SAO Assessment Details
Assessment Tasks
Assessment for Swinburne Astronomy Online units do
not include examinations: it is made up of a balanced mix of essays, projects,
computer-managed tests and newsgroup contributions. In most (non-Major Project) units,
the final grade breakdown is as follows:
- essay - contributes up to 20%
- two online tests - contribute up to 20%
- project - contributes up to 30%
- newsgroups - contribute up to 30%
Grade Scale
Final grades in all SAO units are awarded on the scale:
| High Distinction | HD | 85% - 100% |
| Distinction | D | 75% - 84% |
| Credit | C | 65% - 74% |
| Pass | P | 50% - 64% |
| Not Pass | N | 0% - 49% |
Minimum Pass Requirement
SAO has a minimum pass requirement that has been endorsed by the
Faculty of Information & Communication Technologies. In order to pass
any SAO Unit, students must achieve a final total mark of 50% or more,
plus students must achieve at least 35% in each individual "Major
Assessment Component". A Major Assessment Component is any piece of
assessment which carries a weighting of at least 15% of the total mark
available for the Unit. This means that each assessment task
(newsgroup contributions, essay, CMTs and project) are all considered
Major Assessment Components and thus students much achieve a grade of
at least 35% in each of these assessment tasks in order to pass the
unit. If the minimum performance standard is not met, a final grade of
45% will be awarded for the Unit.
