Award of Degree

Assessment Board

The Institution’s Assessment Board is responsible for the award of the degree. Its remit is to:

• Ensure students have completed the necessary requirements and approve awards to students.
• Note and, where appropriate, consider requests to continue beyond the normal duration and any interruptions of studies.Academic Requirements and Assessment

Academic Integrity and Referencing

Students must respect the intellectual property in the work of others. In instances where the work of others is used or relied upon, it must be properly acknowledged, and authorship correctly attributed in accordance with academic practice. 

All work must be referenced using an appropriate referencing convention. The Institution recommends the APA citation style given its widespread use. Guidance about referencing conventions is readily available in the Academics section of the student portal.

Students are fully responsible for ensuring they are aware of the requirements for referencing and using the appropriate convention for the course. Plagiarism, collusion, and other forms of academic misconduct are not acceptable in any form and students may be subject to disciplinary action, which can result in the failure of the course and program. The Institution uses technology to detect and/or follow up on cases of suspected academic misconduct, irrespective of the severity. Academic misconduct is not limited to plagiarism. Students should refer to the Student Disciplinary Policy for further information.

Coursework Submissions 

Students will be required to submit work for assessment through the learning platform and will be entirely responsible for the online submission. Details of the arrangements for submitting work will be specified in the course syllabus. Failure to follow the instructions will result in the work not being marked and/or awarded a mark of zero.

Unless otherwise specified in the course syllabus, submission deadlines will normally be 23:55 EST. The submission must be completed before the deadline. Work that is submitted on or after the deadline will be marked as late and penalized. Students are strongly advised to start uploading their submissions no later than one hour before the deadline to avoid any difficulties or last-minute issues.

In general, technical failure, including of a computer, browser, or internet connection is not considered a valid reason to extend the deadline or for the late submission of work, and the Institution will only consider making exceptions if it is reasonably satisfied that the failure was a result of the Institution’s IT systems. For more information, please see the Extenuating Circumstances Policy of this catalog.

Students are responsible for ensuring that the correct file is submitted and that it is not corrupted or unreadable. Students are strongly advised to download a separate copy of the files uploaded before the deadline to conduct a final check before completing the submission. No amendments or additions to the submission will be permitted after the deadline. Files submitted in error or that are corrupted/ unreadable will receive a mark of zero.

Late Submission Policy 

Students are expected to submit assignments on or before the assigned deadline. Exceptions can only be approved as part of the formal Extenuating Circumstances Policy outlined in the Academic Catalog. 

Students who submit work late without formal approval will receive a penalty as follows: 

• 1 day past assignment due date: 10% deduction applied to the grade achieved on the late assignment
• 2 days past assignment due date: 15% deduction applied to the grade achieved on the late assignment.
• 3 days past assignment due date: 20% deduction applied to the grade achieved on the late assignment.
• 4 days past assignment due date: 25% deduction applied to the grade achieved on the late assignment.
• 5 days past  assignment due date: a “zero” will be recorded.

Assignments are a key part of meeting the learning outcomes of the course and therefore must be completed to successfully complete the course.  

Requirements to Pass

Faculty will be responsible for grading your assignments and will award grades according to the scale outlined in the Grading section below.

In cases where the requirements have been satisfied, the course will be recorded as passed and there will be no opportunity to achieve a higher mark or overall grade. In cases where the minimum passing standard has not been met, a Fail grade for the course will be awarded.

The academic judgment of faculty is final and may not be challenged. In instances where there is evidence of an administrative or calculation error with the final grade, the matter should be raised through the Academic Appeal process.

Grading 

Faculty award grades based upon criteria that are clear and visible in the course syllabus. It is a requirement that students meet minimum performance standards to both pass a course and to remain enrolled in the Program and all students should be aware of the expectations regarding academic standards.

The Institution uses a letter grade system to facilitate GPA calculation which is important both to remain in good academic standing and for the award of the degree. 

• Approve the withdrawal of students from the program.
• Ensure the consistent application of the Program Regulations.

To be eligible for approval students must satisfy all of the following requirements:

• Have fulfilled the minimum requirements of the program as stipulated in the regulations.
• Have met the requirements for the program within the normal duration.
• Not be subject to any ongoing disciplinary proceedings or sanctions.
• Not be in debt to the Institution in relation to tuition.

Graduation

Once students have been deemed to have satisfied all requirements of the degree, they will be issued a letter of completion and a transcript. Diplomas are issued once per year.

Revocation of Degrees

The Institution may at any time revoke any degree if sufficient evidence can be provided that:

• An administrative or procedural error occurred in the award of a degree.
• Information that the Assessment Board was not previously aware of becomes available and has a material impact on the award.
• Following disciplinary action, the student is no longer eligible for the award of a degree.

Revocations of awards should be initiated by the Program Director and presented to the Assessment Board for approval. Revocations of awards may also apply to program alumni in the event of certain legal or criminal actions or convictions.