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Student assessment

Student assessment

            The assessment of learning outcomes of students in the FPS is done professionally, continuously, with a strict process from enrollment to admission until graduation. The Faculty is always aware of the importance of the assessment of learning result of students to determine the level of knowledge, skill and attitude that learners must achieve, in comparison with the ELOs of the study program.

The student assessment is constructively aligned to the achievement of the ELOs

               The assessment is done from the enrollment stage. The number of students enrolled in the FPS ranges from 52 to 77 students per course and is implemented in accordance with the enrollment regulations of the MOET and VNU.

               During the learning process, the examination and assessment for learners must be designed in accordance with the ELOs of the module. The lecturer in charge of the module must select the appropriate form and method of assessment to meet the module’s ELOs.

            From ELOs, lecturers will design the content and methods of assessment accordingly. The assessment of each student for each module includes regular assessment (10%), mid-term test (30%) and final exam (60%). Tests and final exams at the FPS are usually taken in the form of a written test (multiple choice or essay from 60 minutes to 180 minutes), oral exam, essay questions or combination of the above. The questions in the tests are consistent with the content of the module and they are aligned with the ELOs, which are assessed based on the Bloom’s taxonomy and scored by rubric grading.

The student assessments including timelines, methods, regulations, weight distribution, rubrics and grading are explicit and communicated to students 

              At the FPS, there are a number of forms for assessing learners (assigning tasks, asking questions, discussing, testing, exams taking). Based on the regulations and guidance of the University and the Faculty on examination and evaluation, lecturers will choose the forms and methods accordingly to assess their responsible modules, propose the weight distribution for the Head of the Department approve. Information related to assessment activities such as time, method, criteria, grading requirements (rubric) and related contents are publicly stated in the Module Syllabus.

               At the beginning of the module, lecturers will provide and disseminate clearly to students about the study plans and forms, methods of assessment under the module syllabus. Having finished each semester, the university will hold the final examination. Exam schedule is announced by the Office for Academic Affairs via email networks and portal. Students are informed of the exam schedule 1 month and 7 days in advance for the main exam and the minor exam respectively. Test scores will be publicly notified to students via the Portal no later than 15 days from the test date. Students may respond or complain as prescribed if they find that the results received are not satisfactory.

               The process of assessing students' academic results at the FPS is complied with the Training Regulations of VNU and the university's instruction onassessment plan as well as the faculty guidance. Right after the enrollment, the students have to attend the orientation week organized by the University and the Faculty, when they can be informed about the university's regulations as well as information related to learning activities and assessment. At the FPS, each module is usually assessed on three points: regular assessment (10%), mid-term test (30%) and final exam (60%). Regular assessments and mid-term tests are conducted by lecturers who are in charge of each module, meanwhile, final exams are organized by Faculty and the University.

               The organization of each test and exam is done scientifically, following standard process. The test, exercises and final exam of the module must conform to the content specified in the module outline, and meet the requirements of the ELOs. The answer and grading scale must be compiled together with the test and the final exam of that module. Before the end each module, the university has clear notices of the exam plan, time and location.

               Students who accumulate enough credits as prescribed and achieve a GPA of 2.8 or above will be eligible for graduation thesis. Graduation thesis for students includes ELOs requirements about knowledge, skills and attitude. This evaluation is based on the ELOs and is measured at all steps from student selection of topic, income process, document processing, research capacity, working attitude and product quality. Graduation thesis of students accounts for 5 credits. Students who do not qualify for Graduation thesis will be offered the replacement of two modules. These two modules will be evaluated as other modules in the training program.

              The final stage is graduate recognition and university degrees’ awarding for students after they complete all required credits as well as meet the conditions of foreign language proficiency. National defense and security education modules, physical education and supplementary skills modules, etc. are conducted 4 times a year (in March, June, September, December). The Dean of faculty will issue a decision to set up a Graduation Review Committee for students who have completed the training program. Based on the proposal of the Graduation Review Committee, the Rector of the University makes a decision to graduate and award a degree for students.

