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Finalisation of Results & Appeals | Calculating WAM | Finalising results | Appeals | Finalisation - graduating students | Staff information

Further results information for staff

Time for marking
Retention of examination scripts and assessment information
Casual teaching staff

See the Results pages in Current Students

Time for marking

Assessment of students’ work is a normal component of the duties of academic staff. The Head of School is expected to ensure that markers are not overloaded. While workload estimates vary across disciplines, one rule of thumb relates the amount of time spent by a marker to that spent by the student on the assessment task. For the grading of examination scripts, some schools use a ratio of roughly one-sixth to one-twelfth, depending on the complexity of the task and the level of objectivity used in determining a fair mark. For example, in a seven-hour day an experienced marker might be expected to assess between 14 and 28 entire three-hour examination scripts. In practice, marking may be distributed among several markers, each of whom assesses the corresponding part of each examination paper.

Retention of examination scripts and assessment information

Examination scripts (other than those returned to students) are to be retained in the school for six months. Students should have access to their own scripts and be able to consult the examiner or the course authority on their performance. Faculties may determine the conditions under which access may be granted.

Where examination question papers or other forms of assessment need to be kept confidential (eg multiple choice question papers where questions are reused in later examinations) arrangements should be made for students to receive advice on their performance, with reference to their examination script, but in a way which does not prejudice the examination mode.

Course convenors must ensure that a breakdown of the individual components that have contributed to the final mark is available at all times. Teaching staff who take leave or terminate their employment with the University should lodge those records with the course authority. The course authority is required to retain them for five years; an electronic record is sufficient.

In the case of the examination of theses and project reports, the examiners’ report should be released to the student, following determination of the student’s results. The names of examiners, while remaining undisclosed prior to assessment, should be released subsequently unless a particular examiner requests that this information be not released.

Casual teaching staff

Where one or more non-UNSW staff are employed to teach in a course, the course authority must nominate a course convenor who is a member of staff to be responsible for ensuring that the UNSW Policy on assessment is followed.

Areas of particular concern include the late return of results, failure to lodge with the School a breakdown of marks in addition to the final mark, non-return of assignments, unavailability to give feedback during the session or to discuss the final mark after the release of the results, and the inability of the School to arrange for cross-marking of assignments marked by an external examiner because of the lack of relevant expertise within the School.