entered into Greenwich’s internal marking system.
Assessment outcomes are monitored for consistency within:
i) Classes
ii) Subject/units (between classes)
iii) Courses (between subject/units) and over time (between cohorts)
iv) Delivery mode
v) The organisation (across campuses)
Significantly anomalous Assessment outcomes will be reviewed by the Academic Manager.
Significantly anomalous assessment outcomes constitute:
i) Not Yet Competent (NYC) within a subject/unit of more than 30%;
ii) Where, during the moderation process, there is a discrepancy in the competency
outcome awarded by 2 or more assessors for a student’s assessment.
The Academic Director may:
i) recommend changes to the assessment outcomes of individual students represented in
anomalous subject/units to the ARC;
ii) recommend that the CC authorise the substantial adjustment of a subject/unit’s results
to correctly reflect Greenwich’s standards;
iii) recommend the review of a subject/unit and the assessment practices used within that
subject/unit.
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12) How Students will be Graded
Students will receive a final grade for each subject/unit in which they are entitled to be enrolled and
for which they have completed their enrolment without withdrawal.
The following is a list of all the grades which students may receive on the completion of an individual
subject/unit:
1. RPL awarded
2. Credit Transfer awarded
3. Not yet Competent (NYC)
4. Competent (C)
5. Withdrawn
At the individual assessment level outcomes are:
1. Satisfactory
2. Not yet satisfactory
These assessment outcomes will be entered into the student’s Academic Transcript.
Students will receive a grade for each assessment item they submit, complete or are otherwise
credited for, within each subject/unit for which they are entitled to be enrolled.
13) Successful completion of subject/unit assessment
Students will be entitled to have a final subject/unit assessment, or final grade entered onto their
Academic Transcript after they have completed all the necessary assessment requirements for a
subject/unit in which they were entitled to be enrolled.
14) Grading of Assessment Tasks in Subject/units (VET & HE)
Successful completion of subject/unit assessment
Students will be entitled to have a final subject/unit assessment, or final learning outcome entered
onto their student record after they have completed all the necessary assessment requirements for
a subject/unit in which they were entitled to be enrolled.
Calculating a final subject/unit result
A final result for a completed subject/unit is an outcome of the accumulated assessments. Where a
student has any task that is deemed not yet satisfactory the student will be awarded an overall
subject/unit outcome of NYC.
Assessing tasks
Students will be entitled to have a final outcome entered into their student record after they have
completed all the requirements for task assessments, within a subject/unit in which they were
entitled to be enrolled.
Students may receive an NYC outcome for non-submission; ineligible submission; plagiarised
submission; work which does not meet any of the submission requirements.
Ineligible submission may include, but is not limited to work:
i) that is not accessible to be assessed;
ii) which has been submitted after submission deadlines and/or any approved extension;
iii) that was submitted when a student was not enrolled in a subject/unit or Unit of
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Action
Responsibility
Timing
Undertake moderation in
subject/units
CC
End of study block
Review subject/unit
moderation
CC
No less than once each term for EACH
subject/unit
Review of a subject/unit’s
moderation practices
CC
Annually
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Competency;
iv) which has previously been submitted for assessment more than the approved number
of times;
v) work which has been submitted for assessment in another subject/unit or Unit of
Competency.
15) Appeals against results in Assessment tasks or subject/units
Refer to Academic Appeals Policy
16) Feedback
Assessment feedback will be indicated by the appropriate assessment outcome, but where suitable,
comments in addition to outcome will be provided that will be constructive towards improving
student skills and understanding of how they met or did not meet the assessment criteria, or
demonstrated or did not demonstrate their skills and knowledge.
For students undertaking vocational courses of study feedback will be provided
using the formal
Assessment feedback form and will include assessment outcomes and constructive feedback in
relation to all key elements of the task.
Assessments judgements will be moderated within subject/units to ensure consistency and
evaluated within
the context of the course to enhance the effectiveness of the curriculum.
Assessment judgements will also be moderated across the course to ensure reliability, validity across
campuses and delivery modes.
The initial assessment task will usually take place before the midpoint of each subject/unit and initial
feedback provided and should be provided within two weeks of submission.
17) Final Evaluation of Competency Outcomes (VET)
There will be a final evaluation of all competency outcomes for each completed subject/unit of
Competency at the conclusion of each study block.
Final outcomes will be evaluated by a Review Committee. Where necessary, individual learning
outcomes may be adjusted to accurately reflect course requirements and subject/unit of
Competency requirements.
1
8) Moderation a) Responsibilities
oderation is a process used to help assure the consistent high-quality delivery of subject/units at
M
Greenwich. There are three general kinds of moderation:
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i) Internal Moderation: That is, moderation within individual subject/units
ii) Intra Moderation: That is, where judgements between courses and campuses are
compared
iii) External moderation: That is, where we compare our grading with similar/same courses
at other tertiary institutions
nternal moderation is used by Greenwich in all subject/units both during the first year of new
I
subject/units and also following the completion of assessments and assessment tasks during the
provision of individual subject/units.
External moderation is used by Greenwich in making pre-moderation reviews of assessment tasks
for proposed new subject/units. External moderation may be used by Greenwich during the
completion of some subject/units.
