Becoming a professional teacher

Aratohu Ākonga | Guide for Students

Course Attendance and Participation

General Requirements
This qualification is designed to prepare you for entry into the teaching profession. Attendance enables you to demonstrate key aspects from ‘Our Code, Our Standards’ (Education Council, New Zealand, 2017); specifically, your commitment to the teaching profession and your commitment to learners.  

The UC General Conditions for Credit Regulations (general-regs-general-conditions-for-credit-regulations.pdf (canterbury.ac.nz) section 3 a) states “A student seeking course credit must engage satisfactorily in all required course-related activity, work and assessment specified in the course outlines.”

Subsequently for all students (campus or distance), attendance at all scheduled course sessions, and independent engagement with associated course content (online), is a course requirement.  
 

Attendance Distance
All students are expected to attend On-Site Intensive events in every year of their programme, unless excused by the Programme Coordinator.  

To meet the learning outcomes and the UC General Conditions for Credit Regulations, distance students are expected to attend and participate in all distance intensive sessions indicated in the timetable.  
Attendance and course engagement will be taken into account when students apply for Extensions and Special Consideration.  


Absences
As outlined in the ‘Attendance’ section, students are expected to attend and participate in course activities. Where a student is unable to attend scheduled sessions, it is a professional courtesy to notify the course lecturer (via email) with an explanation as soon as possible. Extended absences must be accompanied by a medical certificate or similar. Absent students may be required to complete and submit tasks that demonstrate engagement with the content from missed classes to meet the course requirements.



Course Assessment  
Extensions:  
Students are encouraged and expected to plan their work so that deadlines are met. Extensions are not granted automatically. Under special circumstances (e.g. illness, accident, bereavement, tangihanga, or critical personal circumstances) a student may be granted an extension to the due date for an assignment. 
The course coordinator concerned must be contacted in writing (normally by e-mail) before the due date of the assignment for which an extension is sought. 

Normally it is expected to notify 48 hours before the assessment is due, but in extenuating circumstances this may be up to the submission time.  
 
If requesting an extension, you may be required to submit evidence of work completed on the assessment.  
Applications for extensions must be supported by relevant reasons and students may be asked to provide evidence of special circumstances (e.g. medical certificate).


Late work:  
Work is considered late if it is handed in after an assignment due date, without an extension having been applied for and granted. Late work will be accepted for marking up if it is submitted up to 24 hours late. A penalty of 1 grade step will be applied to late work. Lecturers will not mark work that is more than 24 hours late and without an extension having been sought and granted. No work will be accepted after assignments have been returned.  


Resubmissions:  
One resubmission is permitted where work for an assignment received a failing (D) grade. Work that received a passing grade (C- or higher) cannot be resubmitted. The highest grade that a resubmitted assignment can be awarded is a C-.  Work that is to be resubmitted will normally be due one week after being returned to the student. Only one resubmission is available for the course.  


Assessed work in te reo Māori:  
Recognising that Māori is an official language of New Zealand, the University provides for students who may wish to use the Māori language in assessment.  

If a student wants to submit work that is written in te reo Māori, they will need to advise the course coordinator in advance of their intention. This is to allow the University sufficient time to make arrangements for translation and marking.  

See Assessment in Te Reo Māori Policy, which states:
A student should inform the Course Coordinator of their intent, or potential intent, to complete an assessment item(s) in te reo Māori:
• No later than 10 working days after the commencement of a course which is 5 or more weeks in duration;  

Thereafter, for each piece of written and/or oral work, a student should notify the Course Coordinator of their intention to submit a specific piece of assessment in te reo Māori and the possible need for marking and/or translation no later than 15 working days before the due date of the assessment or date of the examination.

Course coordinators will notify the registry of the need for support for assessment of course work in Māori, and the Office of the AVC Māori works with students to support them with the process and ensure fair and appropriate assessment procedures are in place.  


Special consideration of assessment items:  
Where circumstances mean that students cannot submit assignment work on time, they should apply for an extension to the assignment due date in the first instance.  

Where an extension may be granted for an assessment, this will be decided by direct application to the course coordinator (in writing, e.g. by email, and in advance of the due date) and an application to the Examinations Office will not be required. 

Special consideration may be a relevant alternative when extensions cannot be granted and the student meets the criteria for a special consideration (need to add link here).  

Special consideration for late discontinuation:   
Special consideration for late discontinuation of the course is available. 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. 

Applications for special consideration should be submitted via the website – see https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/special-consideration/how-to-apply/ 
For more information see Special Consideration Regulations. 
 
Final grade: 
Assessment for this course relates to defined standards and learning outcomes. Assignments are graded against the UC Common Grading Scale A+ to E. The marks for the assignments will be aggregated for the final grade, based on the assignment weightings. 

Final grades will be determined at an examiners’ meeting at the end of the course and reported using the UC Common Grading Scale. 

Pass grade:  
A Pass grade is C- or over for the course.
UC common 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 
 

Academic and professional integrity: 
Honesty and integrity are important qualities for teachers. Students must maintain good character through the programme, including time in university-based study and professional practice in schools. They must act in ways consistent with the UC Student Code of Conduct and the Code of Professional Responsibility for teachers. 

All forms of cheating and dishonest practice are taken seriously and penalties will result. Students should refer to UC's Academic Integrity page. 

Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty. Students need to be familiar with the risks of plagiarism (including self-plagiarism) and how to avoid these. The UC Library has useful information on plagiarism and how to avoid it - see FAQ | University of Canterbury and Library link.  

Students may be tempted to use AI text generators like ChatGPT, please be aware that using such text in assignments may amount to academic misconduct, unless course lecturers have stated that this is allowed, in which case students are expected to follow these instructions as to how to do this.  

Please refer to the post in Tūpono | The Insider’s Guide to UC which can be found here: Can I use AI (like ChatGPT) in my UC work? - Tūpono | The Insider's Guide to UC (canterbury.ac.nz) and the Misconduct Procedures - Guide for Students for more information. 
 
Visit UC's policy library to access the official assessment policy document 
 
 
 
For additional information on assessment requirements and procedures, see the course outline in Qualifications and Courses.