Mastery/Hurdle Assessment Requirements

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences guidelines

This aims to define hurdle assessment requirements and the implications for students.

Definition of Hurdle Assessment

Hurdle assessments are compulsory requirements within individual units that must be met in order to achieve satisfactory results in those units. They are normally mastery of professional skills or attainment of required attributes. These requirements fulfil one or more unit learning objectives and they may be activities that are class based or that need to be undertaken outside regular scheduled class times.

Any in course assessment that are hurdles should be clearly identified as assessment items.

Failure to meet a hurdle requirement will result in the student failing the unit.

Failure of a unit may impede student progression.

Numbers of attempts

Where a unit has a hurdle requirement, the numbers of total attempts allowed must be clearly outlined in unit guides distributed at the commencement of the unit. Normally, a maximum of four attempts at a hurdle requirement are allowed. However for clinical hurdles fewer attempts may be allowed.

Clinical/fieldwork hurdle assessments

Many units within the Faculty have clinical or fieldwork hurdle assessment requirements in order to pass the units. In such units, normally two attempts are permitted before an overall fail grade is given in the relevant unit. Any repeat fieldwork/clinical is taken as a supplementary assessment.

Where a student is required to repeat a unit as a result of a clinical/fieldwork fail, a maximum of one reattempt is allowed. Students will be directed to seek counselling from their relevant Course Coordinator to examine future options.

Attendance Hurdle

A unit may have an attendance hurdle requirement where it is considered that the student needs to attend a certain amount of classes/tutorials/laboratory sessions when it is the only means of obtaining specific learning objectives within the unit.  Attendance requirements are normally specified as a percentage and will be clearly indicated in the unit manual.  If the hurdle requirement is attendance, then the requirement must be brought to the students attention at the beginning of the semester.

Governing Documents

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Assessment Policy

Monash University Assessment Policy

Approval

Faculty Undergraduate Education Committee 6/2007

Postgraduate Coursework Degrees Committee 1/08

Faculty Board 1/08