4.1 Assessment Tasks
4.2 Assessment Schedules
4.3 Unit Outlines
4.4 Minimum Essential Requirements in a Unit

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4.1 Assessment Tasks
Assessment tasks are the single components of an assessment schedule and should be of different types to address students’ differing learning styles. Within any one assessment task, there may be several aspects of assessment.

Assessment should be both formative and summative. The assessment tasks should be appropriate to the discipline and explicitly reflect the learning outcomes for the unit and related generic skills (refer to Table 1). Assessment tasks should be designed to minimise the risk of plagiarism.

Assessment and/or other learning tasks in coursework units that involve students and/or lecturers in projects with human participants require ethics clearance in advance. The Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans application form and guidelines are available on the Research Services website at:
http://www.acu.edu.au/research/forms_documents

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4.2 Assessment Schedules
The learning outcomes in a unit should be assessed through a variety of tasks so students have a number of opportunities to demonstrate their learning. A recommended assessment schedule for any one unit would include two or three assessment tasks, none of which is worth more than 65 percent of the total marks: for example, an essay, seminar and a formal examination each worth between 30-40 percent. Learning contracts, projects or similar assessment tasks may in total be worth more than 65 percent but, in these instances, it is recommended that the assessment task be managed so that students receive feedback on successive stages of the task. The number of unweighted assessment tasks (hurdle requirements) for a unit must be taken into account in relation to assessment load for the unit.

For units with a final examination in the central examination period, assessments should not be due in study week or at any time during the central examination period²⁸. The scope of in-class tests or School examinations should be related to the scheduling of the assessment. Class time used for in-class tests or examinations should be justified in relation to pedagogy not on scheduling issues.

In courses where students follow a fairly common curriculum, Course Co-ordinators (or Assessment Review Committees) should liaise with Lecturers-in-Charge when planning assessment schedules to ensure the workload for students is distributed equitably across the study period.

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4.3 Unit Outlines
A unit outline is an official document that represents the formal understanding between the University and the students in relation to the unit in that study period. It is based on the original Academic Board approved unit outline and prepared by the Lecture in Charge of the unit. Teaching and assessment tasks in the unit must be conducted as specified in the unit outline provided to students.

The assessment schedule may not normally be changed after distribution to students, except under exceptional circumstances as approved by the Head of School. A written revised schedule should then be made available to students either in class, via an online noticeboard or by mail, according to the mode of delivery of the unit.

Based on the Academic Board-approved requirements, the unit outline provided to students contains such of the following as are appropriate for the unit:
ACU National logo

School

Campus

Semester/study period and Year

Unit code – as in current Handbook

Unit title – as in current Handbook

Credit points

Prerequisites, co-requisites and/or incompatible units

Lecturer-in-Charge
The Lecturer-in-Charge and all staff teaching in the unit should be listed with appropriate contact details. Unit outlines should indicate how students may contact all staff teaching in the unit – in person or by telephone, fax or email.

Description
As in current Handbook.

Learning outcomes
As listed in the Academic Board-approved unit outline.

Content
A brief statement of the content of the unit and/or a weekly summary of topics.

Teaching organisation

Duration: the number of contact hours per week over 12 weeks or equivalent.

Mode: e.g. lectures, tutorials, workshops, laboratory sessions, etc.

Assessment procedures including:
- the nature and weighting of each assessment task with evident links between the descriptions of assessment tasks and the learning outcomes for the unit and related generic skills (as per Table 1);
- due dates for each assessment task;
- word limits for each assessment task or equivalent requirements or restrictions;
- presentation requirements;
- the nature and extent of group work or collaboration required or permitted (refer to Section 5.1) and any related documentation;
- specific marking criteria and weightings for each assessment task (other than examinations), including referencing requirements;
- clear details of any minimum essential requirements, such as compulsory attendance or compulsory completion of some or all of the assessment tasks (refer to Section 4.4);
- instructions on how, where and/or to whom students should submit their assessment tasks and whether a cover sheet is required; and
- reference to policies, procedures and regulations concerning late submission; applications for consideration of personal factors affecting assessment; plagiarism, collusion and recycling; and processes for allocating final result grades.

Other unit requirements
Particular rules governing the conduct of a unit, including attendance (refer to Section 4.4) or safety requirements that are specific to a discipline, must be clearly stated in the unit outline together with the consequences for non-compliance.

Support for student learning
Information on support for student learning that is available from the staff teaching in the unit and Student Services should be listed, including a web link.

Table 1 – Development of generic skills/outcomes

Generic skill/outcome	Developed in the unit (Y/N)	Encompassed in assessment
		Assessment Task 1	Assessment Task 2	Assessment Task 3
Written communication skills
Oral communication skills
Interpersonal skills *
Teamwork
Analytical and problem-solving skills
Critical thinking
Organisational skills
Understanding of appropriate professional and ethical standards
Understanding of values consistent with the University Mission
Spirit of community engagement
Information literacy

* particularly in relation to students/future clients/patients etc.

Reference list
All references listed in current unit outlines are to be organised into the categories, as applicable, according to Table 2. The references listed in the unit outline for “cross-campus” units are normally the same.

Table 2 – Guidelines for Reference Lists

Category	Availability	Comments
Text(s)	For on-campus units Must be available electronically or in the library at each campus where the unit is offered. For online units Must be readily available electronically or for purchase in a timely manner by students. If not available electronically, one copy must be available in at least one campus library.	Students are encouraged to purchase a personal copy of a commercial text or a Book of Readings or Workshop Manual produced for the unit unless it is available electronically.
Recommended References	For on-campus units Must be available electronically or in the library at each campus where the unit is offered. For online units Must be available electronically.	Lecturers must verify that electronic resources are available through the Copyright Database or are freely available from the Internet.
Further References	Available through the University Library.	Titles are available in one or more campus libraries, but not necessarily at all campuses where the unit is offered.
Extended Reading	May only be available through libraries and collections outside ACU National.

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4.4 Minimum Essential Requirements in a Unit

4.4.1 Attendance requirements
Marks are not to be awarded for attendance.

If there are specific attendance requirements for a unit, such requirements must be clearly stated in the unit outline, along with consequences for not meeting the requirements.

Thus, students cannot be failed for non-attendance unless the unit outline clearly stipulates that failure is the consequence of not meeting specified minimum attendance requirements and/or attending particular compulsory classes.

The Lecturer-in-Charge must keep attendance records for all classes in units with a minimum attendance requirement or for specified compulsory classes.

4.4.2 Assessment tasks
Students are not usually required to pass individual assessment tasks in a unit unless the task is related to required discipline specific competency standards. The weighting of such tasks must reflect their significance.

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²⁸ This includes an extension of time granted for submission of assessment tasks.