IIE009 - 2 Assessment Strategy and Policy v17 March 2021

IIE009: ASSESSMENT STRATEGY AND POLICY (V17)
POLICY NUMBER IIE009

POLICY NAME Assessment Strategy and Policy
This policy replaced the Assessment Policy
LEGEND v28, which has therefore been revoked.
POLICY VERSION 17
Date of approval Date of Implementation
POLICY APPROVAL 04 November 2014 January 2015
19 May 2015 Effective Semester 2,
DATES AMENDED 22 July 2015 2015–Certain sections
26 August 2015 only January 2016
05 November 2015 Effective Semester 2,
19 May 2016 2016
25 August 2016 January 2017
03 November 2016 January 2017
24 August 2017 January 2018
29 October 2018 January 2019
17 January 2020 January 2020
02 September 2020 1 January 2021
02 December 2020 2 January 2021
19 March 2021 March 2021
DATE FOR NEXT REVIEW 2023
RELATED POLICIES IIE001: Quality Assurance and Enhancement
Policy
IIE002: Admissions Policy
IIE006: Work-Integrated Learning Policy
IIE007: Research and Postgraduate Studies
Policy
IIE010: Credit Accumulation and Transfer,
Recognition of Prior Learning and
Qualification Completion Policy
IIE011: Student Records Policy
IIE012: Certification Policy
IIE015: Student Code of Conduct, Dispute,
Grievance and Disciplinary Policy
IIE020: Official Documentation Marketing and
Advertising Policy
IIE023: Intellectual Integrity Policy
IIE026: Student Rights and Services Policy
IIE027: Student Services, Academic
Development and Lecturer Resources
Allocation Policy
IIE029: Distance Education Policy
POLICY ANNEXURES Appendix 1: Defining the Roles in Special Need
Concessions Applications
Appendix 2: Managing Special Concessions
1
S54:2020-09-03 (Full review) version 15 approved
2
S55:2020-12-02 version 16 approved (policy reviewed to include online submissions)
The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher
education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (reg. no. 2007/HE07/002). Company registration number: 1987/004754/07.
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RELATED PROCEDURES PDIIE023: Intellectual Integrity Procedure v7
PDIIE024: IT Examination Configuration Guide
v7
This policy enjoys copyright under the Copyright Act, 1978 (Act No. 98 of 1978). No part of this policy may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any other information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the
proprietor.
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Table of Contents
Glossary and Roles .................................................................................................... 7
Introduction...................................................................................................... 12
Principles of Good Assessment ..................................................................... 12
Fairness and Transparency ............................................................................... 12
Validity ............................................................................................................. 13
Reliability ........................................................................................................... 13
Practicability and Appropriateness ..................................................................... 13
Variety, Integration and Development of Learning Skills .................................... 13
Constructive Alignment ...................................................................................... 13
Cognitive Complexity and Achievement/Competence to be Assessed ............... 13
Recognition of Different Styles and Strategies ................................................... 14
Intellectual Integrity and Plagiarism ............................................................... 14
Types of Assessment ...................................................................................... 14
Formative Assessment ...................................................................................... 14
Summative Assessment .................................................................................... 15
Take-Home Assessments (as a different assessment type)............................... 15
The Principles for Assessment Structures .................................................... 16
Ongoing and Sustained Performance ................................................................ 16
Balance in Mark Weightings .............................................................................. 16
Ease of Interpreting Marks ................................................................................. 16
Pass, Subminimum and Distinction Principles ................................................... 17
Cumulative Assessment (CASS) ....................................................................... 17
Subminimum Performance Requirement in Summative Assessments ............... 17
Research-based Qualifications .......................................................................... 18
Assessment Number, Type, Weightings and Calculations ........................... 18
General Principles ............................................................................................. 18
Time Allocations ................................................................................................ 18
Principles to be Used when Determining Assessment Points in Modules .......... 19
Assessment Methods (Instruments) .............................................................. 22
Integrated Curriculum Engagement(ICE) ........................................................... 22
7.2 Assignments ...................................................................................................... 24
7.3 Test or Examination ........................................................................................... 26
7.4 Presentations..................................................................................................... 26
7.5 Practical Assignments ....................................................................................... 26
7.6 Research Projects ............................................................................................. 26
7.7 Portfolios of Evidence ........................................................................................ 27
Information to Which Students are Entitled................................................... 27
Scheduling of Assessments ........................................................................... 28
Assessment Exceptions and Concessions ................................................... 28
Principles ........................................................................................................... 28
Permitted General Exceptions to Policy ............................................................. 32
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Concessions Possible for Permitted General Exceptions ................................... 38
Submission of Assessments not Completed Under Examination Conditions

.......................................................................................................................... 41
Formative and Summative Due Dates/Late Submission for All Students ........... 41
Missed Assessment: Non-exam conditions (Formative and Summative). Applicable
to all study modes – Contact FT, PT and Distance ............................................ 42
Student and Campus Responsibilities – Submission of Assignments ................ 43
Religious Concessions ................................................................................... 44

Special Need Concessions: Differently Abled Students ............................... 45
Special Need Concessions: Chronic Mental and Physical Conditions ................ 45
Declined Exception Applications ........................................................................ 46
Institutional Discretion – Reweighting of Formative Assessment Contribution (Up to
NQF Level 7 Only) ............................................................................................. 46
Exceptions for Honours Research Reports for Students Studying Part-time ...... 48
Assessments During Suspension Periods .................................................... 48
Procedures for Lost Assessments ................................................................. 49
Procedure for Lost Assessments Under Non-Examination Conditions ............... 49
Procedure for Lost Assessments Written under Exam Conditions ..................... 50
Procedures for Corrupt and Missing Electronic Files .......................................... 51
Summative Entry – CASS Subminimum ........................................................ 51
Sittings of Assessments Under Examination Conditions (Formative and
Summative) ...................................................................................................... 52
Sittings ............................................................................................................. 52
Sitting Requirements for Summative Examinations............................................ 52
Supplementary Examinations/Resubmissions and Summative Sub-Minima53

Sub-minima and Access to the Supplementary Examination/Opportunity to
Resubmit ........................................................................................................... 53
Timing of Supplementary or Deadline for Resubmission .................................... 53
Special Assessments (Examinations and Resubmissions).......................... 54
Discontinuation Examinations........................................................................ 55
Assessment and Other Rules for Qualifications, Modes of Offering and
Curricula being Discontinued ......................................................................... 56
Definition and Application .................................................................................. 56
General Principles when Phasing-Out ............................................................... 56
Assessment Concessions when an Offering is being Phased-Out ..................... 57
Campus Arrangements and Contact Time ......................................................... 58
Phase-out Planning for Discontinued Offerings .................................................. 58
Phase-out/Discontinuation Communication........................................................ 59
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Exemption from Completion of a Module due to Curriculum Change for
Students Within Maximum Completion Time................................................. 59
Outstanding Modules: Special Examinations/Assessments ........................ 60
Students with One or Two Modules Outstanding within Maximum Completion Time
............................................................................................................. 60
Students with More than Two Modules Outstanding within Maximum Completion
Time ............................................................................................................. 60
Students with More than Two Modules Outstanding Beyond Maximum Completion
Time ............................................................................................................. 61
Assessment of Out of Semester Repeat Offerings ....................................... 61
Impacted offerings ............................................................................................. 61
The Structure of the Supported Examination Intervention .................................. 62
Assessment in a Supported Intervention ............................................................ 63
Missed Exam Sittings ........................................................................................ 63
Rules for Modules that are Replaced in a Curriculum .................................. 63
Rules for Modules that are Removed from a Curriculum and not Replaced 64
Institutional Issues Impacting Assessment ................................................... 65
Rewrites ............................................................................................................ 65
Reruns ............................................................................................................. 66
Assessment Errors during and after Assessment Sittings .................................. 69
Examiners and Assessors .............................................................................. 71

Assessment Security....................................................................................... 71
Procedures for Distribution of Question Papers for Assessments under
Examination Conditions ..................................................................................... 71
Procedures for Distribution of Answer Books/Sheets ......................................... 73

Procedures for Disposing of Assessment Documents Post Assessment ........... 73
Assessment Copying Security ........................................................................... 73
Invigilation and Assessment Procedures ...................................................... 74

Appointment of Invigilators................................................................................. 74
Training of Invigilators ........................................................................................ 75
Paper Security ................................................................................................... 75
Notifying Students of Assessments and Venues ................................................ 75
Venue Preparation and Access.......................................................................... 75
Venue Management .......................................................................................... 77
Assessment Rules to be Printed on the Answer Books ...................................... 78

Marking Memoranda/Rubrics .......................................................................... 80
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Marking and Feedback .................................................................................... 81
Marking ............................................................................................................. 81
Feedback ........................................................................................................... 81
Moderation ....................................................................................................... 82
Scope ............................................................................................................. 82
Internal Moderation ............................................................................................ 82
External Moderation........................................................................................... 85
Moderation Variances in External moder ................................................................ 87
Assessment Results ........................................................................................ 88

Condonations and Distinctions........................................................................... 88
Recording of Assessment Results ..................................................................... 89
Results Release and Return of Formatives and Practical Work/Portfolios . 89
Retention and Return of Student Work .............................................................. 89
Release of Results............................................................................................. 90
Withheld Results ................................................................................................ 90
Student Queries and Appeals ......................................................................... 91
Assessment Appeals ......................................................................................... 91
Access to Examination Papers .......................................................................... 92

Fees, Assessment Appeals and Timing ............................................................. 93
Storage of Assessment Scripts ...................................................................... 93
On-Site Campus Storage ................................................................................... 93
Off-Site or National Storage ............................................................................... 93
Student Access to Instruments .......................................................................... 94
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Glossary and Roles

Term Definition
Alternative module A module that is approved by the Faculty Board as a substitute
or alternative for a module in a qualification. This could be a
module from any other qualification or indeed, from another
provider.
Assessment The person on the campus who administers assessments and
Administrator is accountable for this to the Assessment Officer on the
campus.
Assessment A senior member of a campus administration (could also be an
Officer academic) who is responsible on that campus for ensuring that
assessments are carried out procedurally in terms of this
policy.
Assessment An opportunity to write or submit an assessment.
opportunity
Assessor The assessor is the marker who evaluates the work of a
student making use of the assessment criteria and
memorandum set by an examiner and their own knowledge of
the learning area. (Colloquially “marker”).
Campus A registered site of delivery of The IIE.
Campus A campus-level administrator responsible for the
Administrator (CA) implementation of a programme at campus level. Common
titles include Academic Operations Officer or Coordinator,
Branch Administrator or Operations Navigator.
CASS Cumulative Assessment – this is a mark made up of the marks
achieved for formative assessments, including ICE, for which a
mark is allocated (also referred to as a graded assessment). It
contributes to the final mark for a module and often governs
admission to the summative assessment.
CAT Central Academic Team of The Independent Institute of
Education (The IIE) responsible for several of the regulatory,
quality, compliance, curriculum and policy matters.
Contact time Contact time is formally structured, normally synchronous
learning time mediated by an instructor (lecturer) in person or
online.
Curriculum The IIE may amend the structure of the curriculum of a
structure qualification from time to time. When this happens, the new
structure is treated as a new version of the qualification and
students registered on the old structure are assisted to
complete as quickly as possible. These changes do not impact
on the qualification exit level outcomes.
Discontinuation An additional, normally third, (summative) assessment
assessment/ opportunity given to a student who is registered on an offering
examination that is being phased out if they have not succeeded in the
ordinary opportunities offered.
Examiner The module examiner is the subject matter expert responsible
for the assessment design and setting the marking criteria.
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Term Definition
External Examiner An external examiner ensures consistency between campuses
and across brands in the marking process for summative
assessments. The CAT appoints external examiners.
External Moderator An external moderator (who may also be an external examiner)
assures the quality of the learning material, curriculum and
assessments (particularly instruments). The CAT appoints
external moderators.
Formative Assessments on which students are given specific feedback
assessment that will assist them in preparation for summative
assessments. In our context, formative assessments are
normally graded and where they are, the marks achieved
contribute to the CASS mark.
Director The ADvTECH Group Executive directly responsible for CAT
and also with ADvTECH Group responsibility for the academic
functioning and status of The IIE.
Head of A HoP is an academic – normally, but not always, located
Programme within the CAT – responsible for academic leadership for one
(HoP)/Senior Head or more qualifications within a faculty. In addition to
of Programme responsibilities as a HoP, a HoF or DHoF is responsible for the
(SHoP) Head of management of HoPs and for the faculty as a whole.
Faculty
(HoF)/Deputy Head
of Faculty (DHoF)
HEQSF The Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework. Levels 5
to 10 of the NQF as they pertain to Higher Education.
ICE Integrated Curriculum Engagement tasks are continuous
assessment tasks that students in a specific group complete as
part of the formative assessment process and they thus
contribute to CASS. These are normally designed by the
lecturer to promote the learning of a particular group of
students in a particular context.
Internal Moderator An internal moderator assures consistency and quality of
learning material and/or assessments and/or marking. Internal
moderators are normally appointed by campuses and national
offices but can be appointed by the CAT.
Lecturer The lecturer is the “expert” appointed to support the learning of
the student, i.e. the person who takes responsibility for
teaching. The term “lecturer” also refers to Online Tutors, i.e. to
those who teach in the distance mode of offering. Lecturers
hold a qualification at least one level higher than the exit level
of the qualification on which they teach, except where a
specific exception has been approved by the Faculty Board
concerned. All lecturers are approved by a Head of
Programme for the modules they lecture.
LMS Learning Management System – the system on which modules
that are presented online are made available to students. This
is currently known as Learn.
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Term Definition
MIS Module Information Sheet. Official information on each module
including assessment points, credit value, and NQF Level.
Mode of offering A mode of offering refers to how a qualification is delivered –
either in contact (where the bulk of the learning is on a site with
face-to-face lectures) or the distance mode (where the bulk of
the learning is at a distance and technologically-mediated).
Module completion This is the last date by which any assessment for a module
date can be submitted.
Module/Course A module or a course is a “unit of learning” for which a mark is
assigned on a transcript. A programme (year of study) is made
up of modules or courses and a short learning programme is
normally the equivalent of one module or course.
Module An additional assessment opportunity given to students on a
Replacement curriculum where a module is being replaced or changed,
Examination without the entire curriculum or qualification being phased out.
If a student fails this assessment opportunity, they will need to
repeat a different module in order to complete the qualification.
National A member of an educational brand’s national office responsible
Administrator (NA) for programme operations within that educational brand.
Common titles include Operations Navigator, National
Programme Coordinator, or (Senior) Programme Operations
Manager.
New students A new student is a student who is new to the institution.
NQF The National Qualifications Framework is a single integrated
system for the classification, registration and publication of
articulated and quality-assured national qualifications and part-
qualifications. It comprises three coordinated qualifications
Sub-Frameworks; namely the General and Further Education
and Training Qualifications Sub-Framework (GFETQSF), the
Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) and
the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF).
Offering “Offering” refers to the qualification or curriculum structure or
mode of delivery.
Phase-out The process used to discontinue an offering, which includes
special assessment concessions to help students complete
their qualification.
Programme Centrally, this is the IIE CAT person responsible to project
Operations manage and coordinate material development and delivery,
Manager (POM) and related tasks in collaboration with brands and members of
CAT. At brand level, the POM manages the operational roll-out
of a qualification across sites in that brand.
QCTO Quality Council for Trades and Occupations – the third quality
council, this one is responsible for occupational qualifications
and that sub-framework.
Qualification Guide The document that details the qualification structure and the
module and qualification standards and assessment points.
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Term Definition
Repeat students In this context, a repeat student is a student who has
attempted and failed a module and is registered to do the
module again.
Replacement A module that is placed in a curriculum in place of a module
module that has been taken out of the curriculum. A student would
have to have completed either the replacement module or the
original one – not both – in order to graduate.
SAQA The South African Qualifications Authority is a statutory body,
regulated in terms of the National Qualifications Framework
Act No. 67 of 2008. SAQA is responsible for registering
qualifications and part qualifications as recommended by the
relevant Quality Council on the National Qualifications
Framework. Recognised international and other qualifications
are evaluated for equivalence to South African qualifications by
its Directorate: Foreign Qualifications Evaluation and Advisory
Services (DFQEAS). SAQA issues a Certificate of Evaluation
upon review of such applications.
Senior Operations The members of the CAT operations team responsible for
Coordinator/ specific administrative tasks related to qualification operations
Academic and coordination including but not limited to, assessment
Operations management.
Administrator
(CAT)
SETA Sector Education and Training Authority.
Sittings A “sitting” is a scheduled assessment period – there are
normally three sittings for summative assessments written
under examination conditions and two for tests.
Special This is an additional assessment opportunity for any student
Examination who has one or two modules left on a qualification preventing
them from graduating.
Student Hub Centralised Student Hub for all students’ queries and
complaints across Tertiary. Logged on brands public-facing
websites and managed via a Case Management System. The
Student Hub is also commonly referred to as the Hub.
Student Hub AoC The Academic Operations Coordinator in the Student Hub
attending to student queries and complaints that are logged on
this system.
Resubmission When a summative assessment is not completed under
examination conditions, a resubmission opportunity is awarded
as the supplementary summative assessment opportunity.
Submission Handing in of an assessment (summative or formative) not
completed under examination conditions.
Summative Summative assessment is the final assessment of student
assessment competence in a module. Summative assessments normally
assess learning against all the outcomes in a module/course
and typically at the end of a semester or year. Feedback other
than a mark is not normally given as a summative assessment
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Term Definition
is an evaluation of outcomes for progression and completion
purposes.
Take-home These are formative or summative assessments that would
assessment ordinarily have been written under examination conditions and
have been substituted with an assessment that can be
completed at home.
T&L Specialist A person, or people, on a campus who have expertise in
teaching and learning in higher education. The term is used in
this context in a generic sense but may include such campus-
specific roles as Teaching and Learning Specialist, Full-time
Lecturer, Module Discipline Leader, Academic Co-Navigator.
Working days In this policy, any timeline referring to working days means the
next working day after the assessment date or deadline and
the relevant number of working days from there including the
day of submission. For example, “five working days” after the
date of an assessment written on a Tuesday would be the
following Tuesday.
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Introduction
(1) Assessment is an integral part of the educational process. It is the means by which
students can demonstrate and be recognised for their learning (measurement)
against outcomes and it is the process through which students and lecturers receive
feedback on the student’s progress towards achieving the stated outcomes
(evaluation) in terms of knowledge, skills, and values/attitudes/reflexive
competence.
(2) Assessment principles apply to all assessed student work in all programme types
(including short learning programmes) and all modes of offering (contact and
distance).
(3) The purpose of the Assessment Strategy and Policy (IIE009) is to make explicit the
elements of good academic practice to be observed in assessment undertaken in
the name of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). The policy is
supported by a set of standard procedures to be followed, to give effect to these
elements.
Principles of Good Assessment

