Evaluation and Grading Policy

According to the First Additional Provision of the Regulatory Policy of the Courses' Syllabus and the Evaluation and Grading of Student Learning, passed by the Governing Council of the University of Barcelona on February 27th 2020; The School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy CETT-UB develops this rule for the regulation of the assessment and grading of student learning in the degrees offered by EUHT CETT-UB. 

 

CHAPTER I: GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1. Objective and scope of application 

1.1 The objective of this regulation is to standardize the assessment and grading process of student learning of all the students taking Bachelor’s or Master's degree courses at EUHT CETT-UB. 

1.2. The regulation applies to Bachelor’s and Master's degree students, faculty members and administration and services staff. 

Article 2. Information on the assessment process 

2.1. All the information related to the assessment process must be published before the start of the enrolment period in the course plans 

2.2. The Coordination of Studies prepares the calendar and schedules for the single assessment tests and closure of the continuous assessment process within the period established by the framework calendar approved by the University and, in any case, before the enrolment period begins, and guarantees the maximum diffusion of this information. 

For extraordinary reasons, the Coordination of Studies itself can modify the calendar, which in any case must be published at least 20 days before its application; in no case can modifications be made within the single evaluation period and the closure of the continuous assessment process. 

23. The assessment criteria and the grading method specified in the course plan cannot be unilaterally modified during the course.

 

CHAPTER II: SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND RESULTS OF THE ASSESSMENT 

Article 3. Assessment concept 

3.1 The concept of assessment has undergone conceptual and procedural changes, in the sense that its formative nature has increased and its sanctioning nature of results has been reduced, focused on simple measurement. 

Assessment is understood as the systematic process of collecting evidence on the student's learning process, to make judgments aimed at its improvement and the assessment of the degree of achievement of learning objectives in relation to the subject's competences. 

3.2 Qualification is understood as the assessment of the level of sufficiency or insufficiency of the learning results achieved by the students at the end of a stage of the teaching-learning process (topic, module, content block, subject), already either on a quantitative scale or on a qualitative scale. Its aim is to provide evidence of learning 

3.3. Normally, the assessment process will be based on continuous assessment and take place within the term specified for the course, in accordance to the syllabus and the calendar approved by the University and EUHT CETT UB. 

3.4. If the study plan foresees it, and it is reflected in the syllabus, a joint assessment of two or more courses, modules or subjects may be conducted. 

3.5 In the event that, for exceptional and justified reasons, a student or a group of students cannot take an assessment, the Coordination of Studies must take the necessary measures to ensure that it can take place within the same academic period.   

3.6 AC guarantees the adaptation of assessment systems to students with special educational needs justified medically, in order to guarantee equal opportunities.   

 

Article 4. Continuous Assessment 

4.1. Continuous assessment is an element of the teaching-learning process that includes the procedures carried out throughout a subject in order to collect and assess in a progressive and integrated manner the evidence of student learning of the subject competences included in the teaching plan. Its purpose is twofold: on the one hand, it provides teachers with information to regulate their teaching performance and thus help students to learn more and better, and, on the other, it allows students to self-regulate and improve their learning process. Thus, it has a didactic and prospective character.   

Some of these procedures take place at the end of a stage of the teaching-learning process (topic, module, block of contents, subject) and are intended to determine the degree of attainment of the knowledge, skills and values that are the object of learning in the subject. Their result is a grade.   

4.2. Continuous assessment includes all the different evidences outlined in the course syllabus, collected in a progressive and integrated manner throughout the teaching-learning process. They constitute significant and periodic indication of students’ progress in relation to students’ achievement of the course’s objectives. 

4.3 Continuous assessment must include at least one final test(s) or assignment(s) in which the student's level of achievement of the learning objectives is measured on an individual basis. This test/s or final work/s must be graded with a minimum of "4" in order to calculate the average of all the assessment activities carried out during the course.  

