Assessment at Monash
Assessment is an integral part of your studies. It’s much more than a critical step in passing your units. Completing assessments and receiving feedback allows you to track the progress of your academic performance, and find ways of improving it.
It’s likely that you’ll complete a variety of different assessments that will give you lots of opportunities to develop your skills and demonstrate your progression.
Types of assessment
Each assessment you do will either be for your learning or of your learning:
- Assessments for learning are designed to help you build and consolidate your knowledge, understanding and skills, and provide you with feedback on your progress. They’re usually set during the teaching weeks, and sometimes contribute to your overall unit results (but not always).
- Assessments of learning provide a measure of your achievement in relation to the learning outcomes of the unit. These assessments are designed to test how much you’ve learnt (i.e. your knowledge, understanding and skills), and they’re usually set after the teaching weeks end.
Your assessments may involve some or all of the following:
- essays and reports
- case studies
- problem-based learning scenarios
- group projects
- laboratory work
- oral assessments and presentations
- peer-to-peer assessments
- performance and studio assessments
- posters and presentations
- self-assessment
- online quizzes (Moodle)
- take-home assessments
- electronic exams (eExams).
The types of assessments you’ll need to complete will depend on the unit and course you’re enrolled in – your unit information will outline how and when your learning will be assessed.
Assessment details
When you start a unit, you’ll be able to access your assessment information in Moodle, including:
- the types of assessments you’ll complete
- when they’re due
- when you’ll receive feedback
- how you can apply for an extension
- the marking penalties applied for late submissions.
Assessment deadlines
Some of your assessments will have deadlines (which you can find in Moodle), but most will be scheduled – you’ll find a timetable of your scheduled assessments in Allocate+. For more information, see dates and timetables.
Late submissions
For teaching periods that started on or after 22 July 2024, you’ll receive a 5% penalty on the available marks if you submit your assessment after the due date (unless you have an extension or you’ve been granted special consideration).
For each additional day the assessment is overdue (up to seven days after the due date), a further 5% penalty will be applied (maximum total penalty of 35%). You can find the marking penalty information for your unit (including any exceptions) in Moodle.
If you submit an assessment task more than seven days after the due date, your assessment won’t be marked – you’ll receive a mark of zero and you won’t get any feedback.
Extensions
You can apply for a short extension of two calendar days if you can’t complete your assessment on time due to short-term difficult circumstances, such as a medical condition, carer responsibilities (including for your children) or a car accident. A short extension is available for most types of assessments (e.g. an assignment or quiz), but not for an in-class test, a mid-semester test or a scheduled final assessment. No reason is needed on your first application for a particular unit.
You might be eligible for a generally longer extension through special consideration if you can’t complete an assessment due to exceptional circumstances beyond your control. You can apply for an extension through special consideration for any type of assessment except a scheduled final assessment. Supporting documents are required.
Go to defer or reschedule your final assessment (exam) for details about deferring your scheduled final assessment or rescheduling your deferred assessment.
Marking criteria
The marking criteria for an assessment helps you understand what’s expected of you, and how your performance can be improved. The format of the marking criteria will vary on your unit and the type of assessment you’re doing.
Before you start an assessment task, you should check the marking criteria and use it as a guide in developing your response to the task.
Blind marking policy
We use blind marking for final assessments. Blind marking is anonymous, and ensures consistency. For example, when your chief examiner is reviewing an eExam, they won’t see your name (just your student ID number and your responses).
Grading and results
Most assessment tasks you complete will contribute to your overall result for the unit. For more information, see:
Academic integrity
When you submit work for assessment, you must adhere to the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. To ensure that you complete your assessments with integrity, see academic integrity, plagiarism and collusion.
Relevant procedures
For related policy and procedures, see assessment policy and processes.