Assessment

General information

Conferment of the degree

The MSc degree is conferred by virtue of the successful completion of modules and a dissertation.

The final mark will be calculated as follows:

Duration

The programme extends over a minimum period of one year full-time and two years part-time, and a maximum of three years.

Requirements for the degree

The degree is conferred on a student who :

• Completes the degree within the prescribed time period.
• Obtains at least 50% for every module and at least 50% for the dissertation.

The degree is conferred with distinction on a student who:

• Completes the degree within the prescribed time period.
• Obtains at least 75% for the dissertation and an average of at least 75% for the modules .

If a student fails a module, he/she will have to repeat the module the following year.

Modules which have a practical component

If a student fails either the online or the practical component of a module, he/she will have to repeat the module (online and practical component) the following year.

Assessment policy

Modules

No final examination will be given within a module. Your final mark for a module will be compiled from your mark for assignments (including written assignments, presentations and discussions) and quizzes, and where applicable, practical sessions.

Assignments

Assignments may take on various formats, depending on the nature of the module, and should be completed within the scheduled time slots indicated in the study guide. For example, you could be asked to produce a written assignment on a specified topic, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, or participate in an online discussion. The number and the topics for the assignments will be given in the study guide for each module. The weighting of the marks for the different forms of assignments may differ depending on the module. The Assignments and Discussions tools in clickUP will be used to present and submit assignments. Detailed instructions on how to use these tools are available on the Student CD. If the Web is inaccessible to the extent that it affects the timely submission of an assignment or a quiz, it will be your responsibility to contact the relevant lecturer to make alternative arrangements.

A student will be given one opportunity per module to improve his/her mark, by resubmitting a written assignment, subject to the following conditions:

• The student scores less than 50% for the first written assignment
• The facilitator/lecturer does not correct the student's assignment, but sufficient feedback is provided to enable the student to improve his/her mark
• The assignment is resubmitted before a memorandum for the assignment is published, and before the submitted assignments are discussed in an open forum.

If a student scores less than 50% for any subsequent assignments, there will be no opportunity to improve the mark.

Written assignments

• The Assignments tool in clickUP will be used to present and submit written assignments.
• The length of written assignments will be specified for each individual assignment in the study guide for each module. Preferably, written assignments should be no more than 2 000 words excluding the reference list.
• Assignments should be typed using the Arial font, at least size 10 and 1,5 line spacing.
• The contents must be well researched and be in greater depth than was expected at the undergraduate level.
• Assignments should contain references to recent and relevant literature.
• Written assignments will be evaluated according to a rubric. The following layout should be considered in structuring your assignment:
  • Introduction (containing a problem statement)
  • Literature overview
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Reference list
• All references and citations must be in the format specified in the Guide for Authors for the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research.

  PowerPoint presentations

• The Assignments tool in clickUP will be used to present and submit PowerPoint presentations.
• A PowerPoint presentation should be well planned with an introduction, topic of discussion and a conclusion.
• Explanatory notes should be provided with each slide.
• The layout must be simple and clear with attention to legibility and appropriate colour scheme.
• Animations should be well planned and restricted to the minimum.
• Please refrain from using any sound effects.
• PowerPoint presentations will be assessed according to a rubric.

  Discussions

• The Discussions tool in clickUP will be used for scheduled discussions on subject matter.
• Your participation in discussions will be assessed and will contribute to the final mark. It is therefore important for you to participate.
• Use these discussions to voice your opinion, challenge other colleagues' opinions and stimulate creative thinking through posing new ideas and asking pertinent questions.
• Online discussions will be assessed according to a rubric.

Quizzes

• The Assessments tool in clickUP will be used to present, submit and assess web-based quizzes.
• Quizzes must be completed in the scheduled time. No late submissions will be allowed.
• You will have only one opportunity to complete a quiz.
• The submission dates for all quizzes will be available on the clickUP calendar at least two weeks in advance. Please keep yourself informed of these dates.
• A quiz will be available for at least 12 hours. Once initiated, the quiz will only be open for a specified time.

Practical sessions

• Where appropriate you will be assessed during and at the end of each practical session on the skills covered in the module. Detailed infromation will be available in the study guide.
• Assessment will be in the form of one or more of the following:

  A practical book to be completed during practical training.
  An open book examination at the end of the practical session.
  A written examination to assess your understanding of the concepts.
  Specimens to be identified.

• Skills will be assessed according to a rubric.

Self-assessment

• Self-tests in the Assessments tool in clickUP will be used in some modules to provide an opportunity for self-assessment.
• Feedback will be provided on all questions.
• Self-tests can be completed as many times as you wish.
• Self-tests do not have a mark allocation, and therefore do not contribute to your marks for the course.

Dissertation

Format

A dissertation, based on a research project (which need not be original) planned and written down by the student is required in partial fulfillment of the MSC degree programme. Assistance with specialised procedures (e.g. statistical processing) is allowed but must be acknowledged.

Drafting a protocol will commence in the module Research Methodology according to the format currently adopted by this University. The title will be identified as part of an assignment. Promotors will be appointed to assist you with the preparation of the protocol. References and citations are to be according to the format specified in the Guide for Authors . A draft article based on the dissertation must be prepared for and comply with the requirements of an acknowledged journal that qualifies for subsidy and submitted with the dissertation, failing which the degree will not be conferred.
The following format must be used:

• Introduction, including the aims and objectives of the study
• Literature review
• Materials and methods
• Results/Observations
• Discussion
• Summary
• References
• List of illustrations
• List of tables
• Appendices (optional)

All references and citations must be in the format specified in the Guide for Authors of the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research.

Assessment

The dissertation is evaluated in terms of the structure and clarity of the literature review, integrated argument, the use of factual information supported with references, the conclusions derived and language proficiency. Your supervisor(s) may expand these categories and allocate a weighting to each one. The dissertation is evaluated individually by the supervisor(s) and the external examiner who each submits a written report to the office of Academic Administration. This report includes:

• The mark(s) allocated, and
• A recommendation on whether the candidate should be examined on the dissertation in order to ascertain his or her knowledge and understanding of the topic.

The examination is specific and deals only with the topic of the dissertation.
A dissertation may not be conditionally accepted: it is either accepted (> 50 %) or rejected (< 50 %). In the event of a dissertation being rejected, a candidate may submit an amended version or another dissertation within two years and will bear the full cost of the examination.