Student Assessment Policy

Policy Number: AS-2007-2014

Policy Title: Student Assessment Policy

Policy Owner: Vice President, Academic

Effective Date:

Last Revised:

On this page:

  1. Purpose
  2. Application and Scope
  3. Definitions
  4. Principles
  5. Accountability and Compliance
  6. Rules
  7. Policy Revision Date
  8. Attachments
  9. Specific Links

1. Purpose

This policy presents a framework for assessing student performance.

2. Application and Scope

This policy applies to all Ontario post-secondary credentials delivered by Mohawk College.

3. Definitions

“College-sponsored event” will include varsity athletic competitions, Mohawk Students’ Association Board events (i.e. meetings, retreats), and formal Mohawk College events (i.e. convocation, orientation). Social events are excluded.

“Faculty” is the individual responsible for teaching and assessing a particular section of a course with respect to any definitions or requirements contained within the current Academic Collective Agreement.

“Assessment” is used to understand the state or condition of learning. An instructor assesses learning through both observation and measurement in an attempt to better understand students’ learning in a course. Some examples of assessments in a course could include: discussion observations, exams, papers, reflection questions, in-class student responses.*

“Formative Assessment” refers to the gathering of information or data about student learning during a course or program that is used to guide improvements in teaching and learning. Formative assessment activities are usually low-stakes or no-stakes; they do not contribute substantially to the final evaluation or grade of the student or may not even be assessed at the individual student level. For example, posing a question in class and asking for a show of hands in support of different response options would be a formative assessment at the class level. Observing how many students responded incorrectly would be used to guide further teaching. **

“Reliability” is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results. ***

“Summative Assessment” refers to the gathering of information at the conclusion of a course, program, or undergraduate career to improve learning or to meet accountability demands. When used for improvement, impacts the next cohort of students taking the course or program. Examples: examining student final exams in a course to see if certain specific areas of the curriculum were understood less well than others; analyzing senior projects for the ability to integrate across disciplines. ***

“Validity” is the degree to which a test measures what it is purported to measure. ***

* Taken from University of Alberta Teaching and Learning Centre resource Defining Assessment

** Taken from Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation

*** Taken from Student Outcomes Assessment for Exploring Reliability in Academic Assessment

4. Principles

  1. Student assessment will be designed to ensure that students have achieved the stated curricular learning outcomes and competency levels prescribed for a particular course in alignment with the principle of authentic assessment.
  2. The processes of design, implementation and administration of assessment of student learning at Mohawk College will ensure that assessment practices within programs and courses facilitate the achievement of specified program learning outcomes.
  3. Student assessment is a transparent process and students have the right to timely and meaningful feedback on each evaluation, including quizzes, tests, exams, reports, essay etc.
  4. Mohawk College's assessment practice will:
    • Focus on learning and teaching efforts based on intended learning outcomes and the development of graduates prepared for the workplace in their field of study;
    • Promote active learning through student engagement and learning through assessment;
    • Assist students to develop their knowledge, skills and capabilities in meaningful ways in disciplinary, professional and personal contexts;
    • Recognize and accommodate student diversity by providing assistance for alternate testing environments;
    • Align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to create equitable, inclusive and accessible learning environments.
    • Utilize both formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments help the students improve learning and the course teacher to improve instruction during the course. Summative assessments identify the level of accomplishment that has been achieved.

5. Accountability and Compliance

5.1 Accountability Framework

This policy has been approved by the Senior Leadership Team.

5.2 Compliance

Assessment practices will be regularly reviewed at the institutional, school, program, and course levels as part of Mohawk College’s ongoing quality assurance and improvement processes. These quality assurance and improvement processes include, but are not limited to, Curriculum Committee Meetings and Comprehensive Program Review. 

6. Rules

6.1 Assessment Planning

  • Assessment of the capabilities of program graduates, including knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes, will be consistent with the program learning outcomes.
  • Assessments will be reviewed on an annual basis through the Annual Program Review/Curriculum Committee Meetings to ensure relevance to program standards and graduate outcomes.
  • Assessment activities will be strategically spread over the semester and planned at a program level to manage student workload to ensure students are receiving timely feedback for continuous improvement in achieving course outcomes
  • Formative assessment will be used frequently throughout the semester to ensure students are receiving timely feedback for continuous improvement to achieve course outcomes.
  • Evaluation methods will be clearly aligned with one or more course learning outcomes. This alignment will be communicated to students via the course outline that will be made available to students in the Learning Management System.
  • Summative assessments will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure relevance to program standards and graduate outcomes.
  • No single assessment within a course evaluation plan will count for more than 40% of the final grade unless with written permission of the Associate Dean responsible for the program or as required by a regulatory body.