(1) All IIE assessments will adhere to the following assessment principles.
Fairness and Transparency

(1) Assessments are fair and transparent.
(2) Assessment processes, including instruments and marking, will not unfairly
advantage or disadvantage any student or group of students:
a) The instruments will be structured in such a manner as to be accessible and

understandable to students.
b) Assessment information will be made available to all students in an
accessible, consistent format (type of assessment, scope, dates, venues,
appeals, marking procedures, assessment criteria and standards).
c) Assessments that are group or team-based will enable equal opportunity to
develop and perform.
d) The language used in the assessment will be accessible for the level of the
course and the nature of the discipline being examined. Fair discrimination in
language competence is permitted for modules where such language
competence is an explicit outcome of the module.
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Validity
(1) Validity is defined as the extent to which an assessment accurately measures what
it is intended to measure. Consequently, there needs to be direct relationships
between the module outcomes, the assessment outcomes and the content of the
assessment in line with notions of constructive alignment.
Reliability
(1) A reliable assessment enables consistent judgements over time and across groups
of students and markers.
Practicability and Appropriateness

(1) Assessments are appropriate for the level of complexity at which the module and/or
qualification is being offered and test appropriate levels of skills, knowledge, and
cognitive maturity appropriate to that level.
(2) The assessment takes into account the financial resources, facilities, equipment and
time constraints for students and assessors, the mode of offering, and the campus
concerned.
Variety, Integration and Development of Learning Skills

(1) Students will be given a range of opportunities (types and timing) to demonstrate
their competence. Where appropriate, students need to be given an opportunity to
demonstrate how learning is integrated across modules.
Constructive Alignment
(1) All assessments are directly related to the outcomes of the module and the
programme concerned as well as to the module National Qualifications Framework
(NQF) Level.
Cognitive Complexity and Achievement/Competence to be

Assessed
(1) Assessments are designed to assess achievement at the appropriate level of
cognitive complexity as captured in the level descriptors (South African
Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Level Descriptors for the South African National
Qualifications Framework, November 2012). These level descriptors are associated
with the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) of the NQF. In
addition, The IIE makes use of the work of Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) and
consequent iterations to classify and construct learning objectives, their complexity
and assessment.
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(2) Learning is progressively complex, and students are expected over time to
demonstrate an increasing ability to apply knowledge and skills to unfamiliar
contexts and problems in innovative ways.
Recognition of Different Styles and Strategies

(1) In a module and within any assessment instrument, there is sufficient diversity of
question types to enable students of different styles to successfully complete a
module or individual assessment.
Intellectual Integrity and Plagiarism

(1) The IIE respects the intellectual rights of others. Students are expected to comply
with the rules of intellectual and academic integrity associated with the use and
referencing of the ideas of others. The provisions of the Intellectual Integrity Policy
(IIE023) apply.
Types of Assessment
(1) The purposes of an assessment need to be reflected in the instruments and
processes used to assess student work.
Formative Assessment
(1) As competence develops over time and is improved with feedback, formative
assessment should take place throughout the learning process and must result in
feedback that enables students to improve their performance and prepare for
summative assessments.
(2) Feedback to students may include a model answer, or rubric, depending on the
nature of the discipline. However, these are not sufficient as they do not provide an
individual student with feedback on the relationship between the students’ response
and the desired response in such a way that the student knows what action is
needed to improve their performance.
(3) Some formative assessments are not graded (awarded marks) and function to
provide students with feedback to promote their development but do not contribute
to the final module mark.
(4) ICE tasks would be an example of formative assessments that are not graded (see
Section 7.1) insofar as each task does not make a performance-based, assessed
contribution to the final mark although completion of the tasks is required in order to
earn a contribution to the final mark.
(5) Graded formative assessments are included in the Cumulative Assessment (CASS)
Mark (see Section 5.5).
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Summative Assessment
(1) The purpose of summative assessments is to evaluate student learning, skill
acquisition and academic achievement at the end of a defined instructional period.
(2) Unlike formative assessments, which summarise student development at a

particular point in a module and are intended to improve the students’ learning
capacity or skill, summative assessments focus on analysing student achievements
after the completion of the learning process.
(3) Normally, students are only given a grade for summative assessments and not
detailed feedback.
(4) Summative assessments are typically the work of individual students, rather than a
group of students.
Take-Home Assessments (as a different assessment type)

(1) The decision about when take-home assessments are used depends on the national
emergencies and any consequent restrictions on student presence on campuses.
(2) For existing assignments, tasks, projects and PoE’s, the existing requirements stand
unless an explicit alternative communication has been issued for that module. The
key exception is the amendment to many of these to exclude group work.
(3) A take-home assessment in the context of this addendum to our policy is a

replacement for an assessment that was originally planned to be written under
examination conditions (formative or summative).
(4) When take-home assessments are instituted, the following will normally apply:
a) Formative tests will be replaced with take-home assessments;

b) Summative assessments that were to be written under formal examination
conditions will be replaced with take-home assessments;
c) Submission dates will apply;
d) The resubmission opportunity will fall away and standard exceptions and
exemptions in this Policy (IIE009) will apply.
(5) The structure of the assessment that will now be a take-home assessment has been
amended but the same learning units, and thus module outcomes, will be covered
as was originally planned for that assessment.
(6) The technical referencing rubric is now part of the assessment process for these
assessments where applicable.
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(7) All submissions of take-home assessments (formative and summative) should be

made through the intellectual integrity tool such as Safe Assign. If this is not
possible, for example, if a student submits photographed handwritten assessments,
the lecturer will check the referencing as per normal practice.
The Principles for Assessment Structures

Ongoing and Sustained Performance
(1) The performance of a student in a single module should not normally be based
solely on performance in one assessment opportunity and for this reason, a
combination of assessment types and opportunities are provided in all modules,
alongside different assessment instruments, testing different, appropriate types of
learning skills for the module concerned. Within each assessment instrument, a
student should not be unduly penalised if they are not able to successfully complete
one question or item.
Balance in Mark Weightings

(1) Formative assessments (including ICE) and the summative assessment will
constitute the final mark for a module.
(2) The balance between formative and summative contributions to the final mark is
maintained to ensure students have an opportunity to improve their performance
following feedback on a formative level.
(3) The summative assessment would not normally be weighted above 60% of the final
mark.
Ease of Interpreting Marks

(1) Percentages are used for all assessments. Thus, marks awarded out of the total
mark must be converted into a percentage for student reporting and communication.
(2) There needs to be a balance between marks allocated and effort required and thus
there are standards set for the number of marks relative to the time taken to
complete an assessment, particularly one under time-constrained conditions.
Normally, a student should expect to spend one minute of the assessment time for
every one mark to be allocated. This principle is known as “mark a minute”.
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Pass, Subminimum and Distinction Principles

(1) A module mark of 50% is normally required for a student to pass a module.
(2) A module mark is normally made up of more than one mark.
(3) To retain the balance between summative and formative assessments, subminimum
levels of performance are normally required in each, in order for a student to be
considered to have passed a module.
(4) Where a student does not achieve the subminimum on average for formative
assessments, where one exists, they are not permitted to proceed to the summative
assessment. This is known as not meeting the cumulative assessment mark
(CASS).
(5) In addition, where a student has not achieved the subminimum mark for a
summative assessment, the student will fail the module even if their average mark
including the CASS mark is 50% or above.
(6) For all of the above, there are exceptions in the policy including but not limited to
those related to condoned passes. Any exceptions are explicit and in the absence
of explicit exceptions, the Policy applies.
(7) 75% represents a distinction for individual assessments, the final mark for a module,
and for the qualification.
Cumulative Assessment (CASS)

(1) Graded formative assessments are included in the Cumulative Assessment Mark
(CASS).
(2) A subminimum achievement of 40% (average) for the graded formative

assessments, which is a CASS mark of 40%, is normally required for access to the
summative assessment.
(3) The CASS mark forms part of the total module mark.
Subminimum Performance Requirement in Summative

Assessments
(1) For undergraduate students, for all full qualifications modules up to and including
NQF Level 7 (degree third-year level), a minimum mark of 30% (known as the
subminimum) is required in a summative assessment for a student to be permitted
a second attempt at a summative assessment.
(2) The subminimum mark for postgraduate qualifications is 40%.
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Research-based Qualifications
(1) The assessment rules for research-based qualifications at NQF Level 9 and above
can be found in the Research and Postgraduate Studies Policy (IIE007).
Assessment Number, Type, Weightings and

Calculations
General Principles
(1) The assessment structure, type, number and weightings in all modules must be
appropriate for the credit value of the module, discipline and NQF-level and should
be as standard as possible to increase predictability as well as manage student
workload.
(2) Exceptions to standard structures must be approved by Faculty Boards.
(3) The assessment structure is outlined in the Module Information Sheet (MIS) as
summarised in the Qualification Guide and is made explicit for students.
Time Allocations
(1) The IIE subscribes to the “10 notional hours per credit” convention of allocating
learning time.
(2) The notional hours include all teaching and learning activities in a module, including,
but not limited to lectures, mediated online learning, self-study and engagement with
learning materials, assessment preparation and assessment completion.
(3) The composition of, and relative time spent on, learning activities included in the
notional hours will be based on the mode of offering, the discipline and the nature
of the content, the year of study, the NQF level, the leveraging of technology and
the promotion of self-directed autonomous learning.
(4) In all modes of offering, the notional hours are divided between lecture time, student
engagement of the LMS and independent self-study (including assessment
preparation and completion).
(5) The division of the notional hours across the three categories of student
engagement listed in (4) depends on the NQF level of the module, the nature of the
discipline, the teaching model employed and the mode of offering. For example, this
means that a numeracy module may only include 10%, but a theory module may
include 20%, and a module offered according to a three-phase model used in the
connected campuses may include (30%) of the notional hours assigned to
Page 18 of 97
engagement on the LMS. In the distance mode of offering, no more than 10% of the
notional hours are assigned to online lectures.
a) To assist students with planning their time and to ensure fairness and
transparency in assessment length and structure, the mark a minute principle
is applied to each assessment event, particularly those to be completed in
time-constrained or examination conditions.
b) The mark a minute principle is the result of consideration of what the students
are required to do with the content, i.e. a consideration of both the knowledge
and skills involved. This is NOT a “mark a fact”.
c) In some professional qualifications (E.g. the Bachelor of Accounting), the mark
and time allocation may be aligned to the requirements and standards set by
the relevant professional bodies who use different conventions. This is to
assist those students to become familiar with the assessment conventions of
the professional body and to manage those.
d) It is recognised that all students work at different paces, so the conventions
are based on the lower international ranges for pace for university-level
students.
Principles to be Used when Determining Assessment

Points in Modules
(1) The IIE is adopting standard credit values for modules. Even in modules where there
is not a standard credit value, the allocation of assessments follows standard
principles.
(2) The following principles apply:
a) The NQF Level of the module;

b) The number of credits assigned to the module;
c) The nature of the discipline being assessed;
d) The learning outcomes of the module;
e) Ensuring that students receive feedback on their learning progress;
f) The over-arching assessment strategy in the qualification.
(3) For 15-credit modules, this is the normal structure unless exceptions have been
approved by the Faculty Board.
Page 19 of 97
Summative Formative ICE Portfolios of
Assessments Assessments Evidence (PoE)
Number 1 2 Minimum of 4 Maximum of 4

tasks but can be
less.
Weighting No less than Equitably and 10% 90%
35% reasonably
weighted.
No more than
60%
LUs All (if required LUs covered May be all but All
covered and does not should be must be
over-assess the spread over the focussed on the Recommended
same content). formatives. developmental that a reflective
needs of component is
Proportional to students. included.
what has
already been
assessed.
Time 2 hours Assignments: 20 -30 hours
allocation 10 hours
(May be 3
hours, if Tests: 1 hour
required by a
professional
body or by
exception if
approved by the
Dean and the
Faculty Board.)
Marks 120 marks Assignments: Feedback 100 marks
(May be 180 100 marks provided to
hours, if The word count students.
required by a stipulation, the
professional reasonable rate Participation
body or by marks recorded.
at which a
exception if
approved by the student can
Dean and the formulate a
Faculty Board.) quality response
to the question
concerned.
Tests: 60 marks
(4) Unless otherwise determined by the Faculty Board due to the nature of the module,
a module will have formatives and ICE allocations.
(5) To ensure a reasonable workload for students, the assessments for modules need
to be scheduled in the context of the qualification.
Page 20 of 97
Percentages of Material Covered and Scheduling of all Assessments

in all Qualifications
Formative % of material Comments Written/ Academic Weeks

period covered in submitted at
assessment % of sessions
based on the completed
sessions
1 25% Can be a test or 30% Week 3 completed
assignment (TW 1)
2 35% Only non-exam 40% Week 4 completed

conditions
assessments (i.e. not
tests)

Assignment (TW 2)

Assignment (TW 2)

Assignment (TW 2)
6 70% Only non-exam 75% Week 9 completed

conditions
assessments (i.e. not
tests)
7 ICE
Summative 100% All work 12 Weeks
(6) The assessment of LUs should be spread over the formatives.
(7) Tests and assignments can cover different LUs so that students are not over-
assessed on the same knowledge.
(8) The MIS should reflect the LUs covered in each formative assessment and should
not merely list all possible LUs.
(9) Exceptions are recorded on the Module Information Sheet (MIS) after agreement
with the Faculty Board concerned.
Page 21 of 97
Assessment Methods (Instruments)

Integrated Curriculum Engagement (ICE)
(1) Each class and each student engage with their learning in a different manner.
(2) Understanding that engagement and progress improve the ability of the lecturer and
the student to promote student success in a focused manner.
(3) Graded formative and summative assessments are designed centrally against the
module outcomes in a standard manner and are not a tool for responsive evaluation
and feedback as an integral part of the lecturer mediated (face to face or online)
part of teaching and learning.
(4) ICE is the tool used at The IIE to give lecturers the autonomy and students the
reward for active, immediate engagement with the learning process, in small bites,
so that lecturers and students get immediate and constant feedback on progress.
(5) ICE activities are activities requiring active engagement with a small part of the
learning material/limited number of learning objectives to measure interim progress.
(6) They are either designed by the lecturer for the class needs in the moment or
purposefully selected from a range of options on Learn to meet the immediate needs
of the class.
(7) ICE tasks are a part of a continuous assessment process, so they need to be
meaningful and purposeful in allowing students and lecturers to track progress and
learning needs.
(8) ICE as a contribution to CASS and an integral part of learning is therefore part of
the teaching and learning strategy for contact and distance modes of offering, in all
undergraduate qualifications and in all postgraduate qualifications that have
coursework components. Exceptions, such as for professional qualifications, are
approved by Faculty Boards in consultation with the relevant Dean.
(9) In most modules, 10% of the module mark is offered as a reward for this ongoing,
integrated engagement with the curriculum.
(10) The current student information system requirements are that 100 is entered for a
completed task and 0 for a task that was not submitted. The relevant column on
the capture sheets is used.
(11) This is deliberately and blatantly a behaviourist strategy to incentivise engagement.

