Introduction of marks from 2018

From summer 2018 (201805), ACU will be introducing the provision of numerical marks alongside grades for all graded (ie non-pass/fail) units.

Academic staff will be required to submit whole marks as well as grades for all students in graded units from the beginning of 2018.

All students will be notified of final marks and grades for all graded units via email, Student Connect and the Student Portal.

Why are marks being introduced?

• recognise the relative success of students who achieve more than the minimum cut-off mark for a grade band
• allow students to calculate a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) if required for admission to further study or for applications for clerkship or internship programs in Law
• allow students in South Australia and Victoria (where the standard State grading schema is HD: 80–100; DI: 70–79; CR: 60–69; PA: 50–59) to demonstrate a comparative GPA with their State counterparts when applying for Honours or postgraduate study at another university
• improve record keeping by including marks in students' official academic records.

Modifications to Results Entry systems

Changes to calculation of GPA

What won't be changing

• The current ACU grading schema of HD: 85–100; DI: 75–84; CR: 65–74; PA: 50–64 will not change.
• ACU will not be providing a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) at this time as the provision of marks will enable students to calculate both a WAM and a GPA as required.

New Grades

Academic Board will also be considering the introduction of three new grades from 2018. A final decision will be reached by the end of November.

NH - Fail hurdle

Where a student achieves a mark greater than or equal to 50 in a graded unit, but fails to complete a hurdle requirement, they will be awarded a grade of NH and a mark of 49.  Such students will not be eligible for supplementary assessment. If a student achieves a mark less than 49, and fails to complete a hurdle requirement, they will be awarded a grade of NN, and their mark will stand unaltered.

IP - Incomplete Practicum

If a final grade for a Professional Experience Unit is not available at the end of a study period unit due to an incomplete practicum component, an interim grade of IP should be entered.  After a predetermined period of time, any outstanding IP results will be converted to NN 00 (for graded subjects) or NN (for Pass/Fail subjects).

NU – Fail Ungraded