University Assessment (Amendment) Regulations, 2012

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L.N. 35 of 2012

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

University Assessment (Amendment) Regulations, 2012

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 74(5) and

75(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has

promulgated the following regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta

by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by articles 75 and 79 of the said Act

Citation

These regulations may be cited as the University Assessment (Amendment)

Regulations, 2012 and shall be read and construed as one with the University

Assessment Regulations, 2009, published as Legal Notice 274 of 2009, hereinafter

referred to as “the principal regulations”.

Applicability

Regulations 4 to 15, 18 and 19 of these regulations shall be applicable

from 16 th September, 2011 onwards.

Regulations 16 and 17 of these regulations shall be applicable from 28 th

October, 2011 onwards.

Amendment to regulation 13 of the principal regulations

For paragraph (3) of regulation 13 of the principal regulations there shall

be substituted the following

“(3) The lecturer or Study-Unit Co-ordinator shall be responsible for the

setting of the questions, the mark scheme, and/or any other Assessment criteria as

appropriate,

provided that when a Unit is taught by more than one lecturer, the Study-Unit Co-

ordinator shall be responsible for coordinating the production of the Examination

paper, including the gathering of questions from the individual examiners/auxiliary

examiners, the writing of the rubric and all other matters related to the proper

production of the Examination paper.”

Amendment to regulation 14 of the principal regulations

Regulation 14 of the principal regulations shall be renumbered as paragraph

(1) of regulation 14.

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For sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1) of regulation 14 of the principal

regulations there shall be substituted the following

“(a) when a paper is set by one or two examiners, another member of the

Board of Examiners shall be designated as the reviewer; and”

The following paragraph (2) shall be added after paragraph (1) of regulation

14 of the principal regulations

“(2) The reviewer shall

(a) ensure that the Examination paper is clear and unambiguous and that it

addresses the learning outcomes of the Study-Unit in question;

(b) ensure that the Examination paper is properly proofread and that the paper

and mark scheme are free of error and of the required standard;

(c) ensure that the marks allotted to each question are indicated on the

examination paper; and

(d) work out the paper him/herself to look out for any inconsistencies and

discrepancies where applicable.”

Amendment to regulation 15 of the principal regulations

For regulation 15 of the principal regulations there shall be substituted the

following

“15. When External Examiners are appointed for a written Examination,

weighted 60% or more, the Board of Examiners shall submit the draft Examination

paper and mark scheme for their advice. External Examiners may suggest questions

of their own.”

Amendment to regulation 19 of the principal regulations

For regulation 19 of the principal regulations there shall be substituted the

following

“19. (1) In the case of Study-Units involving the writing of a dissertation or

similar, Senate shall appoint a Board of Examiners for each student. The Head of

the Department concerned or his delegate shall be appointed chairman of the Board

of Examiners. The chairman shall ensure that appropriate Assessment criteria and

procedures are used in the assessment of dissertations.

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(2) When a visiting External Examiner is appointed to assess or review

dissertations, s/he may wish to interview specific students about their dissertation.”

Amendment to regulation 20 of the principal regulations

For regulation 20 of the principal regulations there shall be substituted the

following

“20. (1) The Senate shall normally appoint External Examiners, either on a

visiting or a non-visiting basis, for programmes of study in undergraduate degree

Courses. When appointed, External Examiners shall be members of each Board of

Examiners of compulsory final year Study-Units, or of a subject in a Non-Modular

Course, and also members of the Award Classification Board of the Course that

includes the programme of study for which they are appointed External Examiners,

provided that in programmes of study which include synoptic study-units the External

Examiner need only be involved in these study-units besides the dissertation;

(2) As members of the Board of Examiners of a Study-Unit, External

Examiners shall

(a) together with the Board of Examiners, approve Examination papers

and mark schemes, and all other Assessment exercises, procedures and practices in

relation to that Study-Unit;

(b) whenever deemed necessary, see the assessed work of students for

compulsory first semester Study-Units of the final year; and

(c) moderate the results and/or recommend changes to unpublished marks

of all compulsory final year Study-Units assessed at the end of the last semester,

including the dissertation study-unit when one is required,

provided that when the number of students is too large or in postgraduate programmes,

it shall be sufficient for the External Examiner to moderate the Examination by seeing

a reasonable sample of the assessed work, including assignments and/or examination

scripts from the top, the middle and the bottom of the ability range and including

work of borderline students.”

