Chapter 4 - Quality Assurance and Enhancement of Student Assessment
| 4.1 | As one part of a complex system of interactions between teachers and students, assessment is an integral part of the educational process. Fair, transparent and effective assessment helps to ensure quality learning, provides evidence of the achievement of student learning outcomes, and discriminates between different levels of student academic performance. Striving for effective, consistent, fair and transparent assessment at all levels is essential for the continuous improvement of the educational experience of students at the University. |
| 4.2 | For reference of staff and students, the document entitled Assessment Guidelines for Lingnan University (Appendix A) outlines some well-established best practices for continually improving alignment between assessment and the intended learning outcomes in all courses and programmes of the University. |
| 4.3 | Grades across the University have comparable meanings in terms of broadly defined levels of achievement. The University has set academic regulations and guidelines in order to achieve consistency across programmes and courses in student assessment. The principal documents are as follows: |
• Regulations Governing Undergraduate Studies* (Appendix B) | |
| There are other guidelines and procedures governing the administration of examinations and processing of grades which can be found in the Registry Intranet (https://www.ln.edu.hk/reg/info/intranet/rgrsa). | |
| 4.4 | The Undergraduate Examinations Board (UEB) which is one of the standing committees of the Senate and the Board of Examiners (BoE)1 at programme level are responsible for discussing and considering matters relating to examinations, assessment, course grading and award classification for undergraduate programmes, whereas the PSC and Board of Examiners2 of TPg programmes process these matters at the postgraduate level. The terms of reference and membership of BoEs are available on the websites of respective departments/programmes/office. |
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| 4.5 | A student may appeal for a review of grades and/or for a reassessment. Details are given in Section 9 Appeals of the Regulations Governing University Examinations and Course Work and the Guidelines on Review of Grades and Reassessment (Appendix G, for staff only). |
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| 4.6 | Full implementation of OBATL is adopted from the 2017-18 academic year. Revisions to a number of guidelines were made with major ones being the removal of those related to grade and degree honours classifications distribution guideline and addition of the need to make reference to assessment rubrics. |
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| 4.7 | To provide reference for student assessment under OBATL, a document on Norm-Based vs. Criterion-Based Assessment3 (Appendix H) is available for reference by staff members. |
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| 4.8 | In alignment with OBATL, class attendance should not be a standalone assessment component. However, class attendance can be part of the assessment in connection with class participation subject to the development of a clear rubric that shows the weighting of class attendance as part of the class participation when it is an item in course assessment. |
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| 4.9 | To enhance the overall learning experience for students, the University has decided to allow the use of ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools from the 2023-24 academic year. |
In July 2023, the Teaching and Learning Centre (renamed to Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning since May 2026) issued the “Best Practices for Ethical and Responsible Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Tools in Course Assessments” which outline the principles, practices, and actions that need to be aware of/taken by course instructors and students regarding the implications of using GAI tools in course assessments. In October 2024, the Senate approved the updated “Best Practices for Ethical and Responsible Use of GAI Tools in Course Assessment” (Appendix I) and the “Guidelines for Using GAI Tools at Lingnan University” (Appendix J) effective from Term 2 of the 2024-25 academic year. Students are allowed to use GAI tools to assist them in preparing assignments, assessments, and other educational practices, provided these tools are used ethically and responsibly, in accordance with the GAI Guidelines. However, teaching staff may still seek prior approval from the relevant Head of Department/Programme Director NOT to allow students to use GAI tools (in part or their entirety) to prepare assignments, assessments, and other educational practices. |
1 For BA programmes/courses offered by the Departments of the Faculty of Arts, all examination matters will be dealt with by the Department Board concerned. For courses offered by the CEAL and the CLEAC, examination matters will be handled by the Boards of the Centres. For courses directly offered by the Office of Core Curriculum and the OSL, examination matters will be overseen respectively by the Core Curriculum Committee and the Service-Learning Programme Committee. For science courses offered by the Division of Science, examination matters will be overseen by the Board of Division of Science. For music and performing arts courses offered by the Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit, examination matters will be overseen by the Board of Music and Performing Arts Unit.
2 For taught postgraduate programmes/courses offered by the Departments of the Faculty of Arts, all examination matters will be dealt with by the Department Board concerned except for Translation, and Digital Arts and Creative Industries.
3 This document was approved by the Senate and serves to provide detailed information on the differentiation between norm-based and criterion-based assessment for reference of staff members.
Quality Assurance and Enhancement of Student Assessment (PDF)
Appendix A - Assessment Guidelines for Lingnan University
Appendix B - Regulations Governing Undergraduate Studies
Appendix C - Regulations Governing Taught Doctoral/Master’s Degree Programmes
Appendix D - Regulations Governing University Examinations and Course Work
Appendix E - Guidelines for Course Assessment and Classification of Awards for Bachelor’s Degree Programmes (for staff only)
Appendix F - Guidelines for Course Assessment for Taught Postgraduate Programmes (for staff only)
Appendix G - Guidelines on Review of Grades and Reassessment (for staff only)
Appendix H - Norm-Based vs. Criterion-Based Assessment
Appendix I - Best Practices for Ethical and Responsible Use of GAI Tools in Course Assessment
Appendix J - Guidelines for Using GAI Tools at Lingnan University