               Degree classification is determined by the average score of the entire module, as follows: Excellent: The Grade Point Average (GPA) is from 3.60 to 4.00; Very Good: GPA is from 3.20 to 3.59; Good: GPA 2.50 to 3.19; Average: GPA is from 2.00 to 2.49.

               Regulations on testing and evaluation of all modules are publicly clearly disseminated to the learners. The module syllabus for each module specifies the types and methods of assessment as well as the requirements and scoring criteria that learners will have to go through. Exam papers ensure the knowledge content coverage of each module. The criteria for the grade percentage as well as the criteria for failing and passing are very clear. The Faculty also gets feedback from students about the appropriate level of knowledge as well as method, time and related issues for its assessment and receives high consensus with an average score of 5 years (2015-2020) as 4.22/5. This feedback gives the faculty more ground to plan or adjust information relating to the test in a public and clear way to learners.

 Methods including assessment rubrics and marking schemes are used to ensure validity, reliability and fairness of student assessment

               The assessment method and implementation mechanisms such as criteria and modules scale are specified in the module syllabus, compiled by lecturers and approved by the Head of the Department.

               In order to fully and objectively reflect learners' knowledge and skills, the FPS uses a variety of assessment methods. For instance several methods such as essay, multiple-choice; essay combined with multiple choice; oral; presentation. The reliability of each exam method is not general but is concretized through clear evaluation criteria and cognitive classification as well as clear scoring requirements (rubric).

               Based on each module characteristics, the lecturer decides to use appropriate testing and evaluation methods which is approved by the Head of the Department. The theoretical modules usually use essay methods while modules by major are mainly tested in the oral way. In the department, each method has specific instructions for the correction of exams. The assessment is implemented in accordance with the regulations and takes place during the student learning process.

               These above criteria will be quantified by specific scores accurately in the assessment of learners' learning outcomes and converted into equivalent literacy points according to VNU's training credit.

            Due to the corona virus pandemic, for the second semester of 2019/2020 academic year, teaching and assessment must be switched to online. Classes, discussion session as well as evaluation of learners' knowledge, skills and attitude are mainly conducted online. Students had a week for finishing their essays and then submitted it by email, the lecturer then marked according to the regulations and used this score instead of the mid-term test. Although this conversion is unprecedented, most lecturers and students of the FPS do not face any difficulty, the quality of teaching, as well as the assessment of learners, is still guaranteed, the exams have high reliability.

               Currently, the process of setting exam questions, exam grading and other work related to exam activities are strictly implemented according to plan. The lecturer is in charge of the midterm examination, the final exam questions are built by the lecturers of the Department and evaluated by the Faculty. The exam papers are graded in detail by lecturers following the standard process: coding the exam bag, cutting up the upper part of examination paper bearing examinee’s name; after that two lecturers mark it up independently and put in the score reportetc. In the case that two lecturers who mark separately have different results, the exam paper will be graded again. Thus, this ensures fairness in evaluation, creating value and reliability for learners. The issue of exam questions, the oral marking are also applied in accordance with the regulations. The oral examination is individually marked following the guidance by two lecturers and recorded throughout the process. Exam results are announced publicly after the questioning session. In case learners have queries about the results, they will open the audio file again for appraisal in order to ensure there are no errors in the evaluation process.

              Internship reports, thesis, annual essay, scientific research and graduation thesis are evaluated according to specific criteria based on the regulations of the University and Faculty. The scoring guide of these modules sticks to the ELOs and specific goals of each module. The scoring process is standardized, ensuring objectivity and justice. For instance, evaluation of scientific research and graduation thesis: combining between instructors, member of the thesis committee and scientific council,  reviews of annual essay, essays, and major exercises: two lecturers mark independently.

               To ensure objectivity and fairness, after each academic year, the FPS summarizes assessment activities to analyze the student's results to promote the advantages of the test and overcome the limitations of the test. Therefore, the faculty can provide solutions for the next exam.

               In order to get feedback from learners on how objective and accurate the assessment is, after each semester, the Faculty often coordinates with CEQA on this issue with the aim to improve the training quality. The results in the past 5 years (from 2015 to now) reveal that the credit level of students for the examination and evaluation activities of the Faculty is always high (4.34/5).

