Cornerstone Institute Examinations 2024-2025

Examinations/Assessments

Final Examinations

Students who are required to write a final examination are expected to write it at the scheduled hours. In the case of serious illness or an emergency, arrangements can be made to write an exam at another time. The Executive Dean and Department Leader must approve such arrangements.

Re-Evaluation Examinations (RE)

Students who achieve a final grade from 45% to 49% for a module qualify and are given the opportunity to show their competence in the module by sitting for a re- evaluation examination. The Re-evaluation examination will take the form of a final examination type assessment. The examination will be set within a reasonable time after the release of semester results to students. These examinations are designed to assess all the stated outcomes of the module and is scheduled for those who qualify. Students are informed of the opportunity to sit for the re-evaluation examination by the Faculty Officer. Students are required to pay for a re-evaluation examination before the examination unless prior arrangements were made with the Bursar. Students who pass the re-evaluation examination will be given a minimum pass mark for the module, whilst students who

fail the re-evaluation examination will fail the module and will be required to retake the module at a later time. Results will be released within a reasonable time after the re-evaluation examination is written.

Dean’s Examinations

Students (final year students only) who have one outstanding requirement (i.e. one failed module) for graduation will be given an opportunity to sit for a Dean’s Examination. The Dean’s Examination will be a summative examination of the learning material for the module which the student has not managed to successfully complete and is impeding graduation. This examination will be written prior to graduation and the successful completion thereof will result in the student graduating. In the event that the student is unsuccessful, the student will be required to re-enroll for the module at a later stage in order to fulfil graduation requirements.

Progression Policy

Students who do not pass half (50%) of the modules in which they have enrolled in any semester will be placed on academic probation for the following semester. Failure to meet the minimum pass rate of modules may also jeopardise a student’s bursary status. Prior to the start of the next semester probation students are required to meet with Student Services and/or their Department Leader for academic guidance/advice. In addition, students on academic probation must pass at least 75% of their modules. Failure to do so may result in a student being issued with a Dismissal Letter and asked to either (1) leave Cornerstone immediately with the opportunity to submit a letter of appeal after one semester’s absence; or (2) change to a part-time status;

or (3) register for a Higher Certificate. A student’s letter of appeal can be to continue in the same programme. A successful appeal will result in the student being granted an extended probation. Should a dismissed student wish to return after a minimum period of absence of one semester, the student is required to submit a letter of appeal (requesting readmission into the same programme) through the Faculty Officer for attention of the Department Leader and/or Executive Dean. This letter of appeal is to be made no later than four weeks before the next registration date.

Students must complete two thirds (2/3) of the modules for the prior year before enrolling in modules for the following year. Students who have not met this requirement may only enrol in the prior year modules that they have not completed. In addition, students must have completed all of their first-year modules prior to enrolling in any third-year modules. These requirements are in addition to the normal module sequencing requirements and are subject to the constraints of the module timetable.

Students who fail to comply with the above requirements may appeal to the Executive Dean in writing at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the following semester, if they wish to be granted special permission to continue. In extraordinary circumstances the Executive Dean, in consultation with the Department Leaders, may grant such requests if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the most recent results are not a true indication of the student’s capabilities. The decision of the Executive Dean is final.

ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY

Integrity is a core value at Cornerstone and should be reflected in every aspect of teaching and learning. Lecturers and students alike are expected to adhere to the highest standards of integrity in all their work as a reflection of this core value. Such integrity is the basis for mutual trust and open communication within the Cornerstone community and helps promote the excellence and high standards of quality education for which Cornerstone is known.

Violation of Academic Integrity

Students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity in all their assignments and examinations. Academic integrity requires that one gives proper credit to one’s sources and never represents someone else’s work as one’s own.

Violation of academic integrity can take several forms, the primary ones being plagiarism and cheating, both of which will be treated with appropriate sanctions.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is committed when a person represents someone else’s work as his or her own, whether unintentionally or deliberately.

Plagiarism is considered theft and thus a serious academic offence. All allegations of plagiarism will be investigated and may result in action taken against the wrongdoer. A charge of plagiarism, depending on the severity and/or recurrence, may result in a zero mark for the assignment or module, suspension or expulsion.

Whenever one quotes directly from another source or uses an idea or structure from another source, that source should be properly acknowledged through the use of quotation marks, reference notes, and bibliographical entries, as appropriate.

• Plagiarism that is deemed to be due to carelessness or negligence will be noted and will result in a lowered grade for the assignment.
• Plagiarism that is deemed to be an intentional attempt to deceive (e.g. copying from the Internet with no acknowledgement of the source) is a serious violation of academic integrity and will result in failure of the module.
• Refer to the Academic Guidelines booklet for information regarding good academic integrity practice and how to avoid plagiarism.
  

  Cheating

  Cheating on an examination or assignment may also take various forms, such as using unauthorised material during an examination, copying another student’s work, or assisting another student in cheating. Such violations of academic integrity will be considered serious offences and will result in failure of the module.

  Collusion

  Collusion is another form of cheating and is defined as the unacknowledged use of material prepared by two or more persons working together. Copying another student’s work will result in a charge of collusion and action will be taken against both the copier and the person from whom she/he copies. Students are advised

  to be diligent in protecting their work from possible copying by others.

  Penalties

  In all serious violations of academic integrity, as so deemed by the lecturer, the lecturer will report the violation to the Executive Dean with a recommended penalty. The penalty may range from lowering of the grade for the paper (in cases of carelessness or negligence), failure of the module (in cases of deliberate covering up of sources), or full disciplinary review (in cases of recurrence of plagiarism). In the case of formative assessments, the lecturer must inform the student of plagiarism and the need to report the matter to the Executive Dean. The student may be allowed the opportunity to resubmit the paper at the discretion of the lecturer. In the case of summative assessments, the matter will be referred directly to the Executive Dean, with no opportunity for the student to resubmit. When necessary, the matter will be reviewed by the faculty to confirm or amend the lecturer’s recommended penalty. In all cases involving a serious violation of academic integrity, the Dean will issue a warning letter to the student, which will become part of the student’s permanent record.

  Unwillingness to adhere to these standards, which are an expression of our institutional values, may result in action for disciplinary and developmental purposes.

  Absenteeism and Late Submission of Assignments

  Attendance at all lectures is expected of all students. Although 100% attendance is expected, the faculty recognises that circumstances beyond the students’

  control may sometimes prevent them from attending a lecture. However, students who miss more than 30% of lectures for a module will fail the module.

  The following rules apply to the late submission of assignments:

• Marks are deducted for late assignments at a rate of 3% per day.
• Assignments that are more than one week late will not be accepted.

Assignments will not be accepted beyond the last day of evaluation week.