4.4. The systems and instruments of evaluation and evidence can be diverse, but, in no case, the value of a test or evidence can give rise to more than 60% of the final grade of the subject, without prejudice to what is established in articles 6 and 7, of this regulation.  

4.5. In the event that the syllabus of the subject incorporates oral tests, they are conditioned to the schedule established by the Coordination of Studies. The oral tests must be recorded or they must be carried out in the presence of at least a second lecturer, who will attest the process. For the purpose of this regulation, an oral test is understood to be a test that has any of the following characteristics:  

a) it involves a final assessment of the subject and is scheduled in the official calendar of single assessment calls and the closing of continuous assessments

b) accounts for more than 50% of the final mark

c) it refers to a person with some kind of physical impediment to be able to take the test.

Article 5. Single Assessment 

5.1 The single assessment is the alternative assessment procedure to continuous assessment. It has a different time distribution and includes a sufficient number of evidences to accredit and guarantee the achievement of the objectives and competences established in the subject.   

5.2 Practical subjects, the final capstone Degree or Master project and other subjects which, due to their content and teaching methodologies, exclude the possibility of single assessment, must make this explicit in the course plan.  

5.3. The single assessment is recognised as a right of the student who, by exercising it, renounces continuous assessment. The exercise of this right may not entail discrimination with respect to continuous assessment in relation to the maximum grade that may be obtained, nor the infringement of the student's right to attend class and participate in training activities. 

5.4. In order to be able to take advantage of the single assessment, the student must request it to the corresponding lecturer through the option provided in each subject within the Virtual Campus space:  

• DEGREES: within the first fifteen calendar days from the start of the course1.  
• MASTERS: within 7 calendar days from the start of the subject.  

5.5. The single assessment must guarantee the achievement of the objectives established in the subject. The course syllabus must therefore include the single assessment system and criteria. If the course plan foresees and makes it explicit, attendance at certain face-to-face activities may be a requirement. 

5.6 The single assessment must include at least one final test(s) or assignment(s) where the level of achievement of the learning objectives by the student is measured on an individual basis. This test/s or final work/s must be graded with a minimum of "4" in order to calculate the average of all the assessment activities carried out during the course.   

5.7 The systems and instruments of evaluation and evidence can be diverse, but, in no case, the value of a test or evidence can give rise to more than 60% of the final grade of the subject, without prejudice to what is established in articles 6 and 7 of this regulation.  

5.8. In the event that the course syllabus incorporates oral tests, they are subject to the schedule established by the Coordination of Studies. Oral tests must be recorded or must be carried out in the presence of at least a second lecturer, who will attest to the process. For the purposes of this regulation, an oral test is understood to be a test with the following characteristics:   

1. a) it involves a final assessment of the subject and is scheduled in the official calendar of single assessment and continuous assessment closing dates.  
2. b) represents more than 50% of the final mark, and  
3. c) it is given to a person with some kind of physical impediment to carry out the test. 

 

Article 6. Assessment of specific subjects: external internship  

6.1 Without prejudice to other complementary criteria established by other regulations of the Faculty, the assessment of external internship must be based, as a minimum, on the degree of compliance with the training project on the basis of the report issued by the tutor of the company or institution in which the internship is undertaken and the report drawn up by the student, and must respect the criteria established in the course plan, and in accordance with what is established in article 11, on the repeat assessment process.  

 

Article 7. Assessment of the Bachelor’s and Master’s Capstone Project 

7.1. Bachelor's and Master's degree courses must conclude with the preparation and defence of a Capstone Project. Information on the work must be published through the corresponding course plan, bearing in mind that in the case of the University Master's Degree, the defence of the work takes place in a public session. 

7.2. The assessment of the work must be oriented towards the assessment of the competences associated with the teaching and is always individual, even if the activity has been carried out collectively.  

 

7.3. In accordance with the general regulations approved by the University, the centres must draw up specific regulations on final projects. 

