Assessment

Students are required to:

• attend lectures and tutorials;
• participate in class discussion;
• complete satisfactorily such written work and examinations as may be prescribed.

General Philosophies of Assessment Practice

The History Department favours 'deep learning' over 'shallow learning'. In other words, we are more interested in evidence that students have made conceptual developments in their ways of understanding and interpreting the world than in their familiarity with 'facts', figures and dates. Original and thoughtful argument is valued more highly than polished regurgitations of lectures or set reading. Evidence of a thoughtful response to the conceptual framework of any individual unit is valued more highly than pre-existing skills of, for example, debate and expression. Students are encouraged to explore areas of particular interest to themselves, and will be rewarded for initiative and ingenuity in discovering relevant material.

An idea that cannot be expressed clearly probably has not been understood clearly. We therefore value evidence of logical, coherent thought, argument and expression in essays.

While recognising that the political and ethical values of students vary widely, the Department does not reward or condone unreasoned polemic or racism or sexism.

Attendance

The Department of History requires satisfactory class attendance as part of participation in a unit of study. Attendance below 80% of tutorials/seminars without written evidence of illness or misadventure may be penalised with loss of marks; attendance at less than 50% of tutorials/seminars, regardless of the reasons for the absences, will automatically result in the student’s case being referred to a Department examiners’ meeting for a determination as to whether the student should pass or fail the unit of study, or, if a pass is awarded, the level of penalty that should be applied. The University does not recognise employment as excusing unsatisfactory performance, nor are timetable clashes a valid excuse. Students should not take a unit of study unless they can meet the above attendance requirement.