Fourth Year Assessment in the Department of Psychology

The following assessment information can be found on this page:

• Laboratory Class Attendance Requirements
• Fourth Year Assessment
• About Examinations
• Submitting Work
• Return of work
• Penalty for Late Work
• Extensions Policy
• Copying and Plagiarism
• Applying for Special Consideration

Laboratory Class Attendance Requirements

For all Psychology subjects, attendance at a minimum of 80% of laboratory classes is required in order to gain a pass in the subject.

Fourth Year Assessment

Fourth year honours grades in Psychology are based on performance in the Research Project and the four coursework subjects completed during the year. The Research Project is weighted to the equivalent of four units. To obtain a pass in Psychology Honours, you are required to meet the following criteria:

• Arts students are required to (a) complete 100 points of study at fourth year level and (b) achieve an honours grade (i.e. H1, H2A, H2B or H3) for each component of assessment in fourth year, and an overall grade of at least H3, in order to meet the requirements of the B.A. (Honours) degree.
• Science students are required to (a) complete 100 points of study at fourth year level, (b) achieve and overall weighted average of at least 65% for their honours subjects and (c) meet all fourth year subject hurdle requirements, in order to meet the requirements of the B.Sc. (Honours) degree.

Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology Students will be required to obtain a result of 50% in each of the five subjects, including the Research Project. In addition, you must submit all lab reports/written assessment in order to pass.

As set out in the University’s Regulation 12.3.8, a fail grade for a subject will not be returned unless all pieces of assessment have been reviewed by two members of staff, one of whom is a member of the examination board (you can find the full regulation at http://www.unimelb.edu.au/ExecServ/Statutes/s123.html).

Examinations

All subject examinations will be held during the University examination period at the end of the semester in which the subject is held. You should be aware that until the final exam timetable has been published, you are expected to be available to sit exams at any time during the examination period. It is your responsibility to find out the correct information about when and where your examinations will be held. The examination timetable is published by the Student Administration Office on the Student Information System.

Submission of Work

Work must be submitted:

1. by the due date
2. typed and double spaced
   
   With
3. your name,
4. student number,
5. and page number in the footer of each page .

To ensure that your work is received and recorded on the correct date, you must:

• Obtain and complete a cover sheet for your assignment;
• Date stamp the first and last page of your work and NOT the cover page;
• Submit your work directly to the correct level posting boxes located on the 12 th floor of the Redmond Barry Building;
• Be sure that you keep an electronic and hard copy of your work;
• Some assignments may be due on the day of the student's allocated lab class. It is the responsibility of the student to verify which lab class they are listed in and submit their work in on this day.

Work should not be submitted to tutor's pigeonholes, under doors, or handed to Psychology Office staff. The Department takes no responsibility for lost work or work not submitted in the correct way.

Please Note:

• There is no access to the posting boxes weekdays after 5.30pm or on weekends;
• Mailed work must be sent via certified or registered mail and post marked no later than the due date. No responsibility will be taken for lost mail;
• Work cannot be submitted by fax or email;
• Assignments which are not accompanied by a cover sheet or date stamped may incur a penalty as the date submitted cannot be verified;
• Work not submitted by the appropriate date and without an approved extension will be subject to late penalties of 5% of the total marks available for each day late.

You MUST retain copies of all material that is submitted for assessment, in electronic and hard copy format.

Return of Work

You will be emailed once the lecturer returns your marked work to the Psychology Office.

Please note that you will be required to present your student ID card when you pick up your work. You are not permitted to collect another student's piece of work, unless you have written permission from that student.

Penalty For Late Work

Work submitted after the due date and without an approved extension will be penalised 5% of the total marks available for each day late. Work due on a Friday that is submitted by 9am on the following Monday will be penalized one day late.

Extensions

As you are given the submission dates for assignments well in advance, extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. We expect students to arrange their schedules to allow for any minor illness, computer problems, heavy workloads, transport problems etc.

Extensions will only be given on the basis of serious physical or emotional problems.

Written proof of the difficulty will usually be required (eg. A letter from a GP or statutory declaration). Extensions are not normally given for periods greater than one week.

• Extension Forms are available online or from the Psychology Office foyer.
• Extension requests must be made prior to the date that the piece of assessment is due. Up to five days should be allowed for processing.
• Do not assume that your extension request will be automatically granted.
• It is your responsibility to collect the reply slip from the Psychology Office and attach it to your work before submitting it.

Please bear in mind that work can be submitted before the due date. Indeed, by submitting work early, you may be able to avoid last minute problems. If you are unable to bring the work into Level 12 of the Redmond Barry Building, you can submit the material through Registered Post. Assignments submitted via fax or email will not be accepted.

ESL students who have arranged an appointment with the Language and Learning Skills Unit [LLSU] to work on a piece of assessment will be allowed to hand in their assessment two days after the appointment date. The LLSU will provide a date stamped receipt when they receive the material and this should be attached to the revised version of the work when it is submitted to the Psychology Department. Use of the LLSU service cannot be used as a reason for an extension.

Copying and Plagiarism

Each piece of assessed work is designed to examine your understanding of a particular subject. The University's Academic Board (28/11/1990) stated:

"The requirement that work submitted be the individual work of the student does not preclude students from discussing assignments in a preliminary way; what is not permitted is anything in the nature of joint planning or execution of an assignment."

While discussion is encouraged, it is expected that the written submission will be planned and completed by each student independently, except when a group assignment is required.

Where students closely and consistently paraphrase or plagiarise work from other students, or from reference material, to such an extent that it is not possible to assess the student's grasp of the subject matter, that piece of work will be failed.

If there are two or more pieces of work from different students that cannot be differentiated, all pieces of work will be failed.

Texts and journal articles are the intellectual property of their author(s) and unacknowledged use of their property is equivalent to theft, and is treated with appropriate severity. Please be aware that material obtained from the Internet is also considered to be the property if another and should be treated as such.

Special Consideration

Special consideration is granted to students who experience hardship that has significantly impacted on their performance during the academic semester. As soon as you are aware of factors that are affecting your studies, or are likely to do so, you should speak to staff in your faculty office or the departments you are studying in. Alternatively, you may wish to seek assistance from a member of staff you know well or a Student Counsellor. Any of these people should be able to advise you about lodging a Special Consideration application.

Applications must be submitted online.

Special Consideration applications submitted to the Psychology Department are only assessed at the end of each semester and if granted, are typically given in the form of a special examination. Should you have circumstances that are impacting on your studies during the semester, it is important that you also contact the relevant subject co-ordinator(s) to discuss ongoing ways of assisting with your situation.

A Health Care or Appropriate Professional (HCAP) form completed by an appropriate professional is required as part of your application.

etails of all applications for Special Consideration are treated in strictest confidence. Applications for Special Consideration are made in accordance with Statute 12.4.5 (set out in the University Calender).