The extent to which there is also learning achieved depends on the type of activities
the lecturer chooses, the quality of the feedback given, the link between the
activities and essential learning and mastery in the module and student attitude and
effort. Not all of these can be equally managed, and the focus should rather be on
Page 22 of 97
the quality of the task than the extent to which students are exerting “sufficient”
effort, so that we are able to build intrinsic motivation to participate fully.
(12) With these objectives in mind, the 10% contribution is split between tasks on which
feedback is given (by the lecturer or by other students or self-assessment or
machine-based assessment) and tasks on which the student is solely responsible
for assessing their performance against the module objectives and on which no
other feedback is given.
(13) If well designed, an ICE task will have an intrinsic mastery value for students, and
they will appreciate their value. Student compliance and participation are thus
partly about student autonomy but also about the quality of the tasks made
available to them.
(14) To ensure that ICE meets all of the objectives above, the following are the
parameters against which lectures should select or design tasks for their classes:
a) The achievement of the reward cannot be dependent on 100% compliance

and therefore, there needs to be at least six tasks available to students and
they must complete at least four – two for feedback and two without a
feedback expectation.
b) As the task is intended to be a focused moment in the time assessment of
mastery, each task should not require a significant amount of time to
complete. Most tasks should require less than an hour to complete – it should
be noted that in a 10-credit module, there are only 100 notional hours of
learning available and if each task takes more than an hour to complete, one
will rapidly use up more than 5% of notional learning time, taking time from
the more substantive tasks at hand.
c) The type of activity should be deliberately chosen to ensure the best learning
and feedback for the student, taking into consideration objectives to be
achieved, the learning needs of the group, the mode of delivery of the
module, and the practical circumstances.
d) The task types should also vary to cater for different learning preferences.
Possibilities include, but are not limited to, existing activities of Learn,
questions from past formative and summative assessment, additional
reading, quizzes, debates, online group discussions, surveys, blog
responses, mini-tests and presentations.
e) Variety should also be offered in terms of when the tasks should be done
such as before, after or during a scheduled engagement with the lecturer or
with other students.
f) The timing should be spread across the module to ensure that there are
several opportunities for students to receive real formative feedback on their
comprehension and progress.
Page 23 of 97
7.2 Assignments
(1) This is an assessment conducted under non-examination conditions. Assignments
can take many forms, including, but not limited to, essays, case studies, projects or
portfolios of work.
(2) For all assignments, the following are requirements:
a) Students must adhere to the technical requirements specified when the

assignment is issued, including word count.
b) Assignments need to be typed or produced using appropriate tools for the
discipline or assignment type.
c) Normally, assignments are submitted online. This means that no hardcopy
version is required.
d) The instructions for upload to the Learning Management System or equivalent
must be followed. E-mailed submissions will not normally be accepted.
e) If relevant, the submission must also be in executable format.
f) Intellectual integrity and correct referencing are required, using the convention
specified and the Harvard in-line method when no other convention is
specified.
g) Independent reading is required. Although students will be provided with initial
recommended reading, they are required to source additional texts. The
amount and complexity of additional independent reading required will
normally depend on the NQF level of the module and the discipline.
h) A rubric or marking guideline or specification of required standards will be
provided to students and used by markers who will also normally have access
to a detailed memorandum.
i) As working in a group is a critical cross-field outcome (a life skill), some
assignments in each year of study will require group work.
j) When students work in a group, the mark allocations will be specified as
follows:
i. The whole mark is not for the group work component – part of the mark
is for individual work and this breakdown will be stipulated in advance.
ii. A student who has not worked in a group and was required to do so will
automatically lose 20% of their mark.
iii. A student who has not done sufficient work on their own and was
required to do so will lose 20% of their mark and/or have the matter
investigated as an intellectual integrity offence or as cheating or copying.
iv. The assessment must include some peer assessment although this may
not contribute to the mark allocation at the lower levels.
v. Only those students whose student numbers are recorded at the point
of submission will be deemed to have submitted their work.
Page 24 of 97
(3) Managing intellectual integrity in assignments:
a) Students are required to submit their work through the required anti-
plagiarism/similarity tool (hereafter, the anti-plagiarism tool) prior to
submission, unless the assignment instructions indicate that this is not
necessary (such as for practical and/or calculation assignments).
b) Assessments that have not been submitted through the approved anti-
plagiarism tool (where required) will receive 0%.
c) When submitting an assignment through the relevant anti-plagiarism tool, the
assignment must be uploaded in its original digital format, i.e. in the original
Word document. Non-editable formats are not acceptable.
d) If a student attempts to bypass the anti-plagiarism tool in any way, then a mark
of 0% will be awarded. This will include uploading a scanned text or uploading
an assignment which is not the identical submission of what is loaded for
marking.
e) The submission through the anti-plagiarism tool must be done a few days
before the assignment is due so that the student has time to attend to any
concerns detected or to accommodate any other concerns that may arise.
f) It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that a similarity report or receipt
is submitted with the assignment as available that provides evidence that the
assignment was submitted through the appropriate anti-plagiarism tool if the
student was not submitting through SafeAssign.
g) For SafeAssign, the similarity reports for submissions are collated for each
module. All lecturers must check the similarity reports for each student. The
purpose of such checking is primarily to assist lecturers to provide their
students with formative feedback about their academic writing".
h) Students may not use a lack of access to on-campus computers and printers
as the reason for late or non-submission. Students are expected to plan to
have sufficient time to make use of these or alternate facilities knowing that
demand will go up shortly prior to submission times.
i) Students are required to keep secure backup copies of all assignments,
including those that are in progress, as technology failures will not be
considered grounds for a late submission.
Page 25 of 97
7.3 Test or Examination

(1) A test or examination is an assessment attempted under standardised, controlled
conditions. Normally, these require advance preparation by the student. If a student
is permitted to bring learning material or other resources into the assessment, this
will be communicated in detail, in advance and in official documentation related to
the examination or the module.
7.4 Presentations
(1) These require individuals or groups to orally present an idea, argument or the
outcomes of an investigation/research. Assessment of presentations should include
evaluation of the style of presentation and the use of aids as well as subject matter
content. In some fields of study, the presentations are of a completed product or a
proposed project – they are thus not simply oral expositions of assignments. Use of
technology (such as visual aids or presentation software) should almost always be
required as this is a normal expectation in the workplace.
(2) Usually, a mark for a presentation should only be part of a mark for an
assignment/project on which the presentation should be based. These should
normally be accompanied by the submission of a document that meets all
conventional academic requirements.
(3) A marking guideline and/or rubric is provided when the assignment is set.
7.5 Practical Assignments

(1) These assignments assess the extent to which certain skills outcomes have been
achieved and can be demonstrated in an applied manner. Sometimes, these are in
simulated environments or laboratories.
(2) A separate Work-Integrated Learning Policy (IIE006) exists and needs to be

consulted as required.
7.6 Research Projects

(1) The scope of a research project is determined by the level at which it is to be
assessed and the purpose it plays in the qualification concerned. Research projects
need to be carried out in terms of the requirements of the Research and
Postgraduate Studies Policy (IIE007) and must include ethical clearance.
Page 26 of 97
7.7 Portfolios of Evidence

(1) A portfolio of evidence is normally a collation of the outcomes of several tasks,
assignments, or activities that are presented and assessed collectively to
demonstrate and determine learning achievement. The individual parts could also
be assessed and recorded as formative assessments, but this is not always the
case. An example of a PoE that does not include formative components is a
Summative Project, whereby the student may complete a significant project through
the semester but will only submit the PoE for marking at the end of the semester. A
marking guideline or rubric is provided.
Information to Which Students are Entitled

(1) Students are entitled to the following information which must be provided to them in
time for them to be able to use the information to prepare for assessments:
a) The learning outcomes of a programme and of each unit or module or course

in the programme;
b) The outcomes, learning units and material that will be covered in each
assessment;
c) The amount, complexity, and type of evidence of learning that will be required
in each assessment;
d) The criteria/standards against which competence is to be assessed;
e) The kind of assessment instrument to be used;
f) All technical details with respect to what is expected in the assessment
including but not limited to rules;
g) Conditions, time, and venue of assessment;
h) Due dates.
(2) Students are expected to familiarise themselves with general rules including how to
appeal assessment decisions including reviewing marking, as the institution will not
provide these separately with each assessment.
(3) This information must be sufficiently detailed to make it possible for a student to use
this information to understand how a particular learning process fits into the overall
curriculum.
Page 27 of 97
Scheduling of Assessments
(1) The principles that drive the scheduling of an assessment are (Also see Section 6.3:
a) Most assessment under examination conditions will take place during

scheduled test or examination weeks.
b) Assessments need to cover reasonable and predictable volumes of work.
c) They need to be spaced evenly through a module to allow time for remediation
and student development.
d) Assignment type assessments cannot be scheduled for submission on the
same day as assessments under “examination conditions” are completed.
e) More than one assignment, for modules in the same programme year, cannot
be scheduled for submission on the same day, although more than one test
or examination may be written on the same day.
f) Similarly, the submission deadline for a portfolio of evidence or any other
summative assessment not completed under examination conditions must be
planned in such a way that it gives sufficient time for its completion without
impacting on the period used for preparation and writing of summative
assessments under examination conditions for that qualification.
g) There needs to be time between the last session taught on material assessed
and the assessment itself to allow assimilation of material.
(2) No assessments will be scheduled on national public holidays including those that
are Christian religious days or on certain additional religious holidays (Refer to
Section 12).
(3) Students are entitled to at least 10 working days between the release of an
assessment result and the requirement to write a supplementary examination.
(4) Students are not required to apply for additional opportunities for which they are
eligible on a performance basis such as supplementary examinations for which they
qualify.
(5) Examination timetables need to be released to students no less than four weeks
before the first examination is to be written, and if the supplementary sitting is within
two months of the original sitting, the supplementary timetable needs to be released
at the same time. If a supplementary examination is then not required for a module,
it can be cancelled.
Assessment Exceptions and Concessions

Principles
(1) The onus is on students to make appropriate arrangements for attendance,
completion and submission of assessments.
Page 28 of 97
(2) To fully promote learning, it is generally not acceptable for students not to complete
an assessment. If the assessment has been missed for permitted reasons, the
normal concession will be completion or submission on another date and time.
(3) A mark of 0% will normally be entered if an assessment is not completed or

submitted as stipulated.
(4) The IIE recognises that there are instances in which a student will not be able to
comply with the normal assessment requirements.
(5) The IIE has concessions to assist students who are not able to comply for some
stipulated reasons.
(6) However, any student who provides false or misleading information in order to
attempt to access these concessions will be managed in terms of the disciplinary
code and where any dishonesty is identified, the student will automatically forfeit
access to all concessions for the duration of their studies as one of the penalties for
the lack of integrity.
(7) The IIE009 Policy allows for four types of concessions or exceptions as follows:
a) Permitted general: There are seven life events that would qualify a student
for concessions – see Section 10.2.1
b) Other life events: There are times when a student, for reasons other than the
seven life events above, may not comply with requirements and in these
cases, a limited number of concessions are allowed – see Section 10.2.2
c) Religious: There are religious occasions that would allow concessions – see
Section 12.
d) Special needs: If a student has a medical or psychological condition including
but not limited to learning barriers, they may qualify for a range of concessions
to accommodate their documented needs – see Section 13.
(8) Any other reasons for missing an assessment or an assessment deadline will incur
the appropriate penalty.
(9) All assessment exceptions and concessions applications must be lodged by the
student on the Student Hub. All relevant documentation pertaining to the request
must be included as only the documentation submitted with the application can be
taken into consideration for processing the application or subsequent appeal.
(10) In cases where a concession has been granted prior to a decision on an institutional
rewrite being confirmed, the institutional rewrite overrides the individual concession
applied for and cancels any individual concessions already applied for.
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(11) Immediate family means:
a) Spouse or life partner;

b) Parents (biological, legal or de facto);
c) Grandparents (biological, legal or de facto);
d) Sibling (brother or sister);
e) Children;
f) The immediate family of a life partner excluding grandparents; and
g) Any other relatives who are financially dependent on the student concerned.
(12) In addition, an immediate family is one in which there are not more than two steps
in the kinship relationship. (e.g. a biological aunt is thus immediate family while the
biological aunt of one’s spouse or life partner is not considered to be immediate
family.)
Page 30 of 97
Permitted General Exceptions to Policy
Assessments with
Assessments under Exam
Submission Deadlines (Non-
Conditions
Exam Conditions)
3 x generally Unavoidable
7 x generally Unavoidable permitted exceptions circumstances
permitted exceptions circumstances (Formative and (Summative only)
Summative)
Assessments under Exam Conditions
Unavoidable
7 x generally permitted exceptions circumstances
Official National or
Death Serious represen-
of an Own Serious Regional
illness or tation in Court Unrests, Additional Additional
imme- serious appearances crime and opportunity opportunity
injury of an recognised motor Protests, Strikes
diate illness immediate provincial/ and visa renewal (Formative (Summative
family or vehicle or Vandalism
family national/ appointments only) only)
mem- injury accidents Unavoidable
member international
ber competitions Circumstances
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institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (reg. no. 2007/HE07/002). Company registration number: 1987/004754/07.
Page 31 of 97
Assessments with Submission Deadlines

(Non-exam conditions)
Unavoidable
3 x generally permitted exceptions (Formative and
circumstances
Summative)
(Summative only)
National or
Death of an Additional
Own serious Regional Unrests,
immediate family opportunity
illness or injury Protests, Strikes
member Summative
or Vandalism
Permitted General Exceptions to Policy
(1) The seven key general permitted exceptions for which an application on the Student
Hub, with evidence, is required, are:
a) Death of an immediate family member;

b) Own serious illness or injury;
c) Serious illness or injury of an immediate family member;
d) Official representation in recognised provincial/national/international
competitions;
e) Court appearances and study or resident visa renewal appointments;
f) Serious crime and motor vehicle accidents; and
g) National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism.
(2) Twice a year, for formative assessments under examination conditions only, a
student may, after application on the Hub and without evidence, qualify for a
concession to accommodate additional life events beyond the control of the student.
Additional opportunity provisions on Table 10.2.2.
(3) For instances relating to summative assessment where no documentary proof is

required, please refer to the Additional opportunity provisions on Table 10.2.2.
(4) There are special exceptions for a missed assessment under exam conditions
(summative only) for work-related reasons, motivated by an employer as
unavoidable, for students registered part-time in either contact or distance mode
and for Short Learning Programme Students (see Table 10.2.3).
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institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (reg. no. 2007/HE07/002). Company registration number: 1987/004754/07.
Page 32 of 97
(5) The number of concessionary opportunities is limited to two concessionary

opportunities per academic year for any generally accepted reason (Table 10.2.1
and 11.2). Any additional concessionary opportunity is limited to two opportunities
per academic year on formatives and one opportunity per academic year on the
summative. (Table 10.2.2 ). This is across all formatives and the summative sittings
written under exam and non-exam conditions. They are not managed as individual
allowances per sitting.
The above 10.2.1, 10.2.2. and 11.2 are available for assessments written under exam
conditions only and are explained in the tables below.
Page 33 of 97
Missed Assessment under Exam Conditions (Formative and Summative) Applicable to all modes of offering (contact and
distance) and forms of registration (FT/PT)
Reasons for Death of Own Serious Illness Serious Illness or Official Court Appearance and Serious Crime and National or
the missed Immediate or Injury Injury of a Family Representation study or resident Visa Motor Vehicle Accident Regional
assessment Family Member Renewal Appointments (MVA) Unrests,
Protests,
Strikes or
Vandalism
This A student A student may apply A student may apply A student who is A student may apply for A student may apply A student may
exception who has for an exception for an exception participating in a an exception if they are not for an exception if they apply for an
may be experienced based on their own who has an recognised able to attend an are not able to attend an exception if they
defined as the death of serious illness or immediate family national/international assessment due to a court assessment due to a are unable to
follows: an injury which is member with a competition as an appearance. motor vehicle accident in get to campus to
immediate defined by a medical serious illness or official which someone was write an
family practitioner as injury which representative of a injured or who has assessment,
member. making it impossible requires the student province/South directly been the victim of due to a national
or unwise (for to be absent in Africa or has been a crime that involved or regional
reasons such as order to attend to appointed as an violence, or a serious unrest, such as
further health risks to the support of the official at such an threat of violence. a protest,
the student or other person concerned, event by a taxi/train/bus
students) for a for a short period of recognised body. violence or
student to attend on time. strikes or
the day concerned. vandalism.
This
application Within 24 hours
must be Within five working days of the missed assessment. If no application is submitted, a mark of 0% is entered after five working days. of the missed
submitted assessment.
via the
Student
Hub.
These
concessions No limit on Twice per year - refer to 10.2(5). Where assessments are scheduled in the same period (days close to each other) the No limitation
are limited, concessions. concession may apply to more than one actual test or examination but cannot be applied to more than one period.
and
students are
advised to
use them
wisely.
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registration number: 1987/004754/07.
Page 34 of 97
The An affidavit A medical certificate An affidavit or other Documentation from Certified copy of the A formal police If not widely
following confirming (which may include a form of proof of the the sports body/team subpoena. accident/crime report published,
documentati kinship - certificate from a kinship relationship. manager/event detailing the supporting
on is signed by a clinic) from a organiser confirming accident/crime and the documents are
required for student and registered health care details of the event. student involvement in it required.
approval of family professional within and a case number.
this member. whose scope of
application. A death practice a diagnosis A medical certificate Proof of appointment is Police case number and
certificate. is permitted, valid for (which may include required. affidavit confirming that
the day of the a certificate from a the student could not
assessment. Any clinic) from a leave the scene.
medical certificate registered health
submitted for care professional
purposes of an within whose scope
assessment of practice a
exception should diagnosis is
make the severity of permitted, valid for
the illness or injury the day of the
clear. assessment.
Additional
information a) In all instances outlined above, the student on approval of the application by the Student Hub will be allowed a replacement assessment in the next available
related to opportunity/sitting.
these b) For applications related to the death of an immediate family member, the onus is on the student to provide the death certificate. In cases where the death
applications certificate is not available when the assessment is rewritten under examination conditions, the assessment will not be marked until the certificate is provided.
. If a death certificate is not provided within three weeks of the death concerned, a mark of 0% will be entered.
c) For applications related to one’s own serious illness or the serious illness of a family member, the onus is on students to ensure that practitioners know that
they may be contacted to verify the severity of the illness or injury of the student or immediate family member concerned. The student should therefore have
ensured that they and/or their immediate family member has provided the appropriate consent to the practitioner to do so. Only in the case of a debilitating,
life-threatening or chronic condition (which needs to be attested to by a medical practitioner) will a student be permitted to apply for an exception based on
illness or injury more than once per semester or in the case of short learning programmes once per programme. A student who has a chronic condition that
is likely to impact on more than one occasion during the semester should apply for a special need concession as stipulated in Section 13.1 These
applications will require more stringent documentary evidence.
d) For applications related to serious crime and motor vehicle accidents (MVA), the student must provide documentary proof of at least one counselling session
attended either with a counsellor employed by The IIE (in person or by phone) or a counsellor in private practice. The concession will not be approved
without this evidence.
Page 35 of 97
Missed Assessment under Exam Conditions (Formative and Summative) where the reason for missing the assessment falls
outside the seven reasons above. Applicable to all study modes – Contact (FT, PT) and distance
Additional opportunity Formative Additional opportunity Summative
This concession accommodates students who have gained entry to
This concession accommodates life-events beyond the
the summative assessment but have failed to present themselves for
This exception may control of the student which falls outside the seven general
a sitting of a summative examination for reasons other than the
be defined as follows: permitted exceptions in the policy which allows students an
seven reasons above and for reasons which may be beyond the
opportunity of a replacement assessment without any
control of the student.
documentary proof required.
By close of business (17:00) on the same day as the missed sitting.
This application must Within five working days of the missed assessment. If no
If no application is made by the close of business on the same day
be submitted via the application is submitted, a mark of 0% is entered after five
as the missed assessment, a result of 0% is entered for the
Student Hub. working days.
summative and the student will need to repeat the module.
These concessions
are limited, and Two concessionary opportunities per academic year - refer to
One concessionary opportunity per academic year - refer to 10.2(5)
students are advised 10.2(5)
to use them wisely.
The following
documentation is
No documentation is required. No documentation is required.
required for approval
of this application.
a) Students still have to complete the required assessment and the concession relates only to the timing.
Additional information b) For applications related to the formative assessments, a replacement assessment is written in the next available
sitting/opportunity.
related to these c) For applications related to summative assessments, if the missed assessment is in sitting 1 or 2, the student may write the
applications. missed summative in the next available sitting. If the missed assessment is in sitting 3, the student will be required to write a
replacement assessment within seven working days. In these cases, a fee for the setting of an additional paper may be
charged.
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Special Exceptions for a missed assessment under exam conditions (summative only) for work-related reasons for students
registered part-time in either contact or distance mode and for Short Learning Programme Students
A student who is registered as a contact part-time student or a student studying