Amendment to regulation 21 of the principal regulations

For regulation 21 of the principal regulations there shall be substituted the

following

“21. (1) For a Master’s degree which comprises mainly taught study-units and

at least a dissertation of 30 credits where the number of students on the programme is

5 or more, Senate shall appoint External Examiners

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(a) on a visiting basis to review both the taught component and the dissertation

study-unit; or

(b) on a non-visiting basis to review both the taught component of the

programme and individual dissertations.

(2) For a Master’s degree which comprises mainly taught study-units

and at least a dissertation of 30 credits where the number of students on the programme

is less than 5, External Examiners shall be appointed normally on a non-visiting

basis to review the taught component of the programme and to assess individual

dissertations.

(3) For a Master’s degree mainly by research comprising a dissertation

of at least 60 credits, External Examiners shall be appointed on a non-visiting basis

to assess individual dissertations.

(4) Visiting External Examiners shall always be appointed for the

examination of doctoral students.

(5) External Examiners shall be appointed to render service on a year to

year basis, for up to a maximum of three years, except in the case of examination of

dissertations for Master’s degrees done mainly by research, when External Examiners

shall not be appointed after the fifth consecutive assignment.”

Amendment to regulation 23 of the principal regulations

For paragraph (1) of regulation 23 of the principal regulations there shall

be substituted the following

“23. (1) External Examiners shall be requested to write a report to the Rector

about the outcome of their assessment, including advice about the standards achieved

by the students, the quality of the examination process and their opinion about the

degree programme in general pointing out any strengths and/or weaknesses that

require attention, as applicable. The report should reach the Rector within two months

following completion of the assignment.”

Amendment to regulation 24 of the principal regulations

The following paragraph (8) shall be added after paragraph (7) of

regulation 24 of the principal regulations

“(8) Non-visiting External Examiners, appointed to assess a Master’s degree

dissertation assigned at least 60 credits, shall be requested to write a report for

consideration by the other members of the Board of Examiners within 30 days from

receipt of the dissertation. In the report, the External Examiner may propose questions

to be asked to the student during the viva voce examination.”

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Amendment to regulation 27 of the principal regulations

For paragraph (1) of regulation 27 of the principal regulations there shall

be substituted the following

“27. (1) No person shall be appointed as a member of a Board of Examiners,

as an auxiliary examiner or as a reviewer of any Assessment if

(a) he is related to a student by consanguinity or by affinity to the third degree

inclusive; or

(b) he has been, at any time during the academic year to which the Examination

refers, a guardian of a student; or

(c) he is in a dual relationship with the student.”

Amendment to regulation 39 of the principal regulations

For sub-paragraph (a) (iv) of paragraph (1) of regulation 39 of the principal

regulations there shall be substituted the following

“(iv) by any improper means whatever obtain, or seek to obtain, advantage in

the Examination; give or endeavour to give assistance to other students by having or

seeking access to unauthorized information or material, or by copying or attempting

to copy from, or by communicating or attempting to communicate with an examiner

or any other person during the time appointed for an Examination or with an examiner

about the Examination until the official results are published;”

Amendment to regulation 47 of the principal regulations

For regulation 47 of the principal regulations there shall be substituted the

following

“47. (1) The Assessment Disciplinary Board may, in special circumstances,

reconsider its decision.

(2) For the purpose of this regulation, “special circumstances” means only

when new evidence is available which could not have been provided earlier to the

Assessment Disciplinary Board.

(3) Before reconsidering the case, the Assessment Disciplinary Board

shall first determine whether such evidence is new evidence which could not have

been provided earlier to the Assessment Disciplinary Board when the case was being

heard.

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(4) A request for reconsideration shall be made to the Assessment

Disciplinary Board not later than fifteen days from the date of notification of

the Assessment Disciplinary Board’s decision to the student requesting the

reconsideration.”

Amendment to regulation 48 of the principal regulations

For paragraph (1) of regulation 48 of the principal regulations there shall

be substituted the following

“48. (1) Subject to the provisions of any relevant regulations or to any

procedural guidelines, including the payment of fees, made by the appropriate

University authority, a student may, not later than one week from the publication of

the result of the Assessment, request that an examination paper or any other work

submitted for Assessment be reviewed for the purpose of ascertaining that no error

was made in the award of marks. Students may additionally request that the decision

of the revision be elaborated in a detailed report.”

Amendment to regulation 57 of the principal regulations

Regulation 57 of the principal regulations shall be renumbered as

paragraph (1) of regulation 57.

The following paragraph (2) shall be added after paragraph (1) of

regulation 57 of the principal regulations

“(2) Students who make a false claim to gain unfair advantage on other

students shall be referred to the Assessment Disciplinary Board.”

€0.54