6.2 Grading

  • Grading will be done in accordance with the Grading and Transcripts Policy.
  • Grades will be determined in accordance with criteria for each assessment that are clearly communicated to students as approved in the course outline. Assessment criteria will be accessible to students and posted on the Learning Management System.
  • Assessment criteria include, but are not limited to, grading rubrics, marking schematics, marking guides.
  • Penalties for late submission or missed assessments must be made clear to students at the start of the course. Penalties must be documented on the course outlines and posted on the Learning Management System (LMS) Grades will be documented and accessible to students on the Learning Management System. Grading will be determined in accordance with the assessment criteria for each assessment that are clearly communicated to students.

6.3 Feedback

  • Students will be provided with formative and summative feedback on progress on a regular basis.
  • Feedback from individual assessments will be clearly communicated to students within a timely manner.
  • Unless approved by the Associated Dean, students must receive feedback on assessments worth a minimum of 30% of their total final grade in a course one week prior to the last day to withdraw without academic penalty. Students shall receive timely feedback on written and submitted assessments before the next summative assessments (which build on the learning evaluated in previous assessments) to ensure feedback is received and can be acted on.
  • Students should know their standing (grade to date) in a course before the final exam, unless it is absolutely not feasible to have the last assessment returned prior to the final exam, and this has been communicated to the students.

6.4 Special Accommodations

6.5 Missed or Make up Assessments and Evaluations

Refer to Appendix A: Missed Assessment/Evaluation Procedure.

  • Students who miss an assessment due to a college sponsored event will be provided with a supplemental assessment or other form of relief. The form of the supplemental assessment or relief will be determined by the faculty.
  • Relief for a missed assessment/evaluations includes, but is not limited to: deadline extension, deferred test, and re-weighting of grades. The student must notify the course teacher prior to the start of the assessment, or assessment deadline to be eligible for relief. Relief or supplemental assessments may be given to students in the event of illness, family emergency, or other extenuating circumstance, per the missed assessment/evaluation procedure.
  • Student appeals of final grades will be in accordance with the Academic Appeals Policy.

6.6 Emergencies / Campus Closures

  • In the event of an emergency evacuation, faculty will determine an alternative assessment method in consultation with the Associate Dean if support is required. All reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that students shall not be negatively impacted as a result of an emergency evacuation.
  • In the event of a campus closure, assessments will be re-scheduled or an alternative assessment will be provided, to be determined by the faculty. Assignment submission deadlines will be extended and be communicated to students by the faculty and/or academic area.
  • Mohawk College administration reserves the right to change the evaluation plan for any or all courses due to emergency or extenuating circumstance (e.g. labour disruption, emergencies, public health mandates). These changes will be done in good faith and in consultation with faculty.

6.7 Academic Integrity and Student Behaviour

7. Policy Revision Date

7.1 Revision Date

April 2029

7.2 Responsibility

This policy will be reviewed and updated by the Vice President, Academic every five years or earlier if required.

8. Attachments

9. Specific Links

Appendix A - Missed Assessment/Evaluation Procedure

Mohawk College requires that students demonstrate the prescribed learning outcomes within each course through the formal evaluations included in the College approved course outline. However, in some cases learners may face exceptional circumstances that could prevent completion of assessments as scheduled. Faculty should be aware of the requirement to consider Retroactive Accommodation | Mohawk College in alignment with the Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy on Accessible Education for students suffering from “disability-related symptoms” after deadlines are missed. 

The Missed Assessment/Evaluation procedure outlines the process for students to follow in the event of a planned or unplanned absence(s). 

Scope:

This procedure applies to all full-time, part-time post-secondary, apprenticeship and Continuing Studies students and programs. For students enrolled in collaborative programs, delivered with an external post-secondary partner, this procedure does not apply, and students should contact their faculty directly for advice.