This exception may be defined as follows: in the distance mode who is employed and is prevented for reasons associated
with employment from attending an assessment under examination conditions
may apply for this concession.
At least 48 hours before the scheduled assessment date.
This application must be submitted via the Student Hub.
These concessions are limited, and students are advised to Two concessionary opportunities per year (first sitting only) - refer to 10.2(5).
use them wisely.
The following documentation is required for approval of
An original letter with contact details of the signatory, from the employer or place
this application.
of work which supports the application.
a) When in doubt, an employer can be contacted to verify the details of the

Additional information related to this application. supporting documentation. This concession will not be granted if any other
assessment concession has already been granted in the SLP or the year
of study for full qualifications.
Page 37 of 97
Concessions Possible for Permitted General Exceptions

Assessments under Examination Conditions – Summative or Formative –
Replacement Assessment
(1) If the reason for missing an assessment is due to one of the seven reasons above,
and the application submitted via the Student Hub is approved, the student will be
permitted to write:
a) A replacement test in the next available scheduled sitting – if this sitting is also
missed, a mark of 0% is automatically entered unless the student qualifies for
a discretionary reweight; or
b) A replacement examination in the next examination sitting which may not be
in the same academic year depending on the sitting in which the examination
was missed.
(2) The application must be fully supported with required documentation as additional
documentation that was not originally submitted will not be considered in the case
of an appeal.
(3) Only if the injury or illness (of the student) has made it physically impossible to apply
within the five working days such as a result of extended hospitalisation (for which
medical evidence is required) will the five-day period be extended.
(4) In the case of pre-requisite modules where the follow-on module will commence
prior to the sitting for the replacement assessment, students will be permitted to
register for the follow-on module, and in these cases only pre-requisite modules will
be treated as co-requisites.
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Assessments under Examination Conditions – Summative or Formative –

Write in a Different Location
(1) Students registered in the distance mode elect their examination centre at
registration and may not change this centre less than eight weeks before the
examination session in question. A request to change from the original centre must
be lodged with the Student Hub.
(2) Students registered in the contact mode are automatically registered to write on the
campus on which they are registered.
(3) For students registered in the contact mode, who are representing their province or
country as per the above definition, may be given permission to write at a different
location. This concession will not be approved for recreational reasons such as a
holiday.
(4) If the nature of the reason makes it not possible for the student to write in a different
location, they may also apply for a replacement assessment but must still do so at
least 10 working days before the assessment.
(5) These arrangements must be confirmed in writing by the campus with the
examination venue and filed on the student’s record electronically.
(6) The completed assessment may be scanned and mailed back for marking purposes,
but arrangements must be made to have the original scripts collected and returned
for record-keeping purposes.
(7) Except in the case of provincial or national representation, this is normally only
available once per academic year.
(8) In the case of students who are repeating modules and are studying or working in
another location and have lodged an application via the Student Hub at the start of
the semester, assessments may be written at another location for those modules
and the once per academic year requirement is waived.
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10.3.2 Assessments under Examination Conditions – Summative or Formative

Application to write in a Different Location – Application to write in a Different Location – Alternate Venue - Distance
Contact Distance
This exception is A full-time contact student who is representing A student who is studying in the distance mode A student who is studying in the distance mode and
defined as follows: their country or province in a national or who is unable to write their assessment at their who has selected an alternate venue as their
international sporting event or who is repeating designated exam centre due to work-related designated exam centre which is not a designated IIE
a module and studying or working at another travel, may apply to write their assessment in a campus.
location may apply to write their assessment in different location.
a different location.
This application must Within 10 workings days before the scheduled Within 10 workings days before the scheduled An exam venue cannot be changed up to eight (8)
be submitted via the assessment date. assessment date. weeks before the summative. Only cases that are
Student Hub. subject to work travel will be considered.
These concessions
are limited, and Once per academic year. Once per academic year. Once per academic year.
students are advised
to use them wisely.
The following
documentation is Details of the site and the contact details of the invigilator for verification.
required for the A letter from the institution confirming they are able to accommodate the student and providing contact information for where the paper should be sent.
approval of this A letter from the invigilator confirming they will abide by the rules for assessment.
application.
Additional
information related to a) For applications related to writing an assessment in a different location - If the student is in a city where there is no campus or centre or is out of the
these applications. country, the onus is on the student to identify a site, religious site or an embassy/consulate or an educational institution where s/he can write. If the
student is in hospital, s/he can make similar arrangements there. The onus is on the student to identify a suitable invigilator. All costs are for the
student’s account.
b) The examination is to be written at the same time as it is being written in South Africa (SA) if this is possible to achieve during the day, or if the time
zones are too different, the paper is to be written at 08:00 on the morning immediately after the SA students have written (that is during the SA night).
Confirmation of this will be received from The Operations Manager of CAT.
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Submission of Assessments not Completed Under

Examination Conditions
Formative and Summative Due Dates/Late Submission
for All Students
(1) Students must adhere to the due dates and times stipulated. Late submissions
will not be accepted.
(2) For full-time students – assignments/PoE’s must be submitted by 23:30 on the

due dates unless otherwise stipulated.
(3) If tuition/tuition support is normally offered after hours, submissions will be 23:30
on weekdays and 9:00 on a Saturday. The online submissions, where applicable,
have to follow the same timeframes.
(4) Any submission which is not conducive/permitted for online submission must be
submitted by 16:00 on the due date.
(5) Assignments/PoE’s not submitted on time will not be accepted by campuses and
will be handled in terms of the exceptions in this Policy, if any apply.
(6) There may be instances where a student is unable to submit an assessment not
completed under exam conditions. The generally accepted reasons are outlined
in Table 11.2 below.
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Missed Assessment: Non-exam conditions (Formative and Summative). Applicable to all

study modes – Contact FT, PT and Distance
Formative and Summative Summative Only
Death of an Immediate National or Regional Unrests,
Own Serious Illness or Injury Additional opportunity
Family member Protests, Strikes or Vandalism
A student may apply for this
exception if the reason for
A student may apply for a A student may apply for this concession
missing a submission deadline A student who gained entry to the
concession related to a if the student was unable to get to
is due to their own serious summative assessment and has failed to
This exception is defined as missed submission campus to submit an assessment, due
illness or injury defined by a submit a summative assessment on time
follows: deadline due to the death to a national or regional unrest, such as
medical practitioner as making it for reasons other than the three reasons
of an immediate family a protest, taxi/train/bus violence or
impossible or unwise for the covered in this section of the policy.
member. strikes or vandalism.
student to submit on the due
date.
This application must be
No later than five working days after the missed deadline. If no Within 24 hours after the deadline for submission. If no application has been made,
submitted via the Student
application has been made, a mark of zero will be entered. a mark of zero will be entered.
Hub.
These concessions are Two concessionary
One concessionary opportunity per
limited, and students are opportunities per year - refer to No limit on this exception. No limit on this exception.
academic year - refer to 10.2(5).
advised to use them wisely. 10.2(5.)
A medical certificate (which may
include a certificate from a clinic)
from a registered health care
The following A death certificate and an The Student Hub may request the
professional within whose scope
documentation is required affidavit confirming kinship student to submit supporting evidence if
of practice a diagnosis is No documentation is required.
for approval of this - signed by student and a specific incident was not widely
permitted, valid for the day of
application. family member. published.
the assessment and which
makes the severity of the illness
clear.
a) For applications related to one’s own serious illness, the submission itself must be made no later than five working days after the missed
deadline. The work will however only be marked when the student provides proof of the application having been approved. In addition, the
onus is on students to ensure that practitioners know that they may be contacted to verify the severity of the illness and should therefore have
provided the appropriate consent to the practitioner to do so.
b) For applications related to the death of an immediate family member, the submission itself must be made no later than five working days after
Additional information the missed assessment. In addition, the onus is on the student to provide the death certificate. In cases where the death certificate is not
related to these applications available at the time of the resubmission, the submission will not be marked until the death certificate has been submitted. If the death
certificate is not provided within three weeks of the death concerned, a mark of zero will be entered.
c) For applications related to National or Regional Unrest, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism, the submission itself must be made the day
immediately after the cessation of the civil unrest that made the submission impossible if the physical submission was required.
d) For applications related to the additional opportunity provision, the submission itself must be made within 48 hours after the deadline for the
original submission. The work will however only be marked when the student provides proof of the application having been approved.
The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (reg. no.
2007/HE07/002). Company registration number: 1987/004754/07.
Page 42 of 97
Student and Campus Responsibilities – Submission of

Assignments
Student Responsibilities (cover sheet, declaration, and anti-plagiarism
tool)
(1) The onus is on the student to meet all the requirements stipulated in the
assignment and its cover sheet.
(2) The onus is on the student to complete the module information and to accept “the
digital student intellectual integrity declaration’’ before the link enabling the
submission of the assignment/PoE would become available.
(3) Students are advised to ensure sufficient time (at least two days) for the process
of submission to the approved online anti-plagiarism tool as required, as failure
to have completed that process will not be taken into consideration for late
submissions. The onus is on the lecturer to pull and review the similarity report for
students while the onus is on the campus to withhold from marking all
assessments that were not submitted through the online anti-plagiarism tool that
should have been.
(4) The onus is on the student to ensure that the submission sheet at the designated
submission point is signed if online submission is not appropriate for the
assessment task, e.g. a teaching artefact.
(5) Students are required to keep copies of their assignments (preferably electronic)
or any other submitted work. The onus is on students to produce such a copy
should it be required. If the assessment is one for which a copy cannot be kept
(such as a practical piece of work that cannot be reproduced) the onus is on the
student to keep photographic evidence of the work in sufficient detail to allow
assessment of the work.
Campus Responsibilities
(1) The onus is on the campus to have a designated submission point where students
can sign that they have submitted their assignments that are not appropriate for
online submission. The onus is on the campus to be able to produce that sheet.
If a student has not signed the sheet, the assessment is considered not to have
been submitted.
(2) The onus is on the campus to have such a submission point available to students
during working hours, 48 hours in advance of the submission time.
(3) Campuses are required to return formative work to students – including practical
work. It is the responsibility of the student to collect formative work within 10
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Page 43 of 97
working days of results being released or the campuses are entitled to discard
the work.
(4) Campuses are responsible for ensuring that markers sign when collecting and
returning work for assessment, and that the signed class list indicates clearly how
many and which assessments are being collected and returned. The onus is on
the campus to check this when work is returned or given to markers.
Religious Concessions
(1) The IIE does not schedule assessments on Christian religious holidays or on the
following additional religious holidays.
Hindu Diwali
Jewish Pesach (Passover)
Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)
Rosh Hashanah (New Year)
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
Islamic Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Adha
(2) If the sitting of an assessment written under examination conditions is scheduled

on a religious holiday other than those listed above, and an application is made
at least 10 working days in advance on the Student Hub, a student may write in
the next available sitting.
(3) There are no concessions for submission dates for assessments not under
examination conditions for religious reasons.
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Special Need Concessions: Differently Abled

Students
(1) The IIE recognises that some students by virtue of being differently abled, having
a special learning requirement or a disability or other need including a chronic
illness, may require particular concessions in relation to this Assessment Strategy
and Policy. All concessions allowed and the process of applying for such
concessions are detailed in Appendix 1. A description of what is required to
manage each special need concession is detailed in Appendix 2.
(2) If an external service provider is used, then the campus needs to ensure that
students are fully informed about their responsibilities in terms of engaging with
the service provider, and how the special need concession will be managed. The
campus also needs to ensure that an additional invigilator is appointed to oversee
how the service provider is managing the students in tests and examinations.
Special Need Concessions: Chronic Mental and Physical

Conditions
(1) A student may request exceptions to policies of The IIE under exceptional special
circumstances which will include serious and debilitating chronic mental or
physical health conditions.
(2) Students must present compelling, exceptional, and documented circumstances

in making their request. Documentation must include a full medical or psychiatric,
or psychological report from a registered professional available for contact and
consultation on the request. The request must include the exact nature of the
exception being requested along with an indication of how long the exception may
be required. The request must include evidence, or a supporting affidavit
confirming student compliance with treatment and support in managing the
condition.
(3) The Independent Institute of Education’s policies and procedures are established
by Senate to protect the integrity of the academic experience and ensure equity
of offering across the Institute. Decisions about requests will be evaluated
according to the standards and principles embedded in the policies, and the
practical and other impacts of the exception requested on fairness and equity for
all students, as well as with due regard to protecting the reputation of the rigour
of our academic processes.
Application forms can be submitted at any time but are preferred prior to the first
assessment point in any module or course. These application forms must be
submitted to the person appointed by the campus to manage special
concessions.
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Once the campus has completed the necessary section of the application form,
the form is then sent via Intralink (SATS), either to the National Office, or directly
to the Dean of Academic Development and Support. These exceptions will be
reviewed annually in a manner determined by the Dean as appropriate for the
matter concerned.
Declined Exception Applications

(1) If an application is declined (either for lack of sufficient compelling evidence, or
because the reason does not qualify in terms of the policy, or because a
concession has already been made for another assessment for the reason
stipulated) the following applies:
a) In the case of formative assessments, if the student does not qualify for a
discretionary reweighting, a mark of 0% is entered.
b) In the case of summative assessments, a mark of 0% is entered.
(2) Students submitting incorrect query details (e.g. reason for application, date of
missed assessment, type of missed assessment, etc.) and incorrect dates,
modules, reasons, run the risk of having their application declined on that basis.
Students need to take precautions to ensure that they provide accurate
information on their application for replacement assessment.
Institutional Discretion – Reweighting of Formative

Assessment Contribution (Up to NQF Level 7 Only)
(1) A student may submit an application to the Campus Head to have one formative
assessment in a module reweighted to a maximum of two formative assessments
in a year. The IIE, through the Student Hub, after consideration of the application,
may at its discretion approve the application. If proven that exceptional
circumstances existed that resulted in a student missing both the formative and
replacement assessment opportunity granted in terms of exceptions to this policy,
no such reweighting at the discretion of the institution shall be possible under the
following circumstances:
a) Reweighting is not permitted for the formative assessment in modules that

only have one formative other than ICE.
b) Reweighting of part of a summative assessment; therefore, if a piece of
work submitted for formative assessment that will later form part of the
summative assessment is not completed, the student will get 0% for that
portion that is a contribution to CASS but will still be required to submit the
work for any summative assessment to be done.
c) Reweighting of ICE is not permitted.
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d) Reweighting of Brand Challenges/Brand Activation/Studio Week

submissions are not permitted.
(2) The process to be followed is:
a) The student must apply to the Campus Head within five working days of the
missed assessment.
b) A campus may, after written motivation from a student that the campus has
reviewed, make an application within two working days on behalf of the
student via the Hub.
c) The application must be properly motivated and include all supporting
evidence.
d) The campus designated person is responsible for applying for the
institutional reweight on the student’s behalf via the Hub via the backend
(CRM) using the reweight category.
e) The case – when saved, can be assigned to a specific Hub user if necessary
or simply left on the default CRM owner – depending on business
requirements.
f) The Hub grants/declines the reweight and communicates the outcome
directly with the student.
g) The email address for the response would be the IIEConnect email of the
student.
h) If the application is granted, the institutional reweight is processed by the
Hub on CAMS.
(3) If a student is found to have exaggerated or fabricated any information, a result

of 0% will be entered and a disciplinary investigation will be initiated.
(4) Reweighting means that the contribution of each formative assessment, other
than ICE, to the CASS mark for that module or subject, is proportionally
reweighted to cater for the test not written or the assignment not submitted. Thus,
the weighting of the remaining formatives, relative to each other, does not alter
although the relative contribution of each assessment to the overall mark
increases.
(5) If an institutional reweight is not awarded, a mark of 0% is entered for the missed
formative.
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Exceptions for Honours Research Reports for Students

Studying Part-time
(1) Part-time honours students on programmes where all the non-research modules
are presented in two semesters can submit their research reports at the end of
the third semester and complete their Honours in 18 months or they may opt to
submit the research report on the same date as full-time Honours students in the
fourth semester (2nd academic semester of that calendar year).
Assessments During Suspension Periods

