Category: Teaching and Learning

Date of Approval: Feb 2009

This procedure should be read in line with the Discontinuation Policy, Assessment Policy & the Assessment of Competence Procedure
General Principles
Both the insight provided by marking and the grades awarded are very important to participants.  Grading must provide a fair and accurate representation of performance, and also be understood to do so by the participants receiving the grades/scores. Grading systems should be made clear and marking should provide sufficient insight into the strengths and weaknesses of individual pieces of work to ensure that participant understand the appropriateness of grades assigned. Participants should feel that the educator cares enough about them to be thorough and accurate in marking and recording at every stage of the evaluation process and that the educator will be approachable if they have reason to believe that an error has been made.
Consistency in evaluation across sections of the same course and from year to year should be maintained.
Marks and grades must be treated with care and confidentiality.  Posting of grades must be done by participant ID number rather than by name.

Calculation of Medication Examinations
In the event of a Calculation of Medication examination being conducted participants must achieve a grade of 100%.
Course Requirements, Evaluation Procedures and Grading Parts are presented in the College Calendar
The processes set out below are intended to provide educators and participants with general course information.  It is expected that there will be a common sense approach to their application and understood that circumstances might develop, during a term, where a change to the course outline made sense to all concerned. (The Accrediting Nurses Board must be contacted prior to any major changes made to course delivery). These changes shall only occur with fair warning or general class consent. Participants concerned about the application of these guidelines should consult, in turn, the educator or the Course Coordinator

Roles and Responsibilities
At the beginning of each course, the Course Coordinator is required to provide a course outline which must include the following:                               

• A statement of the course objectives and general content.
• A list of the required textbooks and other major course materials.
• A list of any other course fees and their associated costs. 
• An indication of how and when participants have access to the educator.
• The distribution of weight between term work and final examination.
• Identification of all course activities worth 10% or more of the overall course mark.

vii. Whether marks are given for class participation and other in-class activities as well as the weight of such participation.
viii. Dates of any examination and course assignments with a weight of 10% or more of the overall course mark.
ix. The manner in which the official College grading system is to be implemented in that particular course or section, i.e., whether a particular distribution is to be used to determine grades, or whether there are absolute measures or marks which will determine them, or whether a combination of the two will be used.
Participants are expected to:

• be familiar with standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the College
• meet the dates provided for submission of assignments and other assessments
• attend all designated examinations and assessments at the time/s and date/s provided
•  To familiarize themselves with the Student Code of Behaviour
• Avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or discontinuation from the course

Educators are expected to;

• Indicate in the unit/subject outline the date, time and place on which a deferred examination will occur, should one be required. 
• discuss with the class their expectations with respect to academic honesty issues
• Outline both permitted and prohibited behaviour.
• Follow copyright regulations as established by the College from time to time in the duplication of course material. 
• Allow participants a reasonable time in which to complete an assignment, bearing in mind its weight.
• Mark and return to participants with reasonable dispatch all term examinations and, provided the participants submit them by the due date, all course projects, assignments, essays, etc.
• Return all projects, assignments, essays, etc. on or by the last day of classes in the course, with the exception of a final major assignments (which may be due on the last day of classes)
•   Return all other theory component assessments by the end of the first week of clinical placement.
•   Upon request, educators are required to provide the method which was used to translate final and where appropriate, term marks into grades.

Where the above guidelines have not been followed or where participant have concerns, the participant should make the concern known to the educator or Course Coordinator.  The participant/participator may be directed to the Participant Complaints and Appeals Policy.
The Board of Nursing Studies will be involved in reviewing any concerns regarding assessment processes or results from participants, educators, clinical assessors or other significant persons.
Grading System
The VCHN College of Health and Nursing uses a letter grading system.  Grades reflect judgments of participant achievement made by educators. These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class.  Educators must adapt their approaches to reflect the letter grading system.  Grade distribution should reflect those shown below.

Extension Procedure

• Participants are expected to complete the scheduled unit assessment requirements by the due date, or apply for an extension in writing by completing an ‘extension request form’ to apply for an approved extension
• If for a legitimate reason, a participant cannot complete an assessment by the allocated due date, he/she may complete an ‘extension request form’ to apply for an approved extension of the time for submission of the required assessment.
• If unit assessment requirements are not submitted by the end date of the scheduled time set for submission and an ‘Extension Request form’ has not been submitted and approved, the participant will automatically receive a fail grade for that assessment.
• The ‘extension request form’ should be submitted directly to the educator involved in organising the assessment.  A copy of the signed ‘extension request form’ should be provided to the participant and the original filed in the participant’s files.
• The submission for extension must be made prior to the assessment due date.
• Extension requests must be for an approved extension for a period no later than the one week into the clinical component of the course.
• Where special circumstances occur that are beyond a person’s control and the participant cannot meet the above requirements, the course coordinator will meet with the Training Manager to consider an application for extension.

Failure to pass Assessment/s
In the event of a participant in DIVISION 1/REGISTERED NURSE REGISTRATION PROGRAMS for students with overseas qualifications or who are returning to practice being discontinued or excluded from the course, VCHN College of Health and Nursing will notify the accrediting Nurses Board. Documentation in support of the decision and all other information will be provided.
All assessment processes, results and outcomes will be reviewed by the Training Manager to validate course procedures and assessments.
Failure to meet assessment requirements
Where participants fail to meet the requirements of the course, the Course Coordinator will ensure the processes detailed below are followed for the Theoretical and Clinical components of the course.
Theoretical component of the course

• Participants must gain a pass mark for all assessments in the theoretical component of the course.  A pass of 50% must be attained for each theoretical unit. Borderline fails in an initial assessment will be remarked by a different nurse educator or the course coordinator.
• All participants who fail an assessment will be able to submit a supplementary assessment.
• Participant support and educational support will be provided in the interim
• Supplementary assessments can be delivered using a similar process as the initial assessment or a varied process but must be of the same standard as the initial assessment.
• All supplementary assessments will be assessed by two nurse educators. Where a fail is obtained, the Course Coordinator will review and remark the assessment.

Clinical Component of the Course.

• The clinical component of the course must be assessed using a clinical assessment tool provided by the Course Coordinator.
• The clinical nurse supervisor or allocated Division 1/Registered  nurse is responsible for clinical competency assessment.
• All assessors must undergo an education session to ensure they have up to date knowledge on the clinical competencies and knowledge on the use of the assessment tool.
• Clinical nurse supervisors must report to the Course Coordinator on a weekly basis regarding the progress of participants in the clinical setting.
• The Course Coordinator will meet with participants  in the clinical setting on a two weekly basis for support and to review their clinical progress
• Initially, where problems are identified, a learning contract will be provided to assist the participant in meeting clinical objectives on a weekly basis. The clinical nurse supervisor will be responsible for monitoring and review of participant’s progress on a daily basis.

Failure to meet course clinical requirements
Where a participant fails to meet the clinical competencies as a requirement of the course, within a given time frame, the following processes will be followed:

• The Accrediting Nurses Board will be notified and information provided. The VCHN College of Health and Nursing will endeavour to meet all further requirements of that Nurses Board.
• Where reassessment of competencies is required the VCHN College of Health and Nursing will ensure the all correct procedures are undertaken in the assessment, the environment is appropriate and an independent clinical supervisor for reassessment of competencies is provided.

 Grievance and Appeals Process
All participants have the right to appeal and will be provided with the Student Complaints and Appeals Policy at the beginning of the course and as request