 

Article 8. Calls for Assessment 

8.1. Students have the right to be assessed for all the subjects they have enrolled for the academic year, provided that they comply with the rest of the associated rules established by the University. When, exceptionally, students wish to request assessment by an Evaluation Board, they must submit a reasoned and justified request in writing to the Coordination of Studies of the corresponding course, no later than 30 days before the closing date of the continuous or single assessment process. 

8.2. Students enrolled in a course have right to one examination either as closing of the continuous evaluation or as single evaluation. 

8.3. Notwithstanding what is established in the previous section, students who, at the beginning of the academic year, have a maximum of 10% of the corresponding credits remaining to complete the degree, are entitled to an extraordinary end-of-studies call, with the understanding that they are only entitled to the teaching corresponding to the semester in which the subject is taught. In order to be entitled to the extraordinary call, it is necessary to enrol for all the credits remaining to complete the degree at the beginning of the academic year and to submit the application. 

8.4. It is not possible to change the final individual assessment test for work reasons or to participate in an academic mobility programme. A change can only be requested for justified major causes (hospitalisation, sudden illness...) in this case the student must present written justification of the impossibility of attending on the established day: Justification Form.   

The student in any of these circumstances will present to the corresponding Coordination of Studies the request for a change of date. 

 

Article 9. Development of assessment activities   

9.1. Faculty may request the identification of the student at any time during the development of an assessment activity. This identification is carried out by means of the student card of the Centre, ID card, passport or any other equivalent official document.   

9.2 Students have the right to receive documentary proof of having participated in the assessment activities, if they request.   

 9.3. Access to the final assessment test will not be allowed 10 minutes after the scheduled start time.  

A student may not leave the test before the first half hour after the start of the test. 

 

Article 10. Learning assessment results  

10.1. The faculty shall deliver the final results of the assessment in the time and manner determined by the Secretariat of the Centre, which shall be published within the established deadlines. 

10.2. The faculty of each of the subject groups record the final qualitative and numerical grades resulting from the assessment process in a single assessment report.  

10.3. The numerical marks used are those on the 0-10 scale, to one decimal place, and the qualitative marks are assigned according to the correspondence established by the legislation in force. In order for a subject or module to be considered passed, a minimum mark of 5.02 must be o  

10.4. An honourable mention may be awarded to students with a grade equal to or higher than 9.0. The number of honours may not exceed 5% of the students enrolled in a subject in the corresponding academic period, unless the number of students enrolled is less than 20: in this case, only one honours may be awarded. An additional honours degree may be awarded for the fraction resulting from applying 5% of the enrolled students.  

In the case of students participating in an exchange programme, the honours obtained at the host university will be added to their transcript, even if this means exceeding the limit established in the previous paragraph.  

10.5. Once a subject has been graded, it cannot be reassessed unless the student waives the grade obtained, provided that it is a "pass" or an equivalent mark. This waiver is made in writing and is addressed to the corresponding lecturer during the grade review period, and gives rise to the grade of "Not presented".  

With the exception of an enrolment in an extraordinary call, this waiver implies a new enrolment in the subject.  

10.6. The number of assessment tests required to grade a subject must be indicated in the course syllabus of the subject. Whenever the grade of the final test is "Not presented" and when the student has a higher number of evaluation tests Not Presented than those with a grade, the final grade will be "Not Presented".   

10.7 EUHT CETT UB must make use of the tools available to detect plagiarism in students' work and other exercises. Plagiarism in any assessable activity will result in a mark of 0 in the grade.   

10.8. When a student commits any irregularity that leads to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment report, this report is marked with a 0, eliminating the possibility of any repeat assessment. If more than one irregularity occurs in the acts of the same subject, the final grade is a 0. The provisions of this section are without prejudice to the disciplinary process that may be initiated as a result of the acts carried out. In the event that the student considers the decision to be incorrect, can lodge a complaint with the corresponding AC. 

Article 11. Repeat assessment Process 

11.1. After publishing the final grades, as established in article 10.1, a review and repeat assessment process will open. 

