Becoming a professional teacher

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.

On submitting assignments, students must confirm that the work being handed in is original and their own work.

There are two pieces of assessment for this course, each assignment is weighted as above. Satisfactory completion of each assignment to at least a pass grade (C-) is required to pass the course.

Grading Scale
Grade    GPA Value        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

An assignment  pass is 50 marks or over

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 2018)

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 the lecturer 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. Insufficient attendance may make students ineligible for professional practice. The course coordinator may require evidence that they have actively engaged with the content and activities of the missed sessions.

Attendance evidence
On Campus students – attendance and active participation at lectures, workshops, Zoom sessions, accessing of ECHO360 recordings, completion of forum tasks 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 teaching staff about the relevance and validity of what has been learned as well as the quality of course delivery.

Te Kaupeka Ako | Faculty of Education undertakes a process of internal and external moderation of assessment. This is to ensure that the assessment system is fair, equitable, consistent and manageable

Work handed in after the due date with no extension granted is considered late. The highest grade a late assignment can achieve is a C- grade. Lecturers reserve the right not to mark late work, and no work will be accepted after assignments have been returned. Late work is not eligible for resubmission.

Extensions are reserved for exceptional circumstances only and are not granted automatically. Under exceptional circumstances (e.g., illness, accident, bereavement or critical personal circumstances) individual students may be granted an extension of the due date for an assignment. There is, however, a limit to the length of time that an extension can be granted and this should be negotiated with the relevant lecturer in the first instance. Extensions will not normally be given for longer than one week from the due date, unless exceptional circumstances prevail.  Extensions are not granted automatically to students.

Requests for extensions should be emailed to the course coordinator at least two days prior to the due date for the assignment. Relevant evidence such as a medical certificate or a letter from a counsellor may be required in order for the lecturer to make a decision about whether or not to grant an extension. A copy of the lecturer’s email confirming the extension (if granted) and any supporting documentation must be attached to and submitted with the assignment.

If your work meets most of the criteria required to pass, you may be given the opportunity to resubmit the assignment to bring it to a passing standard. Students will have one week from the return of an assignment, to resubmit their work. For the resubmitted assessment to be marked the original work and marking sheet must be attached to the resubmitted version.

A resubmitted assignment cannot be awarded more than the minimum passing grade. Resubmissions are restricted to work that is originally submitted on or before the due date. Late assignments are not normally considered for resubmission unless there are exceptional circumstances. Only one resubmit per course will be given.

Students should refer to Regulation H of the General Course and Examination Regulations found in the UC Calendar, and to College of Education, Health and Human Development assessment guidelines.

Where for reasons beyond their control, students are prevented from completing an assessment or suffer significant impairment, they may apply for what is known as “special consideration”. University of Canterbury Special Consideration provisions may apply to impaired performance, non-completion of assessment items, and to late discontinuation (withdrawal) from a course.

A detailed description of special consideration and materials to support the applications process are available at: Special Considerations Process.  


Generally speaking, applications for special considerations should be lodged within five working days of the due date of that assessment item. For more details on this, please refer to the Special Considerations Regulations.


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 Advice team for assistance.

As well as attending classes, it is essential that all students regularly access the course Learn site. All course information such as the course kaupapa, notices, assessment information, required and recommended readings, audio recordings of some lectures, and other teaching resources etc. will be available on this site

Students will be expected to submit their assessments via the online assessment system in the Learn (Moodle) class site by 5.00pm on or before the due date. The lecturer may also ask students to submit assessment work through the software Turnitin, to check for plagiarism. If this option is available, students will submit work through Turnitin and obtain a report, after submitting assignments for marking via the Learn site.

It is the responsibility of the students to check their Internet access and ability to submit their work via the online system. 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. (Students who have unreliable internet access are advised to attend to this early in the course to prevent last minute pressures).

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)

Assignments are to be submitted via Learn. Assignments will be marked and returned within a four-week period (exclusive of lecturer leave) via Learn.