This procedure does not apply to missed assessments/evaluations that are covered by existing College protocols. Students requiring alternate arrangements for assessments and testing as a result of accessibility needs must contact Accessible Learning Services. Students requiring accommodation as result of a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code must contact the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office or as a remedy under the Sexual Assault and Sexualized Violence Policy | Mohawk College. Indigenous Student Services is available for support for Indigenous learners. Where classes are cancelled due to an emergency or severe weather, the Campus/College Closure Procedure will apply. 

Exercising Faculty Discretion

In an effort to balance the need to ensure absences are considered and validated in a timely manner whenever possible, informal and expedient resolution should be prioritized between the faculty member and the student. 

For smaller evaluations, under 10%, faculty should carefully consider whether documentation is required to support alternative remedies for completing the missed assessment or evaluation. However, faculty reserve the right to request documentation to uphold the integrity of assessments/evaluations and course learning.

Faculty should be aware of potential adverse impacts, or undue hardship, that may arise from requesting documentation from students for missed assessments or evaluations where such documentation cannot be either reasonably obtained by a student, or verified, if provided. 

Student Misuse and Timeliness

Where any student is found to be misusing this Procedure or demonstrates a repeated pattern of behaviour, such behaviour may be dealt with under the Student Behaviour Policy.

Missed assessments from planned and unplanned absences should be written in a timely manner without delay and in accordance with the agreement reached between faculty and the student. Where an absence is planned the student should schedule the re-write as close to the planned absence as possible. In the absence of sufficient documentation being submitted to verify the absence, students may be given a grade of zero for the missed assessment. In event of disagreement, the student can appeal their final grade using the Academic Appeal Policy.

1. Planned/Known Absences

If a student knows in advance that an assessment will be missed, the student must notify their faculty prior to the start of the assessment or assessment deadline to be eligible for relief. Grounds for consideration of relief include*:

  • Varsity Athletics conflicts;
  • Official College-sponsored events conflicts;
  • Official events for elected student representatives;
  • Culturally related responsibilities (e.g. Indigenous ceremonies)
  • Days of Significance conflicts;
  • Competing academic conflict (e.g. Field trips, conferences etc.); and/or
  • Unavoidable and scheduled medical procedures.

*Generally, unless approved by the faculty, students will not be accommodated for elective travel, vacations, or family commitments.

If the faculty determines that substantiating documentation is required, and the documentation is medical in nature and related to the student personally, students will be directed by their faculty to submit their request through the Student Wellness Documentation Portal for review and validation of the documentation. All other types of documentation, per grounds above, should be provided directly to the faculty if requested. Students should never send personal medical documentation directly to their faculty for reasons of confidentiality and privacy. 

Results of the review of students’ personal medical documentation will be communicated directly to the faculty from Student Wellness confirming receipt and verification of documentation submitted and the dates to which the documentation applies. If approved (with or without requirement for substantiating documentation), the form, time-frame and process of supplemental assessment or relief will be determined by the faculty. Relief may include, but is not limited to, deadline extension, deferred testing, or re-weighting of grades.

2. Unplanned Absences

If a student experiences an extenuating circumstance that prevents attendance of an assessment or evaluation, the student must notify their faculty as soon as possible, preferably, prior to the start of the assessment or assessment deadline to be eligible for relief. Extenuating circumstances include:

  • Debilitating physical, medical or psychological event or condition;
  • Family emergency; or
  • Compelling personal reason(s).

If the faculty determines that substantiating documentation is required, and the documentation is medical in nature and related to the student personally, students will be directed by their faculty to submit their request through the Student Wellness Documentation Portal for review and validation of the documentation. All other types of documentation per grounds above should be provided directly to the faculty upon request. Students should never send personal medical documentation directly to their faculty for reasons of confidentiality and privacy.

Results of the review of students’ personal medical document will be communicated directly to the faculty from Student Wellness confirming receipt and verification of documentation submitted and the dates to which the documentation applies. If approved (with or without requirement for substantiating documentation), the form, time-frame and process of supplemental assessment or relief will be determined by the faculty. Assessment relief or remedy will consider cultural practices and ceremonies in the event of family emergencies.

It is important that documents submitted are from a health care provider who may be contacted to verify information included.