11.2. The process of review and repeat assessment consists of assessing the learners’ achievement of the course – educational objectives and skills- and their suitability according to the programmed skills and educational activities. 

11.3 In the event that, due to the characteristics of the subject, it is essential to fulfil certain requirements in order to be eligible for repeat assessment, the course plan must reflect this exceptional situation.   

11.4 In the event that any subject, due to its characteristics, excludes the possibility of repeat assessment, this circumstance must be made explicit in its course plan.   

11.5. In general, in order to be eligible for a subject repeat assessment and to be able to present or carry out a new assessment evidence, it will be essential to have obtained a grade in the subject between "4 -4.9", and to have presented the individual test/s or work/s of the course.   

Any other additional requirement that the relevant lecturers for the subject consider important to incorporate must be included in the course syllabus of the subject.   

Exceptionally, other assessment methods may be considered for access to repeat assessment in master's level courses, provided that they are included in the corresponding subject course syllabus.   

11.6. The repeat assessment process will only imply a modification of the final grade in the event that the new assessment test is passed, and in any case the maximum grade will be "5". This grade will be averaged with the rest of the grades of the evaluation activities that the student has carried out during the corresponding teaching period, making up the final grade of the subject.  

11.7. Once the review and repeat assessment processes have finished, faculty members will record the final grades and sign the transcripts. 

 

Article 12. Information on the marking process  

12.1 The marks for the assessment activities must be published at the latest 14 calendar days after the tests have been carried out or the assignments have been handed in.   

12.2 The final mark for the subject must be made public within a maximum period of 14 calendar days from the closing date of the continuous assessment process, the single assessment test or the repeat assessment. It is necessary to ensure that the marks are published 5 calendar days before the repeat assessment date.  

12.3. Public information on the results of the assessments, whether partial or final, takes place through the mechanisms established for this purpose. The faculty may disseminate the partial evaluations of the qualifications virtually, through the institutional applications established for this purpose and must comply with current legislation on the protection of personal data and other applicable regulations. 

 

CHAPTER III: GRADING REVIEW PROCEDURE  

Article 13. Process for the review of marks  

13.1. The student has the right to review the marks obtained in all the evidence of the assessment before the relevant lecturer. To this end, together with the publication of the grades of the various activities carried out, the Secretary's Services must publish the dates and times of the review and repeat assessment of the final grade of the subject, which, in any case, shall take place between the second and fifth working days following the publication of the grades.  

Once the review and repeat assessment have been carried out, the faculty publishes the final grade of the students who have requested it following the procedure established in article 12.  

13.2 In the review of the grades of the single subjects, the student has the right to access the assessment criteria.  

Article 14. Procedure for complaints against final grades  

14.1. The final grade of a subject may be a cause of a complaint by the student, if he/she has previously submitted and carried out the review regulated by article 11. The complaint must be submitted in writing within a maximum period of 10 calendar days from the publication of the final grades and shall be addressed to the AC, which immediately informs the EUHT CETT UB’s Director. 

14.2. The Coordination of Studies appoints an Evaluation Board made up of three members, none of them taking part in the first assessment, at least two of whom must be permanent faculty, and sends them the complaint submitted.  

14.3. The panel is constituted within a maximum period of five working days after the date of receipt of the complaint, reviews the evidence of the student's assessment, and asks the relevant lecturer for the subject to issue a written report within a maximum period of three working days. Similarly, it may hear the student, if it deems it appropriate.  

14.4. Within a maximum period of five working days from its constitution, the Evaluation Board resolves the complaint by issuing a reasoned agreement in which it ratifies or modifies the grade appealed, an agreement that it immediately notifies the Coordination of Studies. In the event that the modification of the mark is resolved, the President of the Evaluation Board must record the new mark in an additional report that is signed by all the members of the Evaluation Board.  

