E. Procedures for Checking of Assessment Results of Taught Courses |
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Introduction All assessment results of courses and examinations are determined by the Board of Examiners (BoE) after careful scrutiny and deliberation by the examiners concerned and the relevant subject/departmental/Faculty committee(s). Particularly in respect of a student’s failure in a written examination, or in any other written form of assessment which contributes to 50% or more of the overall result of the failed paper, the University further requires that the failure has to be determined on the basis of the assessment of more than one teacher; and that, in the case where two teachers have been involved in the assessment of the work and where there has been disagreement between the two teachers, a third opinion (normally that of an external examiner) has to be sought. Given the strict review process adopted, the BoE decisions on assessment results are final. Senate further resolved in May 2011 that General Regulation G9(g) (renumbered as G9(h) from January 2014 onward) be amended as “There shall be no appeal against the results of examinations and all other forms of assessment.” to clarify that this provision covers all forms of course assessment. Notwithstanding this, students may however request checking of the final course grade or the result of any assessment component of any course if they have reason to believe that there is any procedural irregularity or technical error in the determination of that result (e.g. an error in the recording, collating or aggregation of grades/marks which contribute to the final result). Such checking is not and does not entail academic re-assessment of the materials or coursework presented by the student. In other words, appeal against the academic judgment of the examiners will not be entertained. Procedures A student who wishes to request a checking of whether there has been any procedural irregularity or technical error in the determination of his/her assessment results shall apply in writing to his/her home Faculty Office, submitting a separate application for each course to be checked. The application must be dated and signed by the student and include the following information: (a) personal information (name, University number, curriculum); (b) information about the course and assessment result to be checked (course code and name, the assignment/examination in question, the assessment result obtained which is to be checked); and (c) the grounds for making the request to check. Faculties may at their discretion require their students to complete a dedicated Faculty form and/or provide additional information to facilitate the processing and consideration of the application(s). Students should approach their Faculty Office about the exact application details. The application fee is HK$200 for each assessment result to be checked: for this purpose, the result of an individual assignment constitutes one assessment result as does the final (aggregated) grade of a course. Students should pay the appropriate application fee(s) using one of the payment methods described in document 152/511 re-amended (http://www.exam.hku.hk/pdf/111_511reamend.pdf), attach the receipt of payment to the application(s) for submission to the Faculty Office, and retain a photocopy of the receipt as proof of payment. Should the Faculty’s investigation into a student’s request conclude that there was indeed a procedural/technical error in the determination of a particular assessment result and the assessment result in question is revised as a consequence, the application fee for checking that particular result will be refunded to the student. An application for checking of procedural irregularity or technical error, together with the receipt of fee payment, should be submitted by the student as soon as possible after the release of the assessment result, and in any case must reach the Faculty Office no later than one week after the publication of the course’s final assessment result as determined by the BoE. The Faculty Office shall arrange for such applications to be considered by the relevant examiner(s) and, where appropriate, by the BoE itself. The Faculty Office shall inform the student in writing of the outcome of the checking normally within three weeks after receipt of the application. |