(1) During a period of suspension while a disciplinary case is in progress, students –
even those who have been suspended from the campus – must complete
assessments (formative and summative) but will not receive the results for such
assessments until the disciplinary process is concluded. It is the responsibility of
the campus to make appropriate arrangements for the student and to
communicate with the student accordingly, but it remains the responsibility of the
student to be available for such communication. The campus would have
discharged its responsibility if it can show it communicated accordingly with the
student on the relevant official e-mail address. It is the responsibility of the
campus to check the summative results of these students and to notify the student
if they have qualified for a resubmission or supplementary examination.
(2) If suspension with access to assessments is the penalty following a completed

disciplinary, the onus is on the student to contact the campus to arrange
assessments while the campus retains the responsibility for communicating
resubmissions or supplementary examination eligibility.
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Procedures for Lost Assessments

Procedure for Lost Assessments Under Non-Examination
Conditions
Assessments written under Non-

exam conditions
The campus A student is
is able to able to submit
The campus is unable to provide a provide a a copy within
submission sheet for submission 24 hours of
sheet for the being
the rest of the class therefore unable to rest of the requested to
prove whether class thereby do so
indicating an
or not the student submitted the assignment
assessment was not
submitted by
the student
Formative: Summative: A mark of zero

The
Accept an accept the Formative assessment
and will be entered
institutional class average is assessed
rewreighting Summative: without
of the Submit a new penalty
assessment assessment
contribution to within three
CASS working days.
This
assessment
will be
capped at
50%
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Procedure for Lost Assessments Written under Exam

Conditions
1) The onus is on the campus to provide attendance registers and invigilator’s
reports and students are given the benefit of the doubt in the absence of the
campus providing such evidence.
2) When the campus can provide evidence in the form of an invigilation report that
the student did not undertake the assessment, a mark of 0% is entered.
Assessments written under exam

conditions
Where a formative assessment which counts towards

CASS and a summative assessment has been written
by a student and there is an attendance and invigilator
record
Formative:
Elect to accept an Formative and
institutional
Summative:
reweighting of the Summative: Formative and
contribution of the Accept the
Use their Summative:
assessment even average mark
CASS mark as Write another
if the institution awarded to the
has had to their final mark assessment
class as their
reweight other mark
assessments
already
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Procedures for Corrupt and Missing Electronic Files

(1) When an assessment is submitted in the form of an electronic file and it is found
to be corrupt the student is required, within 24 hours of being notified of the
corruption, to produce a copy (back up) of the file with the same or earlier date
and time stamp as the earlier submission and it will then be marked without
penalty. If the back-up was not kept or has a later date and time stamp, it will not
be marked and a mark of 0% will be entered.
(2) The same principle will apply for corrupt files during an examination condition
assessment – if the corruption has been caused by a problem on the campus, the
student will be permitted to re-sit the assessment at a time convenient to the
campus. In the case of a corrupt recording during an oral examination, the result
captured will be based on the student’s performance during the oral assessment.
(3) If the student file is lost due to the student not saving the file at all or regularly
enough or deleting the file, a mark of 0% will be entered. The log for the file will
be used to ascertain this.
(4) If the student work (formative or summative) has been saved in the wrong place
but the student is able to indicate where it was saved, and it is found in that place
or if the wrong naming convention has been used but the work is in the right place,
the work, if found, will still be marked but will be capped at 50%.
Summative Entry – CASS Subminimum

(1) In order to gain entry into the summative assessment of a module/subject in a full
qualification, students need a weighted average of 40% in the CASS mark as long
as there are three or more elements that make up the CASS mark.
(2) There is no CASS subminimum for summative entry for the following:
a) Where there are two or fewer formative marks;

b) Portfolios of Evidence and Dissertation;
c) Short Learning Programmes;
d) Special Exam and Discontinuation exams (see relevant sections).
(3) Students who have not met the requirements for entry into the summative
assessment of a module will have failed that module and will be indicated as DNQ
(did not qualify) on the Academic Transcript of the student.
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Sittings of Assessments Under Examination

Conditions (Formative and Summative)
Sittings
(1) Summative examinations are scheduled in three sittings and are not normally
written at any other time. Students are generally required to write assessments
under exam conditions during the first sitting. Only in exceptional circumstances
(see exceptions section 10.2) will a student be permitted to attempt the
assessment in a second (or subsequent) sitting.
(2) Under normal circumstances, the first attempt at an examination will be in the first
sitting, the supplementary attempt in the second sitting and any special
examinations in the third sitting.
(3) Formative tests are normally scheduled over two sittings.
Sitting Requirements for Summative Examinations

(1) In the case of examinations, there are two sets of conditions – the one relates to
the first attempt at the summative examination and the other to second or
additional attempts (usually supplementary examinations).
First Attempts at a Summative Examination
(1) In most instances, students have two opportunities to succeed in an examination,

provided they meet certain conditions.
(2) No more than three sittings will be provided in each examination period and
therefore a fourth attempt may be in a different period or different year (this is only
in cases where the module is one of their last two outstanding modules and/or the
module is being discontinued). If this is the case, the onus is then on the student
to master any changes in the curriculum that may have occurred.
(3) Any student who sits the examination for the first time in the third sitting, and
subsequently qualifies for a supplementary assessment may need to write that
supplementary assessment in the first sitting of the next academic cycle when the
module is ordinarily offered. If the curriculum or learning material has changed,
the onus is on the student to master the new content or to elect to repeat the
module. The onus is on the student to find out what changes, if any, have been
made.
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Supplementary Examinations/Resubmissions and

Summative Sub-Minima
Sub-minima and Access to the Supplementary
Examination/Opportunity to Resubmit
(1) A contact undergraduate student who receives a minimum of 30% for a
summative assessment for all full qualification modules, up to and including NQF
Level 7 (degree third-year level), is permitted a second opportunity to write the
examination (known as a supplementary examination (SUP)) or resubmit the
summative assessment if it is a portfolio or practical.
(2) At NQF Level (module-level) 8 and above the subminimum for a supplementary
examination or resubmission is set at 40%.
(3) The resubmission or supplementary mark is capped at 50% and becomes the
final module mark overriding any CASS contribution.
(4) There is no subminimum for short learning programme (SLP) modules.
Timing of Supplementary or Deadline for Resubmission

(1) The supplementary examination will be written in the next sitting for examinations
or as communicated on the official assessment schedule of the campus.
(2) The resubmission date for non-examination summative assessments will also be
communicated in advance on the official assessment schedule of the campus.
Practical/Portfolio/Work Integrated Learning Portfolios require the resubmissions
to be an improved section of the originally submitted work and both the original
and improved work need to be resubmitted.
(3) No further opportunity to rewrite or resubmit the summative is allowed except

where the examination concerned represents the final assessment for the final
two modules/courses to complete the learning programme (see Section 19) or
where the module is subject to special provisions as it is being discontinued (see
Section 20).
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Special Assessments (Examinations and

Resubmissions)
(1) Special examinations are for undergraduate students who have only two modules
outstanding preventing them from graduating. All special examinations take place
in the third sitting. An application for a special assessment must be lodged by the
student on the Student Hub.
(2) If the application has been made less than five working days before the
assessment is to be written and the application has not yet been approved, or no
application was made, the following may apply (depending on the circumstances):
a) If a paper and invigilator is available, the student will be permitted to write,

and the marking of the special examination will be delayed until the eligibility
of the student has been confirmed.
b) If a paper and invigilator are not available an alternate date (which is
probably the next sitting) will be provided once the eligibility of the student
has been confirmed.
c) If an invigilator is available but not a paper, a copy can be made for the
student, but the start of the examination will be delayed for that student and
additional time will be provided to the student. The marking of the paper will
be delayed until the eligibility of the student has been confirmed.
(3) Students with only two modules outstanding for graduation may if they have
attempted these modules before and not succeeded for any reason, qualify for
the special examination.
(4) Where a student fails to attend the special examination sitting (for any reason
whatsoever), they forfeit the opportunity to graduate in the next cycle and will have
to repeat the module or register for the special examination again in the next cycle
of examination sittings. The only exception applies to modules that are being
phased out and will not be available again – in this case, the discontinuation
provisions apply.
(5) A mark cap of 50% applies for the examination result and becomes the final mark
replacing the CASS contribution.
(6) Students who write their supplementary examination in the third sitting will not be
afforded a special examination in the same academic year as there are no more
than three examination sittings per module.
(7) Students are not required to write the special examination in the year in which
they registered for it and may apply to write the special examination in any year
within the maximum completion time of the qualification.
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If the student has exceeded maximum completion time, an application needs to

be made to write the special examination, under the provisions of the Credit
Accumulation and Transfer, Recognition of Prior Learning and Qualification
Completion Policy (IIE010).
(8) If the curriculum or learning material has changed, the onus is on the student to
master the new content or to elect to repeat the module. The onus is on the
student to find out what changes, if any, have been made.
(9) If the summative assessment for the module concerned is a portfolio or other form
of assessment not completed under examination conditions, the special
examination is a resubmission of the work required at a date communicated by
the site, which should not be more than two weeks after the application for the
special examination is submitted.
(10) If a student fails the special examination they are required to re-register for the
module unless it has been discontinued, in which case, those provisions apply.
(11) For those students who have been admitted to degree study conditionally while
they are permitted to repeat modules from their higher certificate the following
apply:
a) If the student does not complete their higher certificate by the end of the first
year of study of the degree, they will not be permitted to register for any
second level modules until the higher certificate is complete.
b) They may however repeat any failed first-level degree modules while they
repeat their higher certificate modules.
Discontinuation Examinations
(1) Where a module or a qualification is being phased out, The IIE will provide a
discontinuation summative assessment in the year immediately after the
module/qualification no longer has students registered in the module/qualification.
(2) Any student who has not yet completed the module or qualification may apply on
the Student Hub to sit this summative assessment in that year only.
(3) A booster workshop needs to be provided.
(4) If the summative is a portfolio of evidence or similar, students can resubmit their
assessment and do not have to complete a new one. If the summative is under
examination conditions, a new assessment is provided.
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(5) However, the mark for this discontinuation assessment is capped at 50% and
becomes the final mark for the module and replaces the CASS contribution.
Assessment and Other Rules for Qualifications,

Modes of Offering and Curricula being
Discontinued
Definition and Application
(1) The IIE may elect to discontinue offering a qualification, or curriculum, or mode of
offering to new students on a campus, at a brand, or in its entirety. The offering
is then phased out over a period and these are referred to as “phase-out”
arrangements.
(2) If this section, or the policy, does not cater for the scenario of a particular student,
a decision, coherent with the principles of this policy and the policies of The IIE
as a whole, may be made by the Registrar, or the Director, or a Dean in
consultation with the Head of Faculty concerned.
(3) Section 29 of this policy applies to a module being removed from a qualification
or substituted with another module.
General Principles when Phasing-Out

(1) An offering can be phased out entirely (all modes) on one or more campuses,
across a whole brand, across the whole institution, or one or more modes of
offering can be phased out across a campus, or campuses, or the institution as a
whole.
(2) When an offering is to be phased out, assessment concessions apply to modules

from the first time that there are no new students in the first year of study
(programme) of that offering.
(3) Concessions will then apply to all years of study and thus all modules in that
offering.
(4) The aim of concessions is to give students the best possible chance of completing
their qualification successfully, as soon as possible, without academic quality
compromise.
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Assessment Concessions when an Offering is being

Phased-Out
(1) As soon as an offering goes into the phase-out process, all students registered
on any modules in that offering get three summative assessment opportunities to
successfully finish a module.
(2) If the module has still not been passed after the three summative assessment
opportunities, additional requirements apply (see 21.3 (5)).
(3) In order to make access to these opportunities easier, there is no CASS

subminimum for entrance to the summative, and there is no subminimum level
required for access to the supplementary examination/assessment. Pre-requisite
requirements fall away, and pre-requisites are treated as co-requisites.
(4) Any student who has failed the supplementary assessment may write a
discontinuation examination/resubmit their assessment (third assessment
opportunity) for that module the next time there is an examination sitting for that
module. The discontinuation examination, as well as the supplementary
examination, are capped at 50%, and the CASS contribution to the final mark for
the module falls away.
(5) If a student has still not passed a module after the three attempts and does not
qualify for a special examination under the qualification completion provisions, the
following options for that module are:
a) Repeat the module if the module is still being offered in any qualification on
that campus, or another campus in the city where the student resides or is
registered, or in the distance mode.
b) Register for an alternative module or replacement, where one has been
identified by the Faculty, and be awarded internal credit against the required
module.
c) Register for a similar approved module at another institution and be
awarded an external credit against the required module.
(6) If all of the module completion options in the paragraph above have been
exhausted and the student still has not completed their qualification, they will be
required to register on a different curriculum for the same qualification or for a
different qualification – and be given credits as appropriate.
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Campus Arrangements and Contact Time

(1) The contact time (in the form of lectures or any other contact) can be reduced for
a module in an offering that is being discontinued to 40% (10 hours become four
hours) when there are no new students enrolled in that module in the offering
under consideration.
(2) One repeat opportunity for every module must be available in an offering that is
being discontinued. Where a student has interrupted his or her studies, the
student may not be able to benefit from the repeat-offering.
(3) If for any reason a module is repeated again for any group of students who have
already had one repeat opportunity, the contact time given may be reduced
drastically to no more than booster sessions or workshops. This would usually
apply to scenarios where students were informed of a phase-out post the
submission date of the first formative for a particular academic year.
Phase-out Planning for Discontinued Offerings

(1) It is the joint responsibility of the Faculty and the brand to apply to Faculty Board
to phase-out an offering. The full details of the associated plan are then noted by
the Academic Planning and Development Committee after Faculty Board
approval.
(2) When a phase-out is planned, it is the responsibility of the Faculty to:
a) Design, with the brands concerned, a plan for all students who will be
impacted, that includes: a communication plan and letters, the student
information system implications including the graduation reports and
transcripts, and the record of the changes;
b) Ensure that the plan accommodates all students registered up to and
including the maximum time for those registered at the time that the last
intake is accepted;
c) Identify alternative modules for all the modules where possible, and where
the replacement module has a different credit value from the original module
approval is needed from the Faculty Board for the substitution;
d) Explicitly identify the path to graduation for those students for whom there
are no internal alternative modules;
e) Track and manage the curriculum arrangements, which include recording
all changes to the initial arrangements with the relevant Faculty Board.
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Phase-out/Discontinuation Communication
(1) If discontinuation is planned, all students currently registered for that offering
need to be notified in writing as close as possible to the beginning of the year
that the offering for which they are registered will be phased out, and that they
have a limited time to complete the offering.
(2) This communication must include the following:
a) Exact nature of the phase-out (curriculum or qualification or mode).

b) Phase-out schedule indicating the last year of the offering of each of the
impacted modules that are to be discontinued as part of the offering (See
Annexure 1 which should be edited for the relevant qualification).
c) Details of alternative modules or curricula if there are any.
d) Details of any concessions that will apply to assist students to complete
their qualifications.
e) Details of the impact of failing to complete the offering in the timelines given.
f) Who to contact to discuss the arrangements.
Exemption from Completion of a Module due to

Curriculum Change for Students Within Maximum
Completion Time
(1) An exemption from successful completion of no more than two modules (ECC)
may be applied to the curriculum of the student if:
a) The IIE does not have a replacement or alternative module available for a
student who has not interrupted their study, or
b) If the student did interrupt their study, there is also not an alternative module
available at an external provider that can be recognised for credit.
(2) And:
a) The modules have not been designated as core to the exit level outcomes
of the qualification by the Faculty at the time that the phase-out was
planned; and
b) The total credit value of the two modules being exempted must be less than
20% of the total credits for the qualification.
(3) An application for ECC must be lodged by the student on the Student Hub.
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Outstanding Modules: Special

Examinations/Assessments
Students with One or Two Modules Outstanding within
Maximum Completion Time
(1) If a student, who is within maximum completion time, has two modules
outstanding preventing them from graduation, the following options are available:
a) If they have previously attempted the module/s, even if they did not
originally achieve CASS for that module, they are given an additional
summative examination/assessment called a special examination for the
two modules.
b) If they fail the special examination, they are required to repeat the module
either on the same campus, or at another campus, or as a distance student
if the module is available in the distance mode.
c) Where a student fails to attend the special examination sitting (for any
reason whatsoever), they forfeit the opportunity to graduate in the next cycle
and will have to repeat the module or register for the special examination
again in the next cycle of examination sittings. The only exception applies
to modules that are being phased out and will not be available again – in
this case, the discontinuation provisions apply.
(2) The conditions as per section 22 above apply.
Students with More than Two Modules Outstanding

within Maximum Completion Time
(1) If a student has not exceeded maximum completion time and there are
replacement or alternative modules available, the student must complete the
replacement or alternative modules for award of the original qualification.
(2) The conditions are per section 22 above can only apply once a student has two
or fewer modules remain.
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Students with More than Two Modules Outstanding

Beyond Maximum Completion Time
(1) Please see the definition of maximum completion time in Section 4.3 of the Credit
Accumulation and Transfer, Recognition of Prior Learning and Qualification
Completion Policy (IIE010).
(2) If the student has exceeded maximum completion time but the qualification is still
open on the student administration system (three years after the last ordinary
cohort has graduated) and there are replacement or alternative modules
available, the student may apply for an extension of completion time and complete
the modules for award of the original qualification.
(3) If there are no replacement or alternative modules or the qualification has been
closed (three years after graduation of the last ordinary cohort) but the modules
have not expired, they can be used as credits towards a currently available
qualification.
Assessment of Out of Semester Repeat Offerings