F
urther reasons that Greenwich engages in both internal and external moderation are:
i) To ensure that high quality assessment is applied consistently within Greenwich’s courses;
ii) To ensure that the expected standard of student outputs is appropriate and is comparable
to similar standards applied in other tertiary courses in Australia;
iii) To ensure that student outputs and completed Assessment tasks are evaluated
consistently and fairly across all students in the same subject/units, or course.
b) Mo
deration of Judgements for Completed Assessments
All assessment tasks (and especially major assessment tasks) for Units of Competency undergo
internal moderation for a predetermined % of all submitted assessment tasks in a given study block.
For VET Units of Competency this will be calculated in accordance with the published formula for
determining a sample size.
nternal moderation is particularly appropriate when there is more than one marker within an
I
individual subject/unit, in which case moderation serves to:
i) Ensure that grading within subject/units is consistent between markers;
ii) To ensure that the assessment processes were applied accurately and fairly.
n the case where there is only one marker the moderation process serves to ensure reliability and
I
fairness of the assessment outcomes.
c) Process followed to internally moderate subject/units with more than one marker
i) All the markers for a specific subject/unit or assessors for a particular Unit of
Competency will meet after the conclusion of the assessment period and prior to the
marking process. One or more of the markers will have completed provisional marking
of several assessments;
ii) Comparison of assessment practices will be made by all the assessors.
iii) Assessors may decide to:
(1) divide marking of particular portions of individual assessment, OR
(2) mark entire assessments proportionately;
iv) Where entire assessments are marked proportionately it may be deemed appropria
te
for markers to have a further moderation meeting on the conclusion of marking and
prior to the publication of results. The purpose of such a meeting would be to:
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(1) compare final assessments between class groups; to ensure that the established
guidelines were followed,
(2) ensure that there was no disparity in marking between classes/cohorts.
I
t may be appropriate for some Assessment tasks which are brief in nature or more clearly
subject/unitive to be graded by multiple markers in viewing sessions. Moderation in that instance
will occur during the grading process.
d) P
rocess followed to internally moderate subject/units with a single marker
The marker will have completed provisional marking of several assessments. Comparison of
assessment practices will then be made with another faculty member to ensure that the level of
assessment is deemed consistent, accurate, reliable and fair.
I
t may be deemed appropriate to have a further moderation meeting upon the conclusion of
marking and prior to the publication of results. The purpose of such a meeting would be to:
i) compare final assessments between cohorts;
ii) ensure that the established guidelines are consistently applied;
iii) ensure that there was no disparity in marking between class groups.
e) R
eview of Moderation
The Academic Manager should review moderation processes in conjunction with the CC.
i) The Academic Manager may recommend:
ii) no change to current practice; that subject/units undertake more or more stringent
moderation;
iii) recommend a review of the moderation practices used within specific subject/units.
xternal Moderation and Validation of Assessments
f) E
All proposed assessments and assessment tasks for subject/units under development will be
referred to and approved by the CC.
The CC will ensure that proposed assessment tasks are suitable for particular subject/units by
making comparisons through a formal validation process, where possible, to:
i) like subject/units delivered at other tertiary institutions in Australia;
ii) like subject/units currently being delivered at Greenwich
iii) s
ame subject/units being delivered across Greenwich;
;
iv) same subject/units being delivered by other tertiary institutions.
e CC will also seek input and advice from industry for the purposes of aligning learning outcomes
Th
(skills and knowledge) with industry needs and requirements (both current and future).
Additionally, external moderation ensures that:
i) assessment tasks are clearly aligned with the stated learning outcomes for individu
ubject/units or Units of Competency;
s
ii) assessment processes are fair, reasonable, valid and reliable;
iii) are appropriate; and
iv) assessments have clearly defined tasks, criteria, requirements, and instructions for
tudents and assessors/markers.
s
al
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hile external moderation may not possible for every subject/unit, the CC endeavours to ensure
W
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that periodic external moderation is undertaken. External moderation should be made for each
subject/unit not less than once every four taught terms.
The CC is responsible for nurturing relationships with other tertiary providers to facilitate this
process.
19) Publication
This policy is published on the web sites of Greenwich to ensure students have up-to-date and
accurate information publicly available to them.
Section 3 – Reference and Supporting Information
1) D
efinitions
Word/Term Definition
Moderation Process of monitoring assessment judgements for validity, reliability and
fairness
Validation Process of evaluating effectiveness and appropriateness of an assessment tool
or suite of assessment tools
Unit of
Competency
Competency
Outcome
the specification of knowledge and skill, and the application of that knowledge
and skill, to the standard of performance expected in the workplace.
An assessable outcome of a learners skills and knowledge for a vocational Unit
of Competency
Study block Duration of study for a subject/unit or Unit of Competency
upporting documentation
2) S
Document name Document type Location
Academic Appeals Policy Internal
Academic Integrity Policy Internal
Academic Progression Policy Internal
Trainer & Assessor Handbook Handbook Internal
Under 18 Years Student Management and Supervision
Procedure Internal
Procedure
U18 International Students Guideline Procedural Guide Internal
National Code 2018 Govt Standards External
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Assessment Policy
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Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)
Framework External
2015
Standard 1 Training and Assessment, clause 1.6 Industry Relevance & clauses 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11 -
Broadcasting Services Act 1999 Legislation External
SECTION 6 – CHANGE HISTORY
Version Approval date Department Approved by Change
V1.2 1 January, 2018 Group Quality,
General Manager Update to policy
Accreditation &
Compliance
Greenwich
General Manager
English College
V1.3 04 March 2021 Group Quality,
Accreditation &
Compliance
Greenwich
English College
General Manager Update to policy & new
template
General Manager
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