              Thus, the exam organization process, making exam questions and how to score at the FPS are applied scientifically in accordance with the assessment guiding documents of the University and the Faculty.

 Feedback of student assessment is timely and helps to improve learning

               All the information related to evaluation and assessment results are notified and timely responded via portal, email, message and directly from lecturers during the learning process. For the main exam, the schedule is announced to students one month in advance so that students can actively plan their revision. For the sub-exam, the exam schedule is announced at least one week in advance. Results of tests and assessment are published promptly in order to improve their learning.

               During the teaching process, lecturers set up personal records to track students' learning results. This record allows lecturer to see the progress of learners as well as the limitations they often face, so lecturer and students can better adjust their teaching and learning style.

               When announcing the midterm test scores, lecturers remind students of the published scoring criteria to evaluate the achievement level of module ELOs in the corresponding period. After that, lecturers give specific answers of the test, analyze the requirements of the questions, comment on the answer papers of students, then suggest how to properly perform the test with the purpose of enhancement for the next exams. The final exam takes place after week 15th of the module. The results must be notified to learners no later than 15 days after the exam date on the student's portal. Learners use their accounts to access the software “Training management and student management” of VNU to know their test results. After 3 days releasing the results, if students have any queries, they should send an application for re-examination. The review time must not exceed 7 days after receiving the student's application.

               With regard to the midterm test of the modules by major, thanks to the smaller class size, lecturers have the opportunity to comment, evaluate on each test, so they can give suggestions on the best way to do the tests, helping students improve their learning.

               To ensure fairness in evaluation, the oral examination is individually marked by two lecturers and recorded throughout the process. The contestant's score is the average of the two examiners combined. The scores will be announced immediately after the exam. Candidates have the right to respond to the examiners if they think their scores are not satisfactory. At that time, the examiners will reopen the recording file of the candidate’s answer to reassess, analyze the reasons why students received such results, point out strengths and weaknesses for students in order to enhance their results in the following exams.

              At the end of each module, on the basis of the exam results, there have been a summary of the assessment activities, score spectrum statistics, analysis of exam questions to see the strengths to and the disadvantages that need to be overcome, thereby adjusting the method teaching as well as a way to evaluate learners for their progress according to the ELOs. The university also surveyed to get students' feedback on assessment and evaluation activities, including the content “Feedback from test results to help students improve learning outcomes”. Within 5 years, from the 2015-2016 academic year up to now, the FPS has received the feedback (4.32/5 students) saying that the timely response of the assessment results helped students improve their learning. Thanks to timely feedbacks, the quality of teaching and learning at the FPS has been enhanced.

 Students have ready access to appeal procedure

               Appeal procedure on academic results is clearly guided by the university through the “Student handbook and official documents of reviewing activities”. The FPS also has specific instructions on how to deal with student achievement complaints.

               Students work directly with lecturers or Office for Academic Afairs to deal with appeal on learning achievements without any difficulty. The appeal procedure is carried out within 3 days after receiving the appeal. For the learners to be more convenient in approaching the procedure, from 2018-2019, the Office for Academic Affairs has set up an online tool with specific instructions for each case on the website of the department at the address: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScEI-ZJOM2TsbXQAaN2avYv1Goed9z6T66-zB-l3lBkt9Ahrq/viewform

               The verifying time is no more than 7 working days from the date of receiving the student's application. When remarking, the lecturer will fill in a report explaining the change after the verification. If there is a difference of 1 point or more, the first marker and the verifying lecturer have to discuss to agree on the results of the exam. The Head of the Department manages the expertise of the exam approves this result, then, Office for Academic Affairs revise new scores for students through the student portal. The review score is the final result of the module.

            According to the University's statistics, within 5 years 2015-2020 academic year, the FPS had only 1 student who asked for the review of the exam in the 2018-2019 academic year, particularly the score was announced for the first time was 6, the score after the verification was 7. In case there is a change in the evaluation score, the first maker must explain to the students and the Training Division, shortly afterwards the Training Division will update and revise the score for students.

               Thus, the verification process is conducted openly, clearly and seriously. Students can register for the review without any difficulty, the procedure process is fast and easy to follow.

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