Impacted Offerings
(1) Where permitted by the Teaching and Learning Strategy (IIE022) a module may
be repeated with reduced contact time out of normal semester scheduling.
(2) These “supported interventions” seek to reduce the load on students who have to
repeat some critical modules by making these available in this format outside of
the normal scheduling cycles.
(3) Any student who has registered for that module in its normal offering and has not
yet completed it can participate in the supported intervention offering of the
module if the module has not changed significantly.
(4) Only students registered for it in the immediately preceding offer of that module
are individually informed of its offering.
(5) For each module that is offered in this way, the relevant years of prior attempts
that are eligible attempt this intervention will be communicated more generally
such as on the portals.
(6) All supported intervention modules must be listed on the portals so that students
can book to attend.
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(7) A fee may be charged but may not be more than 50% of the normal cost of
repeating the module.
(8) Some of the reasons for the offering could include:
a) A module is a prerequisite module for progression into another academic

year and is one that is a hurdle for progress for students.
b) A model can be considered core to one or more exit level outcomes of a
qualification and thus student mastery will support overall progression.
c) A module or year of study or qualification is in phase-out and offering in this
truncated manner will enable student progression in the best possible time.
d) The performance of students in this module is below the required target and
the number of students impacted suggests that failure to progress may
impact overall on graduation and retention.
e) There has been a significant change in performance year on year in a
module that is either unexplained or linked to another change such as
changes in prescribed texts.
f) Large numbers of students need to repeat which will impact on class sizes
for the next cohort.
g) A rerun or rewrite for the module has not been approved already.
(9) Brands report the modules run in this intervention to the next Faculty Boards.
The Structure of the Supported Examination Intervention

(1) Supported intervention modules are scheduled between semesters and will be
timetabled (as far as possible) to be completed before the formal academic
timetable commences in the following semester.
(2) Supported examination interventions will be two to three weeks in duration.
(3) Normally these modules involve 40% of the normal contact time for the module
offering.
(4) The focus of the sessions is on the subject material, paying particular attention to
traditionally difficult/problematic areas within the module.
(5) Lecturers must identify and address challenging areas as revealed in the
students’ responses in the formative and summative assessments.
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Assessment in a Supported Intervention

(1) There are no formative assessments. The result of the summative assessment is
the result for the module.
(2) Students are registered in this module as a repeat attempt and only one result is
captured which is capped at 50%.
(3) Wherever possible, existing summative assessments prepared for sitting 3 are
used.
(4) Where this is not possible, the same procedure as for reruns is used.
(5) The summative assessment normally runs in a tight block with three sessions a
day. Where a student has registered for more than two modules, this may involve
writing more than one assessment per day.
Missed Exam Sittings

(1) If a student misses the assessment, they will be given one opportunity to write
with the next ordinary group if there is one and with the discontinuation students
if there is not.
Rules for Modules that are Replaced in a

Curriculum
(1) If a module is to be replaced in a qualification, students registered on that module
will be offered a module replacement examination or assessment normally written
in the third sitting, whenever that may be. This assessment opportunity is
available to all students registered in any qualification in which a module is being
replaced. The mark is capped at 50%. No other assessment exceptions apply.
(2) If, after the module replacement examination or assessment, a student has still
not successfully completed the module, the student must register for the
replacement module.
(3) The original module will be annotated as RM on the transcript of the student.
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Rules for Modules that are Removed from a

Curriculum and not Replaced
(1) If a module is removed from a qualification without being replaced, the faculty
must plan for an alternative so that students registered in the module who will be
offered a module replacement examination or assessment normally written in the
third sitting, whenever that may be. This assessment opportunity is available to
all students registered in any qualification in which a module is not replaced. The
mark is captured at 50%. No other assessment exceptions apply.
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Institutional Issues Impacting Assessment

Rewrites
Errors in a paper which Errors in the paper which

Any other reasons for
affect more than 10% of affect less than 10% of the
rewrite
the marks marks
Students are automatically Will be considered on a cases
afforded a rewrite regarded as by case basis by the faculty.
their 1st sitting. Depending on the reason for the
rewrite one booster session may
This will take place in the be required to ensure students
supplementary sitting and a are clear on the scope of the
further supplementary The question is assessment to be rewritten.
opportunity will be afforded if disregarded,
required.
and the paper is marked
The rewrite mark will stand and A rewrite replaces the
students will not be allowed to out of a lower total. examination or test and
take back their original mark therefore does not negatively
affect access to supplementary
Rewrites are optional, for examinations, special
students who not not opt to examinations, or the sittings
rewrite, their original mark will during which these are
stand. scheduled.
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Reruns
The exceptional circumstances under which a module may be re-taught
(re-run)
(1) Operational issues
a) Significant timetabling/scheduling that could not be addressed during the

course of the module.
b) Evidence of poor student success rates may be presented to support the
effect of operational issues. There should be significant differences
between the cross-campus success rates.
(2) Lecturer-specific issues
a) Significant problems with a lecturer.

b) Evidence of poor student success rates may be presented to support the
campus-specific issues. There should be significant differences between
the cross-campus success rates.
(3) A lack of constructive alignment
a) These are significant systematic problems in the module, specifically a lack

of congruence between the module outcomes, learning materials, content,
and assessments.
b) If such significant issues are raised during the course of the module, the
decision to re-run the module can be taken during the course of the module.
All brands and all campuses will be required to rerun a module under these
circumstances.
c) Alternately, in the case above, if the issue is identified early enough, another
intervention could be attempted to avoid the need to rerun.
d) Evidence of student success rates may be presented to support the
argument for a lack of constructive alignment. The cross-campus success
rates should be similar but significantly lower than previously or lower than
the other rates for similar modules for the same group.
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The process of approving re-runs
The HOF makes a

recommendation, which
then must be approved by
the Dean: Academic
Development and Support
The campus and the CAT General
completes a FAN Manager. Only once this
report detailing approval has been
the problem and received may the re-run
the remedial be rolled out.
action taken. This
is assigned to the
brand's National
Office. If the HoF determines
that if the re-run is The National Offices
necessary as a result are responsible for
of a lack of reporting reruns to
constructive each faculty board
alignment, then the meeting where they
The National Office HOF must consider have approved them
assesses the merit of requiring the – the reason for the
the arguments rerun on other rerun as well as the
presented in the FAN campuses or brands. remedial action taken
report, and endorses, to address the
including reasons for the shortcoming that
endorsement. The FAN resulted in the rerun
report is then assigned
to the Head of Faculty
must be included in
(HOF) and copied to the the report to the
If the HOF does not
CAT Operations believe that the FAN Faculty Board.
Manager, CAT General report contains
Manager and Dean: sufficient analysis of
Academic Development evidence of why the
and Support. problem happened
and how it will be
prevented in future,
the HoF may request
additional analysis
and evidence be
The HoF provided.
assesses
the FAN
report.
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The conditions under which a re-run is conducted
a) Re- runs are free of charge to affected students.

b) Not compulsory for students who choose to
retain their original mark but once a student has
completed or submitted the rerun summative
Conditions assessment they may not revert to the original
mark.
relating to c) All students who registered on a campus for a
module which is to be rerun are notified in writing,
students individually, to their billing address and to their
IIEConnect e-mail address, that this option is
available. A copy of this notification is to be
lodged as an attachment to the FAN report when
it has been done.
Conditions • Not normally offered by the same person who

relating to initially taught the module, particularly if a
lecturer problem was identified.
lecturers
Conditions
• Offered in reduced contact time(can be
relating to reduced to 30% of the original contact time).
teaching time
• Re-runs are assessed through summative

assessments only – the summative assessment is
the final mark for the module; if this is a portfolio or
project the scope and intensity may be reduced
from the original requirement by the Head of
Faculty Just to confirm – no CASS consideration
Conditions for a rerun situation?
relating to • The summative assessment is marked to the full
normal allocations and supplementary options
assessment remain in place.
• The original formative assessment marks are
replaced by the new mark achieved for the
summative and the new summative mark is
captured in the “aegrotat” field on the student
administration system.
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(1) National offices are responsible for ensuring the development of quality
assessments according to these requirements:
a) National offices should consult with the Central Academic Team (CAT) to
find out if there are unused assessments that will not be required for special
or discontinuation summative assessment reasons, for the module before
briefing new ones.
b) Where these are not available, the national offices are responsible for
identifying a lecturer to set the summative assessment and for an internal
moderation process.
c) The assessments (including memoranda, on the required template) and the
changes made by the internal moderator need to be submitted to the Head
of Programme (HoP) for moderation at least 15 working days before
commencement of the intended rerun, with required changes completed at
least one week before the assessment date.
d) If the quality of the assessment is such that the HoP cannot authorise its
use, a person will be contracted by the HoP and paid by the brand, to set
an additional assessment.
Assessment Errors during and after Assessment Sittings

Procedures for addressing errors in assessments identified after a sitting
has been completed.
(1) In instances in which there are errors identified in papers (tests or examinations)
during or after the marking process, the possibilities are:
a) A rewrite is afforded to all students following the rewrite rules in the policy.
b) If the error impacts 10% or less of a paper, the relevant question/s are
disregarded.
Procedures for addressing errors in assessments identified while

students are writing
(1) As soon as an error is detected or reported, the campus must contact the
designated person in the national office.
(2) Students should be told not to continue with that question until an answer is
received.
(3) Students should not be permitted to leave the assessment venue until the way
forward is communicated.
(4) The HoP responsible for the paper must be available telephonically for the
duration of the sitting of the paper. If s/he is on leave, it is his/her responsibility to
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(5) have arranged for their Head of Faculty to be available and for the CAT
Operations Manager to know this.
(6) The National Office must contact the relevant HoP telephonically – if they do not
have the number of the HoP, it can be obtained from the CAT Operations
Manager.
(7) The National Office should simultaneously open a Nexus query, except in cases
where the query could be resolved by the National Office without CAT input or
intervention.
(8) The HoP is required to investigate immediately and to consult with a Head of
Faculty or the Operations Manager on the way forward.
(9) The decision is to be communicated to the national offices to forward to the

affected campuses.
(10) The options are:
a) If the error can be corrected in under 10 minutes and a correct question

provided, this should be done, and students should be given double
additional time to include the correct question. This time should be allocated
even if only part of a question needs to be corrected. In other words, if the
question was worth 10 marks, students are to be given 20 minutes
additional time to attempt the new question.
b) Where a query was raised by more than one campus and if a decision is
made within the 10 minutes that there is indeed no problem with the
question/s, the students on those campuses are given an additional 10
minutes to compensate for the disruption and are required to complete the
whole paper.
c) If it takes longer than 10 minutes from the original report to decide that there
is not a problem with the question/s, students are given additional time to
the value of the question to complete the whole paper.
d) If the error cannot be corrected in under 10 minutes, the students are to be
told within the 10 minutes to disregard the question and complete the paper
– no time should be taken from the total original time allocated. No rewrite
is required unless once investigated 27.3.2 (10) f) and g) are applicable.
e) If the question/s constitutes 10% or less of the paper and is/are not
remedied, the paper is marked out of a lower total excluding the question.
No rewrite is required.
f) If the question/questions constitute more than 10% but less than 20% of the
paper, students are offered a rewrite option or may elect to retain their
original mark which will exclude the mark of the original question.
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g) If the question/questions constitute more than 20% of the paper, students

will be required to do a rewrite.
Examiners and Assessors

(1) Examiners should be intimately involved with the development of assessment
material.
(2) Assessors need to be suitably skilled and qualified to assess. Higher education
assessors must hold a relevant qualification at least one level higher than they
are teaching.
Assessment Security
Procedures for Distribution of Question Papers for
Assessments under Examination Conditions
Master Copies
(1) Sitting 1 (Tests and Exams)
a) Assessment documents (question papers, memoranda, and answer books)

are distributed by CAT to the approved secure printer and logistics partner
using a secure online system, 16 working days (not counting the day of the
assessment) before the assessment is due to be written. Modules are
grouped into batches for printing purposes. The printers print the full
quantity of papers with one memorandum per module, as provided by the
Central Academic Team (CAT). The brands that have more than one
National Office will not receive a separate master set of assessments but
will access theirs through the site they are on. Others receive one master
set of assessments delivered in the same secure manner as for sites, to
use for any assessment queries on the day.
b) A minimum of five working days prior to the first assessment in a batch
being written, the crates containing the assessments, memoranda and
answer books, are couriered to the respective campuses. One and a half
answer books are packed per student.
c) Codes to unlock crates are sent via SMS, five working days in advance, to
the relevant persons on campus.
d) All assessment documents are packed in tamperproof sealed plastic bags
and clearly labelled for checking purposes with module code, module name,
group, and date of assessment. These are then packed in crates and
securely locked.
e) Campuses are required to make additional copies of the memorandum, for
lecturers, from the hard copy received. This is done post the sitting having
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taken place. The relevant logbook or assessment tracker needs to be

amended to reflect the number of copies made and it needs to be matched
to the number of returned memorandums.
(2) Sitting 2 (Exams) and Replacement Tests:
a) A similar process to Sitting 1 is followed for Sitting 2 assessment

documents, with the only difference being that only one copy of the question
paper is printed.
b) Campuses need to copy the required number of papers based on the
relevant SAM report, using the master copy received.
The sealed bags are opened five working days in advance and the logbook
or relevant assessment tracker is updated to reflect the copying process.
Copied assessments are then stored in the secure facility on campus.
c) Any exceptions where an assessment needs to be sent via email, must be
password protected. The password must be sent in a separate email to the
relevant person and or sent via SMS.
Printed Copies
(1) When the campuses receive the delivery of the printed copies, the Assessment
Officer on the campus places the duplicated assessment documents in a secure
storage facility and the logbook or assessment tracker is updated accordingly. As
stipulated above, the assessment documents are received in sealed tamperproof
bags, inside secured crates.
(2) Once the SMS code for the locks is received, the Campus Principal or a
designated deputy or Vice-Principal or the designated assessment officer,
together with the appropriate Campus Administrator, removes the assessments
from the crates and completes the checklist received, comparing the checklist
against the packing list. Any discrepancies are raised with CAT.
(3) Only the crates can be opened – no envelopes may be opened.

a)
(4) On the day of the assessment, the Invigilator collects the assessment papers and
the logbook or assessment tracker is updated accordingly.
(5) Campus reconciliations of answer books and question papers must be done after
each assessment and the stock list (answer books), and the logbook (assessment
documents), needs to be updated. Additional question papers not used must be
shredded by the campus.
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Procedures for Distribution of Answer Books/Sheets

(1) Answer books per brand are printed on an annual basis by an approved secure
printer.
(2) An opening general balance of 600 books is sent to the campuses with the first
assessment batch. These are books to be used for replacement tests and if
additional books are needed. The balance is carefully reconciled.
(3) The answer books are securely wrapped and clearly marked. Any unused answer
books are returned to the Assessment Officer on campus and a running total of
books on hand is kept and reconciled after each sitting.
Procedures for Disposing of Assessment Documents

Post Assessment
(1) Once an assessment has been completed, the assessment instruments (papers)
need be returned to the relevant Assessment Officer and logged on the script
tracker. The script tracker needs to be completed in full.
(2) The returned assessment instruments need to be placed in a secure storage until
they are destroyed. This needs to be done within three working days of the
assessment being written. Campuses do not need to keep a master copy of
assessments. The logbook or assessment tracker needs to be updated once all
assessment documents have been destroyed to reflect this.
(3) Lecturers are required to return the memorandum and/or rubric when they return
marked assessments and should be reminded that they are not permitted to retain
a copy in any format. The logbook or assessment tracker needs to be updated
when the memoranda are returned and again when they are destroyed.
(4) At no time may memoranda in any form be shared with students or retained by
lecturers.
Assessment Copying Security

On-Site Printing/Copying
(1) The copier must be under the direct control and supervision of an assessment
officer. The copier must not be in a public office or if it is, no person other than the
Assessment Officer should have access to this office while the printing/copying is
being done.
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(2) The Campus Assessment Officer removes the assessment documents from the
secure storage facility and does the printing or copying (or has it done by an
assessment administrator).
(3) Logbooks and relevant assessment trackers need to be maintained.
(4) Once printed/copied, the documents are stored (papers and memoranda in
separate envelopes) in the secure facility on campus.
Outsourced Printing/Copying
(1) A confidentiality agreement must be signed with the outsourced party after
consultation with the Registrar and after a physical inspection of the outsourced
facility by a member of the national team that vouches for the arrangements.
(2) If the printing is being managed by CAT, then the Operations Manager and
Registrar must have inspected the premises of the outsourced party to assure
themselves of the security in relation to the printing; if it is managed at a site level,
the Principal needs to have done this inspection and reported accordingly to the
Registrar.
(3) Delivery and collection of master copies (whether hard copy or digital) and printed
copies must be documented and must include logbooks or assessment trackers
and sealed boxes and/or envelopes.
Invigilation and Assessment Procedures

Appointment of Invigilators
(1) The campuses are responsible for the selection and appointment of suitable
invigilators. The following should be considered when making such an
appointment:
a) Previous experience in an academic environment;

b) Assertiveness of the candidate;
c) Maturity of the candidate.
(2) The following conditions apply:
a) The ratio of invigilator to students should not exceed 1:50 – if any venue will
only have one invigilator, a second person must be available on a cell phone
and able to come to the venue immediately, if needed, to either assist or
relieve the Invigilator.
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b) There must be two people in the venue at the end of the session to handle
the reconciliation of papers.
c) Where there is more than one invigilator in a venue, one person needs to
be designated as the Chief Invigilator.
d) Any person who has taught the class may invigilate, provided they are not
the only lecturer/invigilator present with students.
e) On any campus on which students are writing in additional venues as part
of a special concession arrangement, an invigilator is required to check on
the venues concerned at least twice every hour.
Training of Invigilators
(1) All invigilators will be required to attend a compulsory training session in which,
inter alia, the following points will be discussed in detail:
a) Invigilation and assessment procedures.

