Changes to grades - 2022 update
In recognition of the ongoing disruptions to student learning due to COVID-19, we have implemented the following changes to grades and academic consideration for the remainder of 2022:
- Technical Fail (TF) grades will not be awarded to students whose attendance record has been impacted by COVID-19 related disruptions, including (but not limited to) international travel restrictions or self-isolation.
- Students who cannot attend a compulsory class due to COVID-19 disruptions are not required to apply for academic consideration for non-attendance. Students should however still apply for academic consideration for other assessable items (e.g. assessments or exams) that are impacted by COVID-19 or other factors.
- Where a student’s attendance has been affected, yet they have demonstrated the learning outcomes of the subject, an appropriate mark or grade based on their overall performance in the subject will be awarded.
- Where a student has been unable to complete a mandatory component of the subject as a consequence of COVID-19 disruptions, an interim grade (e.g. Withheld (WH), Withheld Deferred Assessment (WD), or In Progress Coursework (IPC)) will be applied as appropriate, and the student given an opportunity to complete the mandatory component at a later time. On completing the mandatory component, the student must receive the appropriate mark or grade based on their overall performance in the subject.
The above changes apply to all 2022 sessions, including non-standard sessions. These changes do not apply to UOW College programs.
Changes to grades - 2020 and 2021
UOW implemented changes to grades and new academic support measures during 2020 and 2021. The changes applied to Autumn and Spring Sessions, Trimesters 1, 2 and 3 in 2020, and Spring Session, Trimesters 2 and 3 in 2021, and some non-standard sessions in both 2020 and 2021. These changes and measures included:
- Fail grades were not recorded on academic transcripts where students demonstrated a genuine attempt at the subject, and the fail grade was not a result of academic misconduct.
- If students felt their subject mark did not reflect their full capability, they had the option to have their mark and grade replaced with 'Satisfactory' on their transcript.
There were a small number of exceptional circumstances where some of these changes to grades could not be implemented. These included (but were not limited to) students enrolled in:
- 400-level or honours level subjects
- Graduate Medicine
- Higher Degree Research
- subjects exempted due to accreditation or registration requirements
If students fell into one of the exception categories, they needed further advice from Student Central about how these support measures related to them.
Academic consideration
We waived a few requirements relating to the Academic Consideration (AC) application process:
- Students did not need to provide supporting documentation as part of an AC application.
- We recognised that all students would be impacted, to some degree, by the transition to online learning, and so this was taken into consideration when marking assessments. This meant students didn’t have to apply for AC for consideration in the marking of an assessment.
- Students may have received communication or have documentation from their faculty or subject outline about the removal of compulsory attendance. These students were not required to submit a request for Academic Consideration for attendance.