The Guild has continued its work throughout 2019 in advocating for UWA’s late assessment penalty to be lowered to 5%.
At the beginning of this year, the University’s Education Enhancement Unit consulted with academics and students to determine their attitude towards the late penalty. This consultation showed that most students are in support of a 5% penalty (as opposed to 10%). 50% of Schools within the University, and approximately 60% of staff members were in favour of lowering the penalty, believing that the 10% penalty is overly punitive.
Contrary to this data, some academics within the Assessment Working Party are concerned that students will submit work late and be less professional, and consequently put forward a recommendation to the Education Committee to maintain the 10% penalty. The Guild submitted this paper making the student case, and challenging the view that a reduction of the penalty would incentivise late work. The Education Committee broadly agreed with the Guild’s perspective, particularly around the student experience, and the case for equity, and has sent the decision back to the Assessment Working Party to be further considered with more rigorous attention to data. We will keep you updated as this progresses.
The Assessment Working Party is next due to meet in August.