b) Assessment rules and regulations.
c) Invigilation Feedback Report.
d) Procedures for managing irregularities during tests/examinations.
(2) These will be held once a semester.
Paper Security
(1) On the day of the assessment, the Assessment Officer, together with the
appointed invigilator/s, removes the assessments from the secure storage facility
and updates the logbook or relevant assessment tracker accordingly.
Notifying Students of Assessments and Venues

(1) The Assessment Officer or Administrator will provide details of the examination
timetable on designated notice boards and/or on the student portal or equivalent
at the beginning of each semester.
(2) The Assessment Officer or Administrator will advise the Invigilator of the
examination venue and will ensure that students are advised of venues at least
five working days prior to the examination starting time.
Venue Preparation and Access

(1) A seating plan is required for each venue, organised by student name. These
seats need to be pre-allocated and indicated on the seating plan.
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(2) There needs to be at least one “workstation” between students sitting next to each
other or at the very least, students next to each other may not be writing the same
subject (irrespective of year of study).
(3) Desks need to be marked with the numbering system used on the seating plan.
(4) At least one invigilator should be in the venue 45 minutes prior to the
commencement of the examination to seat students and to ensure that the
integrity of the room is preserved and that students have no opportunity to access
the room unattended. Other invigilators must be in the venue 30 minutes before
the commencement of the session.
(5) Students are not permitted to write in any venue and/or seat other than the one
to which they have been allocated.
(6) Students may only gain entry into the assessment venue on presentation of one
of the following photo identification documents, and it is the responsibility of the
Invigilator to ensure that this is the case:
a) Valid student card;

b) RSA Identification document;
c) RSA photo driver’s licence;
d) Valid passport.
(7) Should a student not have one of the above documents, the student will be
refused entry into the assessment (under examination conditions) and be required
to apply for a replacement in the case of a formative and apply for an additional
opportunity provision in the case of a summative assessment – please refer to
Section 10.2.2.
(8) Such replacements form part of the allocation of replacement assessment

opportunities in the rest of the Policy.
(9) Should a student have one of the above identification documents, but does not
reflect on the seating plan, or appear on the CASS list, the student needs to see
the relevant Campus Administrator immediately. S/he will be provided with a
permission slip that needs to be presented to the invigilator, with her/his
identification. The permission slip needs to be signed by the Campus
Administrator and stamped with the official campus stamp. The student will then
be manually allocated a seat by the invigilator. It is the responsibility of the
relevant campus person to follow up and ensure the person is reflected on the
system and or any system issues addressed.
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(10) Students will not be permitted into venues more than 30 minutes prior to the
assessment and must wait to be allocated their seats by the Invigilator or find their
seats based on the seating plan. Students should be seated 15 minutes prior to
the commencement.
(11) The Assessment Officer or Administrator will ensure that English dictionaries
(1:50) are available for the examination venues. If students are not permitted to
use dictionaries in an examination, it will be specified on the paper.
Venue Management
Venue Control
(1) The Invigilator and the Campus Administrator need to check the room and the
seating plan and confirm that there is a sufficient supply of papers, answer books,
and dictionaries. They must also confirm that there is an attendance register for
students to sign before the assessment starts, and another one (or second
column on the first one) for students to sign when they hand in their scripts. The
relevant assessment checklist and trackers need to be updated in full at all times.
(2) For IT-based examinations, an IT technician needs to be immediately available

for the full duration of the assessment. The configuration needs to have been
tested prior to the assessment by the Site IT Administrator and must be ready and
started before students are scheduled to write.
(3) Examination commencement and ending times must be displayed on a board in

the venue and candidates must be alerted to the progression of time every hour.
(4) It is the responsibility of the Invigilator to ensure that all students and their answer
books are accounted for – before, during, and at the end of the assessment and
noted on the relevant tracker.
(5) The Faculty concerned is available to take questions on the paper directly from
national offices for the duration of the summative assessment. The IIE CAT
Operations Manager will take calls on tests if the relevant HoF is not available.
(6) Students are required to abide by the rules as stipulated in the assessment book
and on the front cover of the assessment paper, and the Invigilator must read
these aloud to students before the assessment commences.
(7) There needs to be two invigilators, or administrators, or lecturers in the

assessment venue at the end of each session to reconcile the counting of the
papers and to reconcile papers submitted against the attendance register.
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(8) When all the assessment books have been collected, they must be moved to a
secure storage place and signed in on the appropriate logbook or assessment
tracker. The relevant tracker also needs to be updated.
(9) Students may not remove their question papers (formative or summative
assessments) or answer books and/or any other document that the student may
have been required to use during an assessment, regardless of whether or not
such book and/or other document is blank or used, from the assessment venue.
Reading and Set-up Time
(1) Students will be:
a) Allowed reading time of five minutes per hour of the assessment up to a

maximum of 15 minutes prior to the start of the assessment, over and above
the set duration of the paper. However, for practical networking and related
assessments which require the initial set-up of the
environment/server/virtual machines, students will be allowed 30 minutes
extra time which will include reading and set up time;
b) Allowed to make notes on their question papers during the reading time;
c) Issued with examination books during the reading time but may not write on
them during this period. Any book that is written on will be removed and
replaced.
Disruptions and Evacuations
(1) If an assessment is disrupted without a security breach (such as a short-term

power failure) for half an hour or less, students may continue to write, and
additional time is provided. If the disruption is more than half an hour or there is
a security breach because of the disruption, the assessment needs to be
rescheduled using normal procedures, including a FAN report.
(2) If students are required to leave the venue, en masse, for whatever reason once
papers have been distributed, the assessment opportunity must be rescheduled
by the brand as this constitutes a security breach.
Assessment Rules to be Printed on the Answer Books

(1) Students are required to:
a) Follow all the instructions of the invigilator;

b) Ensure that they are in the correct venues and have assessment papers;
c) Sit where the seating plan and invigilator stipulate;
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d) Sign the attendance register when they arrive for the assessment;
e) Countersign the attendance register when handing in completed
assessment answer books or online data files, and ensure any loose sheets
of paper are well labelled and inserted into the answer books when handing
in;
f) Be on time – no student will be permitted to enter the venue later than
30 minutes after commencement of the assessment, and any student
admitted after the commencement within the first 30 minutes will not be
given additional time;
g) Answer questions/work in blue or black ink except for diagrams which may
include other colours;
h) Write legibly – illegible work may not be marked;
i) Bring only approved calculators into venues for specified assessments and
ensure that the memory of such devices has been cleared;
j) Leave all papers, books, bags, and notes at the front of the venue;
k) Bring sufficient stationery which may be carried loose, or in a clear plastic
bag, as students may not request to borrow stationery from other students
during the session;
l) Do all rough work in the examination book and cross it out prior to
submission so that it is not marked;
m) Work independently;
n) Raise their hands if additional answer books are needed, and to number
the answer books in the order they are used when submitting;
o) Raise their hands if the attention of the invigilator is needed; and
p) Ensure that the cover pages of all examination books are completed
correctly.
(2) Students are not permitted to:
a) Bring or use any electronic device, including cell phones and smart-
watches, capable of recording or storing information into the venue unless
a specific device is stipulated as being required or permitted for a particular
assessment (such as an open book assessment), and/or as in accordance
with the permission granted for special needs/differently abled students;
b) Have any containers including pencil cases on their desks or at their desks.
c) Consult with any other students during the session using any form of
communication including electronic devices.
d) Cheat in any way – invigilators who suspect a student is cheating will
remove the answer book from the student and any unauthorised item the
student is using and record the time of such confiscation, issue a new one
to enable the student to continue writing and follow the procedure for
cheating investigations;
e) Share stationery, calculators or any other resources;
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f) Ask for explanations of questions, but may ask to use a dictionary subject
to the above restrictions;
g) Leave the venue in the first hour or the last 15 minutes of any assessment
sitting;
h) Leave their desks without the permission from the Invigilator. No student
who leaves the venue will be readmitted, unless s/he was accompanied by
an invigilator during the absence period. Such absence is at the discretion
of the Invigilator and should only be for reasons of urgency – smoke breaks
are not permitted; and
i) Disrupt their fellow students. No talking, eating, drinking or smoking is
permitted in examination venues.
(3) For open book assessments (this only to be printed on assessments that are open
book) for which there are no other professional or programme specific
requirements the following would normally apply:
a) For open-book assessments, the students may have open access to all
resources inclusive of notes, books (hardcopy and e-books) and the
internet. These resources may be accessed as hard copies or as electronic
files on electronic devices, without access to sound. All electronic device
batteries must be fully charged before the assessment as no charging of
devices will be permitted during the sitting of the assessment. The IIE and
associated brands accept no liability for the loss or damage incurred to
electronic devices used during open-book assessments. Students must not
rely on-campus access to the internet during the assessment – and it is in
any case not advised that students should rely on the internet during the
assessment as the time taken to access the required resource may be
excessive. No campus IT support for these devices is available during the
assessment.
Marking Memoranda/Rubrics
(1) Memoranda should make clear:
a) Mark allocation per question as well as overall mark allocation;

b) Concepts expected in the answer;
c) Range within which discretion can be exercised; and
d) Standards that should be achieved.
(2) Memoranda for summative assessments should not:
a) Use unpredictable mark allocations (such as half marks in one question, but
whole marks in another when the question itself is of similar structure);
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b) Cut and paste large sections of text – the list of concepts to be covered is
to be provided as a list;
c) Refer markers to other material (such as a manual) unless it is an
assessment at NQF Level 7 or higher; and
d) Try to provide model answers.
(3) The memoranda should remain in the secure storage facility until the paper
has been written and then only opened and distributed with the scripts to
the markers. Rubrics for PoEs are made available upfront.
Marking and Feedback

Marking
(1) All formative assessments are to be marked within seven (7) working days
(provided CASS release remains unaffected). The summative must be marked
within seven (7) working days of the assessment being written. For practical work
and portfolios of evidence, marking needs to be done within 10 working days.
Brands may appoint additional assessors to support the marking of lecturers
where class sizes require this, as long as these assessors would qualify to lecture
on the module concerned.
(2) All assessments that are submitted online will be assessed online. Students will
access their feedback through the LMS (Learn).
(3) Where a mark calculation initially seems to suggest a borderline mark (within 2%
of a pass mark), the script should be reassessed by a subject matter expert to
give the student a clear success or fail result.
(4) Where this does not appear possible, the HoP should be consulted and should
be provided with a motivation with respect to why the borderline mark is fair.
(5) Brands are required to have the assessment work (marking) of a new lecturer
moderated by an experienced lecturer (at least three years’ assessment
experience) for at least the first three assessments the lecturer marks. It is the
responsibility of the T&L Specialist on the campus to ensure that this happens.
Feedback
(1) Formative assessments must be returned to students within three working days
of the marking deadline. Uncollected scripts must be retained until the end of the
semester concerned. If the assessments have been submitted online, then
students will access the feedback online.
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(2) Summative assessments are normally not returned to students but in the case of
practical work and other portfolios that would be useful for employment purposes,
the work is returned to students five working days after the release of results, and
only the report on the summative assessment is retained for five years.
Moderation
Scope
(1) Moderation is the process of independent scrutiny of assessments and
assessment instruments to assure and ensure that assessments and the marking
of assessments is fair, reliable and valid, and of the appropriate standard
consistent with the level of the module, and that equity of assessment is achieved
between campuses and brands, and across programmes. Moderation is carried
out at several levels:
a) By moderators who moderate assessment instruments before they are

released, e.g. Heads of Programme (HoPs), subject matter experts, etc.;
b) By external examiners who check the assessment instruments and the
marking of lecturers on exit level modules;
c) By internal moderators (IIE lecturers) who ensure that standards of
marking are upheld.
(2) There is also a key developmental role in that the feedback from moderators
informs the work of examiners, assessors, lecturers, and developers.
Internal Moderation
Purpose
(1) Internal moderation seeks to ensure consistency between campuses and is

primarily aimed at lecturer development to achieve this consistency. As such,
unless a serious error is identified internal moderation will not impact on student
marks.
Material Moderation
(1) All assessments are internally moderated.
(2) The material and assessments are moderated by the HoP or the appointed
subject matter expert with material being submitted to such a person using
standard IIE procedures. Feedback given by a moderator is managed through the
HoP concerned and changes are carried out by the designated developer.
Payment to the developer only happens after moderation.
(3) The material moderator is required to ensure:
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a) That there is alignment between the outcomes and assessment criteria,

curriculum, syllabus, student learning material, assessment instrument and
marking memorandum/rubric (including ensuring that the
memorandum/rubric is sufficiently comprehensive to drive consistent
marking nationally);
b) The correct allocation of assessment points and weighting; and
c) That the feedback provided will inform curriculum and material design in the
future.
Internal Moderation of Scripts
(1) In order to standardise our internal marking practices, we are leveraging the
development of our lecturers in order to drive quality, consistency and fairness in
our marking practices.

(2) The assessments selected depend on the assessment strategy in the module
selected.
(3) For modules with a more traditional assessment structure, this means moderation
of the assignment, test (formative) and summative assessment.
(4) For creative and practical modules, and modules with PoEs, given the nature and
size of the PoE/creative/practical assessment tasks, the tasks of a sample of
three PoEs/creative/practical tasks are used.
(5) A sample of a range of marks for each assessment point is selected; for example,
two low, two average and two high marks.
The Selection of Markers to be Moderated
(1) Selection into the internal moderation pool is an opportunity for development.
(2) All new lecturers/online tutors will automatically be included in the moderation
pool. A “new” lecturer is one who is lecturing for the first time on a campus.
(3) For existing lecturers/online tutors, we work on a three-year cycle. This means
that after a three-year period, all lecturers would need to have been part of the
moderation pool. Typically, this would mean that one-third of the lecturers/online
tutors would be part of the pool each year. This could be split over two semesters.
In a three-year cycle, one-third of the lecturers/online tutors in the moderation
pool would be the minimum standard. However, brands could include more than
one-third of their lecturers in the moderation pool, and reduce the cycle too, for
example, a two-year period.
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The Criteria for the Appointment of Internal Moderators
(1) Internal moderators must have experience, tenure, and a proven track record in
teaching-and-learning.
(2) Internal moderators must teach in the same discipline, preferably at the same
NQF level, as the marker.
(3) Because in some modules, we are limited to a very small pool of lecturers on a
single campus or in a brand’s distance offering, and to encourage equity of
provision across our sites, brands can use cross-campus collaborations between
lecturers and moderators. Such cross-campus relationships would involve the
approval of the brand’s national office.
The Procedure for Internal Moderation
(1) Lecturers/online tutors must be assigned to the moderation pool. In a single

academic year, this would normally include one-third of the lecturers on a
campus or one-third of a brand’s online tutor pool.
(2) Moderators must be appointed.
(3) One module per lecturer in the internal moderation pool will be included in the
moderation process.
(4) Normally, for contact and distance modes of offering, three assessments
(excluding ICE), and, including the summative are moderated. The moderation
process is NOT just re-marking but is designed to develop marking skills and
standards.
(5) Internal moderation requires engagement between the moderator and the
lecturer/online tutor. Moderators and lecturers/online tutors are required to
engage with one another throughout the process of marking, for example co-
marking a few assessments at the start, engaging with one another when
difficulties are experienced and reflecting on marking once the marking has been
completed.
(6) The evidence for the engagement between lecturers/online tutors and moderators
needs to be uploaded to the appropriate electronic tracker.
(7) The electronic tracker will automatically calculate the variance between the
lecturer/online tutor and moderator. The lecturer needs to work with the moderator
during the moderation process to reduce the areas of discrepancy in marking.
Thus, this process is designed to standardise marking practices while the marking
process is occurring.
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(8) Because the internal moderation process is designed to occur at the same time
as the marking, all other policies regarding timelines for the submission of marks
should be upheld.
(9) It is the responsibility of campuses, online teams and National Offices to manage
and quality assure the internal moderation of scripts. The electronic tracker will
be periodically reviewed by CAT to further quality assure the standardisation
process.
(10) The internal moderation process will not normally delay the release or verification
of results.
External Moderation
Criteria for Appointment of External Moderators/ Examiners
(1) Moderators, including external examiners, must hold a relevant qualification one
level higher than the exit level of the qualification they are moderating for Council
on Higher Education (CHE) approved programmes.
(2) An external examiner/moderator may not be lecturing on any IIE campus and
may not be in the employ of The IIE or doing any other work for The IIE even if
not employed by The IIE. A period of not less than two years must lapse from
time of last employment or work for The IIE before appointment as an external
examiner/moderator can be considered.
(3) Normally, an external examiner/moderator is appointed for a maximum period of

three years.
(4) A list of all external moderators used in the prior year is annually presented to
Senate.
External Moderation of Instruments
(1) External moderation of assessments is carried out by external moderators:
a) On all summative assessments at the exit levels; and

b) In the case of one-year higher certificate programmes, only on the modules
(25% approximately) that are fundamental to the purpose of the
qualification. The modules nominated for such moderation are determined
per faculty, per programme, and recorded annually by the Faculty
concerned.
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External Script Moderation
(1) The marking of summative assessments is externally moderated for exit level
modules on all programmes as well as any new core modules in designated
degrees in the first cycle of the degree. Externally moderated scripts are handled
by CAT. The marking of each marker of all summative assessments at the exit
levels is externally moderated.
(2) A selection of at least six scripts (two top, two middle, and two lowest marks) from
each marker of an assessment is submitted for external moderation to a
maximum of three markers per module per campus.
(3) The External Moderator ensures that consistency in marking is being achieved
between lecturers, campuses and brands. In the case of one-year certificate
programmes, at least one-third of the modules that are fundamental to the
purpose of the qualification is externally moderated. The modules nominated
for such moderation are determined per faculty per programme and recorded
annually by the Faculty concerned.
External Moderation of Practical Summative Work or Portfolios
(1) Wherever possible, the submission date for summative work not undertaken
under examination conditions should be at least five working days before the first
summative examination under examination conditions for that programme.
(2) The practical work or portfolio of three candidates per marker must be externally
moderated – the marker is required to mark 20% of the practical work or portfolios
within five working days of receiving them and the three portfolios selected for
external moderation will then be the work of the students who achieved the
highest, middle, and lowest CASS mark in that sample. This is to ensure there
is no impact on the release of student results, by submitting a sample for
moderation while the remainder of the portfolios is being marked.
(3) If a variance of more than 10% between the average of the moderated sample
and the national brand average is identified, six further pieces (top, middle,
bottom of the marked summative) need to be moderated.
The Procedure for External Moderation (Script and Portfolio/Practical

