Science and Technology Education: Nature and Practice

All forms of cheating and dishonest practice are taken seriously and penalties will result. Students should refer to Regulation J of the General Course and Examination Regulations. Work submitted may be analysed by the software Turnitin, to check for plagiarism. Where there is evidence that cheating or plagiarism has occurred students will be awarded an X grade and the matter will be referred to the year level coordinator, and/or the Head of the School of Teacher Education.

Assessment procedures will follow the established policies of the UC College of Education, Health and Human Development Assessment Guidelines.

Grading Scale
Grade    GPA      Marks
A+          9      90 – 100
A            8      85 – 89.99
A-           7      80 – 84.99
B+          6      75 – 79.99
B            5      70 – 74.99
B-           4      65 – 69.99
C+          3      60 – 64.99
C            2      55 – 59.99
C-           1      50 – 54.99
D            0      40 – 49.99
E           -1       0 – 39.99

The score for each assessment item will be aggregated for the final grade. Normally a student will need to pass all assignments in a course. However, at the time of the examiner’s meeting when one of the grades for an assignment is just below the passing grade and the other grades are at a satisfactory level, the examiner may also consider factors such as attendance, engagement and the tertiary literacy standard of the assignment. In consultation, the examiner may decide to award the aggregated scores/grades. Assessment procedures will follow the policies of the UC College of Education, Health and Human Development Assessment Guidelines. Final grades will be calculated and reported using the UC Common Grading Scale.

Attendance and Participation
A student seeking credit in any course must attend such lectures, and perform satisfactorily such oral, practical, written and other work as the Head of Department/School concerned may require.’
(University of Canterbury Calendar 2014, p.43)

Students are expected to attend all scheduled course sessions, actively engage with course content and actively participate in course activities in order to meet the learning outcomes of the course. Students are expected to notify lecturers prior to their absence with an explanation. Extended absences must be accompanied by a medical certificate or similar (as for aegrotat provisions).

Students with less than 80% attendance are at-risk of not meeting the criteria for seeking credit in the course. The course lecturer may require evidence that they have actively engaged with the content and activities of the missed sessions.

Attendance evidence
FLO students – attendance and active participation at On-site Intensives and Adobe Connect (webinar) sessions, accessing of ECHO360 lecture recordings, completion of forum tasks, participation in educational setting/school visits and other requirements specified by the course coordinator.

On Campus students –attendance and active participation at lectures, workshops, labs and/or Adobe Connect (webinar) sessions, accessing of ECHO360 recordings, completion of forum tasks, participation in educational setting/school visits and other requirements specified by the course coordinator.

Formal and informal evaluation will take place in accordance with the relevant Course Evaluation Policy, to provide feedback to staff about the relevance and validity of what has been learned as well as the quality of course delivery.

The courses will be internally moderated in accordance with the processes adopted by the College of Education, Health and Human Development. An examiners’ meeting will be held at the end of the course to determine the final grades and to ensure fairness and consistency.

All assignments must be submitted on or before the due date. If an assignment is late (without a prior arranged extension) then it will normally not be marked. However, if the course lecturer is notified within 24 hours of the due date and there is a genuine issue, for which evidence must be given, it may be considered but the assignment grade is usually restricted to a minimum passing grade (50%) for that assessment. If the assessment is late it is automatically excluded from a resubmission opportunity unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Tertiary literacy standard

Assignments that do not meet a tertiary literacy standard will be marked but that mark will be sanctioned. The student will be given one opportunity to correct the assignment so that it demonstrates tertiary technical writing skills. These skills include the correct use of spelling (including the appropriate use of macrons when spelling Māori words), sentence structure, punctuation, paragraphing and the appropriate use of APA referencing. The corrected work must be resubmitted within seven calendar days.

Once the work is at an appropriate tertiary literacy standard the sanction on the mark will be removed.

Extensions are reserved for exceptional circumstances only and are not granted automatically. The course lecturer responsible for the assessment must be contacted by email a minimum of two working  days before the due date, and the application must be supported by relevant evidence (e.g. medical certificate, letter from counsellor). The student’s course lecturer will then make a recommendation to the course coordinator who will make a final decision. If an extension is granted there will normally be no resubmit given for that assignment. An extension will normally be for no more than two weeks and the date of the extension must be provided to the student in writing.

Extensions will not be granted because of pressure of university study, e.g. several pieces of work being due around the same time. The procedure for extensions is fully outlined in the College of Education Health and Human Development Assessment Guidelines.

The decision to grant a resubmission will be made by the course lecturer in consultation with the course coordinator and will be subject to the student concerned having demonstrated a satisfactory level of course attendance and participation.

Normally a resubmit will only be considered for assignments which meets most of the pass criteria and meets the tertiary literacy standards and which is within the ‘D’ range (40.00 – 49.99%).

Assignments which have been resubmitted are restricted to a minimum passing grade (C- or 50%) for that assessment. Students may only be granted one resubmission per course.

The timeframe for students resubmitting work will normally be no more than two weeks and the date of the resubmission must be provided to the student in writing.

Students may apply for special consideration if their performance in an assessment is affected by extenuating circumstances beyond their control, where:
(a)  they have suffered an acute illness, injury, or other reasonably unforeseeable circumstances:
i.    which has prevented them from completing any major item(s) of work for assessment in a course; or
ii.   which has impaired their performance (including by interruption of pre-assessment revision) to the extent that the result(s) are likely to underestimate their true and evidenced level of mastery of the material in the course;
or
(b)  
i.    they have been selected to perform, compete, adjudicate, or officiate as a national sporting representative at national or international competitions; or
ii.   they are members of a national cultural group on tour nationally or internationally.
Please note that applications must be supported by evidence.  Further details are available at the above link.

Applications for special consideration should be submitted via the Examinations Office website http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/exams/ within five days of the assessment.

Where an extension may be granted for an assessment, this will be decided by direct application to the Course Co-ordinator and an application to the Examinations Office may not be required.

Special consideration is not available for items worth less than 10% of the course and may not be available for some other items of assessment as specified in Course Outlines.  (Refer to specific Course Outlines for this information.)

Students prevented by extenuating circumstances from completing the course after the final date for withdrawing, may apply for special consideration for late discontinuation of the course. Applications must be submitted to the Examinations Office within five days of the end of the main examination period for the semester.

NB: This information replaces any previous references to special consideration, Aegrotat or Backdated (Late) Withdrawal in the Course Information System, Learn or Course Outlines. If you are unclear about the implications or process please discuss with your Course Coordinator or contact the Student and Programme Office for assistance.

Normally, assignments will be submitted and returned via the Learn site. It is the responsibility of the students to check their emails at least twice a week and ensure Internet access and ability to submit their work via the online system is functioning.  Any technical difficulties should be notified well in advance of the due date so that assistance can be provided or alternative arrangements can be negotiated.

For ICT help call our free call number 0508 UC IT HELP (0508 824 843) or on 03 369 5000.  Monday to  Friday, 8am to 5pm (excluding public and university holidays).

It is a student’s responsibility to uplift marked work and feedback in a timely manner. It is strongly recommended that students retain a back-up copy of all submitted work.