 14.5. The Coordination of Studies notifies the student in writing the decision of the Evaluation Board and sends a copy to the EUHT CETT-UB’s Director, as well as to the subject’s relevant lecturer, within a maximum period of three working days from receipt of the decision of the selection board. An appeal to the Universitat de Barcelona’s Rector may be lodged against the decision of the Evaluation Board.  

14.6 The EUHT CETT UB, in their Capstone Projects regulations, must establish which is the person responsible for appointing the panel that resolves complaints against the qualification of a Capstone Project. The president of this board must notify the student in writing of the panel's decision and send a copy to the corresponding Coordination of Studies within a maximum period of three working days from receipt of the panel's decision.  

 

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS FORM AND STORAGE OF ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS   

Article 15. Results Form 

15.1. The results form is the official document in which students are listed by name along with the final grades they obtained in the academic year. The University has a specific format for the results form. This document is created for each of the subjects and enrolment groups. However, if requested by the relevant department, one form can be created for each subject 

15.2. The results form must be signed for the lecturer who is responsible for the subject and group. When the results form is shared by more than one lecturer, or there is one form for various groups taking a subject, it will only be signed by the subject coordinator. If the relevant lecturer cannot sign the forms within the established period, the reasons for this must be given in writing. In this case, shall authorise the signature of the form by the EUHT CETTUB’s Director. All the results forms for a course shall be filed in the Secretary’s Office of the School. 

15.3. The results form must be signed within 20 calendar days from the date of single assessment or completion of the continuous assessment process. In addition, the results form must be signed within 20 calendar days of a repeat assessment. 

15.4. Rectifications of errors in the results form must be signed by the relevant lecturer and the Secretary of the School. If the change is to the detriment of the student, the procedure for reviewing provisions and void forms shall be initiated, as established in current legislation. 

Article 16. Storage of assessment documents  

16.1. Teaching staff shall keep proof of assessment for all activities until the end of the following academic year. Documents relating to the appeal procedure described below shall be kept for at least a year from the date a decision is made. If the volume or complexity of the proof of assessment makes it difficult to keep, the Coordinator of Studies may accept a shorter period. In all cases, proof of assessment shall be kept during the established period in the case of appeals.  

16.2. At the end of the aforementioned period, at the explicit request of the students, the work and internship reports handed in will be returned to them, within the period indicated by the teaching staff when the results of the assessment are made public.  

16.3 Teaching staff must preserve a model of each type of assessment activity according to what is established in the teaching plan for the subject and, if it exists, one failed, one passed, one outstanding and one excellent assessment evidence for each subject and group, and must transfer them to the Document Management and Archive unit. The rest of the evaluation evidences must be eliminated following the criteria established by the current legislation on personal data protection and the rest of the applicable regulations.  

16.4. Copying part or all of student projects or using them for any other purpose than that for which they have been designed can only be undertaken with the express authorisation of the author. 

16.5 The EUHT CETT UB shall permanently archive and store the evaluation reports in the support established for this purpose. 

 

CHAPTER V: NON-COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS   

Article 17. Non‐compliance with regulations on the assessment and marking of learning outcomes 

17.1. In the event of non-compliance with the regulations set out in the previous articles, students may submit a reasoned complaint to the corresponding Coordination of Studies.  

17.2. The receiving body collects and sends all the information it deems necessary, indicating the actions to be taken to resolve the complaint submitted. Likewise, if the complaint is upheld, it submits a report on the complaint to the EUHT CETT-UB Quality Commission of the Centre.  

17.3. The CETT Quality and Environment Services, having analysed the complaint submitted and the report received, sends a proposed resolution to the Coordination of Studies, in which the necessary measures are taken to re-establish the right that has been infringed and includes a warning to the person responsible for the breach committed and the possible sanctions that may be applicable. An appeal to the Universitat de Barcelona’s Rector may be lodged against this resolution.  

 

Final provision  

This regulations shall come into force in the academic year 2022-23, from the day following their approval and publication on the EUHT CETT-UB Virtual Campus.