Work)
(1) The Marker/Assessor must complete the marking of the assessment scripts and
the summative practical or portfolios that are to be submitted for first round
moderation, and submit them together with a mark sheet to the appropriate
campus administrator within five working days of the assessment being
undertaken, i.e. if the assessment is undertaken on a Wednesday, the scripts
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need to be marked by close of business the following Wednesday.
(2) The Campus Administrator is required to take the required selection of scripts
from each marker of the assessment and submit them and a copy of the signed
mark sheet to the National Office or CAT using the online system, within two
working days of the receipt of the marked assessments.
(3) CAT sends the script to the moderator within two working days of receipt. The
Moderator has five working days to moderate.
(4) The moderator is required to complete the moderator’s control sheet/report.
(5) CAT returns the scripts to the educational brand within two working days of
getting them back from the Moderator, once the relevant HoP has decided
whether action (if any) is required and has signed off the control sheet
accordingly. The HoP is not required to implement the suggested action of the
moderator but will then be required to motivate why not.
(6) Copies of the Moderator’s Report are provided to all assessors by the National
Office concerned, and to the Examiner and the relevant HoP by CAT.
Moderation variances in external moderation
(1) Moderators are required to report on the moderation done in such a way that the
feedback will assist the lecturers and the HoPs involved. A standard report is
provided which must be completed before payment is processed.
(2) Where there are variances below 5% or where the Moderator does not pick up
any significant pattern of concern, results will be released with no further action.
(3) The following variances will normally result in remarking:
a) Where the Moderator’s average for the sample marked by the Moderator
varies from the average for the scripts marked by the Marker by 5% or more,
the scripts for the Marker are remarked.
b) Where the Moderator concludes that there appears to be a systematic
concern about the marking of that marker relative to the campus standard,
then the scripts of the Marker are remarked.
(4) When scripts are remarked, the marks allocated by the second assessor stand.
(5) The remark must be done in a maximum of five working days although,
wherever possible, this should be done in less time because of the impact on the
release of student results.
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(6) It is also possible to adjust the campus marks or the marks of that marker without
remarking, on either the recommendation of the moderator and/or the
recommendation of the HoP, if the variances recognised above seem to reflect a
systematic difference in standard. All student marks are then adjusted by a
standard percentage and the T&L Specialist on the campus works with the
Marker/s to communicate the reasons for the adjustment and train the Markers to
avoid this in future.
(7) No results are changed for any students when the variances are below the above
specifications, unless a systematic problem has been identified. In the case of a
systematic variance the policy is applied.
Moderator recommendations that are outside of the policy stipulations cannot be

applied without consultation with CAT (the relevant HoP or HoF).
Assessment Results
Condonations and Distinctions
(1) All students who receive:
a) 50% for the final module mark will be deemed to have passed the module,
provided any and all other provisions such as those related to sub-minima,
where applicable, have been met;
b) 49% for their final module mark will have their mark condoned automatically
on SAM and will be reflected as a condoned pass (CP);
c) 39% for their CASS will have their CASS condoned to 40%;
d) 75% will be deemed to have passed the module with distinction;
e) 74% for their final module mark will have this condoned to a distinction on
SAM and will be reflected as a condoned distinction (CD);
f) 75% on average for all modules in all years of study, including each time a
module is repeated, will be awarded their qualification with distinction.
Marks for modules that were awarded internal credits will be included in this
calculation. However, external modules that have been credited and
annotated “CR” do not count for this calculation;
g) An average of 74% overall for a qualification will have their qualification
average mark automatically condoned to 75%.
(2) In instances in which a special or discontinuation examination result is 45% or

above:
a) The examination script of that student for the module in question is

remarked by another lecturer on the same or another campus, with the
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express purpose of identifying whether there is any possibility of providing

additional mark(s) for the student.
b) If no marking errors are picked up or there are no opportunities for
reassessing the mark of the student to at least 49%, then the student’s
results for all the assessments in that module will be reviewed by The IIE
Teaching and Learning/relevant most senior Academic Manager.
c) If, through the moderation and/or IIE process, there are no grounds for
amending the mark to at least 49%, the result will stand.
Recording of Assessment Results

(1) Academic results are captured for each assessment by the relevant campus
administrator. The person capturing the results is required to sign the marksheet
if a manual capture is done.
(2) Marks can also be uploaded using the available upload tools.
(3) The accuracy of uploaded marks is then verified against the script or rubric and
marksheet.
(4) The person verifying the results is required to sign the marksheet and retain a
copy in the designated campus record system.
(5) If there is no marksheet as the results are uploaded, the person verifying results
must print a marksheet and sign, date and file it.
(6) Results are authorised for release to the student portal once verified.
(7) The person capturing results and verifying them may not be the same person as
per the security matrix on the student administration system that may not be
overridden.
(8) If the marks are uploaded and not captured, the person verifying, and authorising
may not be the same person.
Results Release and Return of Formatives and

Practical Work/Portfolios
Retention and Return of Student Work
(1) Formatives are returned to the students and it is the responsibility of the student
to collect the formative assessment within 10 working days of it being released.
Campuses are expected to retain assessments for the remainder of the semester
in question.
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(2) Examination type summatives are retained by the campus for five years as are
reports on portfolios and practical assessments.
(3) In the case of portfolios and practical assessments, the actual work submitted is
returned to the students, five working days after the release of the results.
(4) The Campus Assessment Officer places the scripts, the results sheet, and
assessment feedback forms in a secure storage facility, and updates the logbook
or relevant assessment tracker accordingly.
Release of Results
(1) Students are informed when an assessment is subject to moderation and
informed that such moderation will result in marks only being released a minimum
of 20 working days after the assessment being undertaken.
(2) No marks are released, or scripts returned to students, until the moderation is
complete, unless a delay has occurred, and the CAT Operations Manager has
authorised the provisional release of results. For assessments submitted online,
the marks are not final until results are released on the student portal. No
provisional results can be released without the consent of the CAT Operations
Manager irrespective of the reason for the delay. However, scripts are not
returned at that stage and the notice that results are provisional and may change
needs to be made explicit.
(3) Once the results have been verified by the relevant campus administrator, they
are released on the student portal provided there are no other reasons for results
to be withheld, such as outstanding fees. In addition, a brand will release
academic reports from time to time.
(4) CASS results must be released within five working days of the release of the
last formative result for the module.
Withheld Results
(1) Students who are in arrears with payments to The IIE must complete
assessments (formative and summative) but, their results will not normally be
released until the fees in arrears are paid in full. However, when a student whose
final mark is a fail qualifies for a supplementary examination, and that
supplementary examination will only be written once during the year, or where
successful completion of the course/module is a prerequisite for continuing into
the next semester, the student must be notified by the campus that s/he qualifies
for the supplementary examination.
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(2) In such cases, the initial result and the result of the supplementary will not be
released.
Student Queries and Appeals

Assessment Appeals
(1) Students have five working days to appeal a negative decision.
(2) The student will log an assessment appeal on the Student Hub and must include
the CASE number for the original replacement assessment case, the decision of
which she or he is appealing. Appeals without reference to the previous case
number may not be considered.
(3) The student has the onus to ensure that the details of the appeal are accurate.
(5) The full documentation attached to the original application will be considered. No
additional documentation will be considered.
Unfair Process Allegations
(1) An appeal alleging an unfair assessment process can be lodged on the Student
Hub within five working days of that assessment being undertaken:
(2) The result of the appeal will be given to the student within five working days and
could include the assessment being conducted afresh for the whole group, for the
student alone, or the appeal being overturned resulting in the marking and release
of the assessment result in the normal course of events.
Request for Re-mark
(1) Students may apply for a re-mark on the Student Hub within 20 working days of
the result being released or within five working days of having viewed the paper.
Late applications will not be accepted. If the remark results mean a student
qualifies for a supplementary exam, the student can write it in the next scheduled
assessment opportunity for that module.
(2) In the case of group work, all members of the group must agree to request the re-
mark.
(3) In the case of an oral examination, as a remark is not possible, the student will be
required to redo the oral assessment in the next available sitting.
(4) The result of the second mark will stand – whether or not it is higher or lower than
the original mark, and no second re-mark on a single assessment is permitted.
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Page 91 of 97
(5) Should a script have been moderated, the student must be made aware of the
fact before applying for a remark so that they can make an informed decision as
to whether to proceed with the application for a remark.
(6) The assessment will be remarked by a different marker selected by the campus.
(7) A remark report will be made available to the student indicating where marks were
lost or gained.
(8) A fee is charged for remarking, and the outcome of the remark is not
communicated to the student unless the fee is paid. This fee is refunded if:
a) The new mark is 5% or more higher than the mark originally awarded in the
case of a student who passed the assessment, in the first instance;
b) The new mark is a pass mark for a student originally indicated as a fail; and
c) An administrative or technical error (such as an adding error) is identified.
Access to Examination Papers

(1) A student can gain access to his/her final examination paper (but not the
memorandum) for 20 working days after the release of results:
a) Only when the moderation process is complete; and

b) When s/he requests that access via the Student Hub.
(2) A student will have access to only his/her paper/rubric in the case of an oral
examination:
a) Only with prior appointment with the relevant campus administrator and only
within the period normally allowed for a remark request.
b) The student may only look at the paper in the company of a staff member
and may not, under any circumstances, copy the paper but may make notes
for learning purposes.
c) Only have a half hour to look at the paper.
(3) If a marking mistake is picked up, the mistake should be pointed out to the
Campus Administrator, who will either have the mark adjusted if it is an adding
error or remarked if the error is not a mathematical one.
(4) If a student still disputes a mark even if no marking error is picked up, the student
may request a remark within five working days of the viewing, and this will then
be done in terms of the rules above at the cost of the student.
(5) A request for a remark must be lodged on the Student Hub.
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Fees, Assessment Appeals and Timing

(1) Fees may be levied for all additional assessment opportunities. If applicable, the
fees need to be communicated to students at campus level as soon as it has been
determined that the students themselves will be required to pay for such
additional assessment opportunities.
(2) Students should always have at least five working days between receiving the
outcome of an appeal and the assessment date that will then apply.
Storage of Assessment Scripts

(1) Once all assessment results have been captured and verified, and the moderation
process has been completed, the formative assessment scripts are returned to
the students while final summative assessments will go into storage. Final
summative assessments of currently registered students must be retained for five
years.
(2) It is acceptable to “destroy” these collections of assessments after five years, as

long as the final marks/academic records of the year concerned remain intact and
safe.
(3) Storage arrangements in each brand are the responsibility of the National Offices.
CAT is responsible for retaining the assessment instruments.
On-Site Campus Storage

(1) The on-site storage facility should be secure, with a nominated person held
accountable for the key and access to the facility. An internal assessment storage
form is completed by the campus Assessment Administrator and is approved by
the campus assessment office.
Off-Site or National Storage

(1) Where on-campus storage is not practical, a secure location (outsourced or at a
national office) is used. Normally scripts are transferred twice a year to off-site
storage, and a verification procedure for such scripts is completed.
(2) A record of what has been moved, and to where, needs to be sent to the office of
the Registrar as soon as the records are moved off campus.
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Student Access to Instruments

(1) It is the responsibility of the IIE CAT to ensure that a copy of one summative and
one formative assessment instrument per module (without the
memoranda/marking schemes/rubrics) for a period of at least three years is
available on the IIE Information Centre website.
(2) No student may be in possession of a memorandum at any stage. It follows that

no person may give a student access to a memorandum.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Page 94 of 97
Annexure 1: Planning Matrix for Phase-Outs of Qualifications, Modes of Offering, and

Curricula Being Discontinued
120 and 180 120 or 180 240 credits 240 credits 360 credits 360 credits 480 credits 480 360 360
credits credits credits credits credits
Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time
higher higher Postgraduate Postgraduate diploma, diploma, Undergraduate Under- doctoral doctoral
certificate, certificate, degree, degree, undergraduate undergraduate degree. graduate degree. degree.
advanced advanced master’s master’s degree. degree. degree.
diploma, diploma, degree. degree.
postgraduate postgraduate
diploma, diploma,
honours honours
degree degree,
master’s master’s
degree. degree.
Final 1st year n n n n n n n n n n
intake – full 1st
year modules
offered
First year of n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n/a n/a
1st year repeat
modules
Last year of n+1 n+2 n+1 n+2 n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n/a n/a
1st year
repeat
modules
Final n/a n/a n+2 n+2 n+1 n+1 n+1 n+1 n/a n/a
complete 2nd
year
_____________________________________________________________________________
Page 95 of 97
First year of 2nd n/a n/a n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n/a n/a
year repeat
modules
Last year of 2nd n/a n/a n+2 n+3 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n/a n/a
year repeat
modules
Final complete n/a n/a n/a n/a n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n/a n/a
3rd year
First year of 3rd n/a n/a n/a n/a n+3 n+3 n+3 n+3 n/a n/a
year repeats
Last year of 3rd n/a n/a n/a n/a n+3 n+4 n+3 n+4 n/a n/a
year repeats
Final complete n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n+3 n+4 n/a n/a
4th year
First year of 4th n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n+4 n+5 n/a n/a
year repeats
Last year of 4th n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n+4 n+5 n/a n/a
year repeats
Discontinuation n+1 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2 n+2
exams 1st year
modules
Discontinuation n/a n/a n+3 n+3 n+3 n+3 n+3 n+3 n/a n/a
exams 2nd year
modules
Discontinuation n/a n/a n/a n/a n+4 n+4 n+4 n+4 n/a n/a
exams 3rd year
modules
Discontinuation n/a n/a n/a n+5 n/a n/a n+5 n+5 n/a n/a
exams 4th year
modules
Final year in n+1 n+2 n+3 n+4 n+4 n+5 n+3 n+4 n+3 n+4
terms of
standard rule
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Page 96 of 97
Max years 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4 5
Max time in 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 4 5
terms of phase-
out rule
_____________________________________________________________________________
Page 97 of 97

IIE009 - 2 Assessment Strategy and Policy v17 March 2021

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IIE009 - 2 Assessment Strategy and Policy v17 March 2021

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IIE009: ASSESSMENT STRATEGY AND POLICY (V17)

POLICY NUMBER IIE009

Concessions Possible for Permitted General Exceptions ................................... 38

Submission of Assessments not Completed Under Examination Conditions

Religious Concessions ................................................................................... 44

Supplementary Examinations/Resubmissions and Summative Sub-Minima53

Assessment Errors during and after Assessment Sittings .................................. 69

Examiners and Assessors .............................................................................. 71

Procedures for Distribution of Answer Books/Sheets ......................................... 73

Invigilation and Assessment Procedures ...................................................... 74

Assessment Rules to be Printed on the Answer Books ...................................... 78

Moderation Variances in External moder ................................................................ 87

Assessment Results ........................................................................................ 88

Access to Examination Papers .......................................................................... 92

Glossary and Roles

Principles of Good Assessment

Fairness and Transparency

a) The instruments will be structured in such a manner as to be accessible and

Practicability and Appropriateness

Variety, Integration and Development of Learning Skills

Cognitive Complexity and Achievement/Competence to be

Recognition of Different Styles and Strategies

Intellectual Integrity and Plagiarism

(2) Unlike formative assessments, which summarise student development at a

Take-Home Assessments (as a different assessment type)

(3) A take-home assessment in the context of this addendum to our policy is a

a) Formative tests will be replaced with take-home assessments;

(7) All submissions of take-home assessments (formative and summative) should be

The Principles for Assessment Structures

Balance in Mark Weightings

Ease of Interpreting Marks

Pass, Subminimum and Distinction Principles

(2) A module mark is normally made up of more than one mark.

Cumulative Assessment (CASS)

(2) A subminimum achievement of 40% (average) for the graded formative

Subminimum Performance Requirement in Summative

(2) The subminimum mark for postgraduate qualifications is 40%.

Assessment Number, Type, Weightings and

(2) Exceptions to standard structures must be approved by Faculty Boards.

Principles to be Used when Determining Assessment

(2) The following principles apply:

a) The NQF Level of the module;

Number 1 2 Minimum of 4 Maximum of 4

Percentages of Material Covered and Scheduling of all Assessments

Formative % of material Comments Written/ Academic Weeks

2 35% Only non-exam 40% Week 4 completed

3 45% Can be a test or 50% Week 5 completed

4 55% Can be a test or 60% Week 7 completed

5 65% Can be a test or 70% Week 8 completed

6 70% Only non-exam 75% Week 9 completed

(6) The assessment of LUs should be spread over the formatives.

Assessment Methods (Instruments)

(11) This is deliberately and blatantly a behaviourist strategy to incentivise engagement.

a) The achievement of the reward cannot be dependent on 100% compliance

(2) For all assignments, the following are requirements:

a) Students must adhere to the technical requirements specified when the

(3) Managing intellectual integrity in assignments:

7.3 Test or Examination

7.5 Practical Assignments

(2) A separate Work-Integrated Learning Policy (IIE006) exists and needs to be

7.6 Research Projects

7.7 Portfolios of Evidence

Information to Which Students are Entitled