Academic Performance Assessment System
Course Assessment
The curriculum is based on efforts to combine the most up-to-date research,
theory, and practice in Computer Science.
To best embody such leading edge knowledge in courses that provide meaningful
and applicable outcomes for our participants, we engage in an ongoing process
of course improvement.
The requirements and deliverables for courses are diverse.
Lecturers create assignments that are best suited to achieving the
specific learning outcomes of their courses, so you will experience
differences between courses.
Consequently the types of assignments that you receive in one course
should not be the basis
for setting expectations regarding assignments in other courses.
In keeping with the program's goal of encouraging creativity and innovation, one aspect
of completing course assignments successfully will be the process of
defining the specific details of how your work will fulfil the requirements of the
assignment.
Assignments given will not always provide step-by-step instructions on
how they are to be completed.
This flexibility allows the development of work that has specific value
and application for you as an individual.
Assignment and assessment information for each course is provided on the website
for the offering of the course(s) your are enrolled in.
Any questions that participants have regarding course requirements or the evaluation of
assignments should be directed to the course's lecturer.
Assignment Marking
A variety of techniques will be employed in the marking of assessment deliverables.
In addition to the grading provided by the course lecturer,
peer assessment may be used with group work.
Your assignment marks will be posted on the course website throughout the term.
Final Course Results
Your assignment marks, together with your examination results, will be reviewed
by a School of Computer Science examiners meeting before being
published on your Academic Transcript (accessible via Access Adelaide).
The review will take into account a number of issues such as,
were there any particular issues
that unfairly affected or aided a class and whether or not the work of students near a
grade boundary justifies a change of grade.
All examiners meetings are supervised by the Head or Deputy Head of School and the
School's assessment coordinator.
Interpreting University Grades
The following table presents a rough guide of what each grade used by the
University is intended to convey.
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High Distinction
HD
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Distinction
D
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Credit
C
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Pass
P
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Conceded Pass*
CP
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Fail
F
|
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General
description
|
Outstanding or exceptional work
in terms of understanding,
interpretation and presentation
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A very high standard of work
which demonstrates
originality and insight
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Demonstrates a high level of
understanding and presentation and a
degree of originality and
insight
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Satisfies the minimum
requirements
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Just fails to satisfy the minimum
requirements
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Fails to satisfy the minimum
requirements
|
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Mark Range
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85-100%
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75-84%
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65-74%
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50-64%
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45-49%
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0-44%*
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* The Conceded Pass grade does not apply to Graduate Diploma students.
In the Graduate Diploma the Fail grade covers all marks from 0 up to 49%.
Plagiarism and Collusion
Plagiarism, collusion and related forms of cheating are treated as very serious offences by the University of Adelaide.
The full University policy, including how suspected cases of plagiarism and collusion may be addressed, is available
on the University's website:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/?230.
Briefly, plagiarism and collusion are defined as follows:
Plagiarism: using another person's ideas, designs, words or works without appropriate acknowledgement.
Collusion: another person assisting in the production of an assessment submission without the express
requirement, or consent or knowledge of the assessor.
Consequences of Plagiarism and Collusion
The penalties associated with plagiarism and collusion are designed to impose sanctions on
offenders that reflect the seriousness of the University's commitment to academic integrity.
Penalties may include: the requirement to revise and resubmit assessment work,
receiving a result of zero for the assessment work, failing the course,
expulsion and/or receiving a financial penalty.
Assessment Cover Sheets
The University of Adelaide requires all students to submit a signed declaration with all assignment work that
indicates that they have read the University's Policy on Plagiarism, Collusion and Related Forms of Cheating.
In Computer Science courses, the web based submission systems will present a form that includes the required
declaration.
Students must click on the I Agree link to sign the declaration and submit their assignment work for assessment.
The declaration is as follows:
DECLARATION
I declare that all material in this assessment is my own work except where there is clear acknowledgement and
reference to the work of others.
I have read the University Policy Statement on Plagiarism, Collusion and Related Forms of Cheating:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/?230
I give permission for my assessment work to be reproduced and submitted to academic staff for the purposes
of assessment and to be copied, submitted and retained in a form suitable for electronic checking of plagiarism.
How to Avoid Plagiarism in Computer Science
The issue of plagiarism and what constitutes plagiarism can vary between disciplines.
The following notes are intended to guide students studying Computer Science so that
the issue can be better understood.
Programming Assignments
Most Computer Science assignments involve programming exercises.
Programming can prove difficult for new students and it is tempting to ask your friends for help.
They key issue is that when you submit a programming exercise for assessment, it must be your own work.
Therefore, in seeking assistance from peers, general discussions of the course concepts may be considered
good practice but, no student should be permitted to see another student's code.
The task of programming is a vital part of the learning process that underpins much of Computer Science
education.
It is extremely important for students to do their own programming and in that way develop the key skills
that will help them learn the course material and make them highly sought after employees.
It is important to realise that the University policy does not discriminate between the author of a
program or another student who just copies.
Both are considered to have committed a serious offence and will be subject to the same disciplinary process.
If students keep their code confidential and do not share it with others plagiarism should not become an issue.
Written Reports
Some courses will also require written reports to be submitted.
Avoiding plagiarism in written reports requires more care since by their very nature, written reports
tend to be based on consulting the works of others.
The key issue is how is the work of others is presented and how is it acknowledged?
If you make a statement in a report that requires some justification, then you should include a reference to
one or more publications that contain material supporting that statement.
The referencing style may vary between disciplines but it will at the very least include, a marker in the
text, eg [1], and at the end of the report a list of referenced works indexed by the marker. eg, [1] A.Author,
"Very interesting title", Journal of Words, Volume 16, Number 2, March 2003, pp34-47.
The basic rule is, have I provided all the information available to make locating the work easy?
A more common problem is where you wish to make a point that has already been well argued in another
publication.
In this case one of two approaches should be taken.
You can include the original text in quotation marks, "", and also include a reference to where the
original text can be found.
This makes it clear that these words are not your own work.
A much better approach is to identify the key points that are being made and use these to formulate
your own argument.
Then you would write your own words to express the key points you wish to make and include appropriate
references to the original works to support your argument.
It is not sufficient to make minor edits to the original work - you must make your own notes and start
again.
Your own words will have a quite different structure and you will learn more from the exercise.
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