Mark Dispute: Thesis Part B

A Thesis Part B report mark may be queried by a student. Before doing so, the student should be aware of the following:

• Thesis Part B reports are marked by a supervisor and an assessor independently. The final mark is determined by an average of these two marks, less any penalties.
• The supervisor and assessor do not apply any (or exempt ) mark penalties for lateness. Late penalties are applied by the Student Office Manager after consultation with the Thesis Coordinator after the submission of the marks to the Student Office.
• Supervisors and assessors can modify their mark after submission via an email to the Student Office Manager, but must justify the change to the Thesis Coordinator once final results have been released to students.
• The student's CSE weighted average or eligibility for honours are not sufficient grounds to justify a mark change, or a request for revision of the final mark.
• An application for review must be made not later than 15 working days from the date of official results notification to students.

Thesis Report Review

If a student feels that an error has been made in marking the thesis report, then the following action should be carried out:

1. The student should email the Student Office Manager and explain the error. If the error is clear the Student Office Manager will make arrangements for the mark to be corrected, otherwise students will be directed to step 2.
2. The student should see both the supervisor and assessor, together or separately, and request both to review their assessment of the report.
3. If the academics deem the request reasonable, both should review their assessment, and forward a report to the Student Office Manager.
4. The Student Office Manager will inform the student of the Thesis Report Review outcome after discussion with the Thesis Coordinator.

Note: a review will be initiated and a mark changed ONLY in exceptional circumstances and with sufficient justification.

Thesis Coordinator Review

If the student is not content with the result of the Thesis Report Review, then the student should initiate a Thesis Coordinator Review.

1. The student should contact the Student Office Manager again, and submit via email the reasons why they feel the result of the Thesis Report Review was unacceptable.
2. The Student Office Manager will contact the Thesis Coordinator, who will review the case and determine whether:
   • the conclusion of the Thesis Report Review should stand, or
   • an independent examiner should be asked to assess the report. The independent examiner may choose to interview the supervisor and assessor before assessing the report itself.

If the student is still not content, then the student is able to submit a complaint to the CSE Grievance Officer.

Students should be aware that they are always able to submit a formal application for review via Student Central but that, as a fee is charged, and the scope of the review is far more restrictive than a school-oriented review. It is advisable to follow the school's internal review procedures instead.

UNSW policy on Review of Results