EVALUATION OF UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE - DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility and authority for evaluating student achievement in individual undergraduate courses rests with the department (or faculty where applicable) which may delegate this responsibility to the individual instructor(s).
Direct responsibility for quality of instruction and evaluation of student performance rests with departments, which may delegate this responsibility to members of faculty.
The department (or faculty where applicable) shall devise procedures to ensure that the evaluative methods used are academically rigorous and as equitable as possible.
EVALUATION OF UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
At least one week prior to the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty, students will receive assessment of work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade. For 3000- or 4000-level courses in which such a graded assessment is impracticable, the instructor(s) must obtain an exemption from this policy from the Dean and this exemption must be noted on the corresponding course syllabus. In rare instances and at the Dean’s discretion, other courses could receive a similar exemption, which also must be noted in the course syllabus. Deans should review exemptions on a course-by-course basis each time an exempted course is offered.
As a guideline for departments (or faculties where applicable), the last day of scheduled classes in any course will be the last day on which course assignments will be accepted for credit in a course.
As a guideline for departments (or faculties where applicable), instructors will be required to return assignments to students as promptly as possible with reasonable explanations of the instructor's assessment of the assignment.
The policy of the University shall be that departments (or faculties where applicable) ensure that, wherever possible, final grades in courses under their aegis are derived largely from documented evidence demonstrating academic achievement, i.e., written or practical examinations, essays, reports, problem assignments. This shall not preclude the use of oral examinations as part of the evaluative process.
As a guideline, departments (or faculties where applicable) shall take appropriate action to ensure that for all sections of a multi-sectioned course,
a) course requirements and grading procedures are equivalent;
b) grades assigned reflect achievement accurately.
Department chairs (or deans of faculties where applicable) are required to co-sign the official record of final grades of students registered in courses under their aegis prior to submission to the Registrar for issuance of student reports.
FIRST YEAR COURSES - TEACHING AND EVALUATION
In each department, lecturing in first year courses should, in general, be done by members of faculty.
Departments will single out the teachers best qualified for first year teaching assignments to first year courses.
Departments will make every effort to ensure that first year classes taught by more than one person have cohesion and continuity.
A common curriculum will be established in each course (1000-1999) with multiple sections.
Each course (1000-1999) will have one common, compulsory, final examination to be scheduled in the examination period*, unless the dean of the faculty, in consultation with the Education Policy Committee, exempts the course from any of these requirements.
The final examination will be worth a substantial amount, not less than 30% of the final grade in courses numbered 1000-1999, unless the dean of the faculty, in consultation with the Educational Policy Committee, exempts the course from this requirement.
The final examination in courses 1000-1999 with more than one section (lecture, tutorial and/or laboratory, however taught) will be marked by some method which seeks to ensure consistency and fairness in marking among all sections, e.g., marking by a course or section committee under the supervision of a member of faculty who coordinates the course.
Deans will approve marks sheets for courses in first year (1000-1999) before these are forwarded to the Registrar.
Each department will periodically reappraise its first year course offerings to ensure that they adequately accommodate changes in secondary school curricula, changes in the discipline and the diverse levels of preparation attained by incoming students.
*Note on Distance Studies course offerings: In each course offered by Distance Studies, departments will set an alternative examination which will be written independently of the intramural examination. Where the circumstances of students in a Distance Studies course do not appear to warrant a separate examination, the Dean of the Faculty concerned will so notify the Office of the Registrar.
S.4-16
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ACADEMIC INFORMATION 