1 – General provisions

Article 1.1 – Applicability of the Rules and Guidelines

These Rules and Guidelines shall apply to the exams and final examinations of the Communication Science study programme(s), hereinafter referred to as: the study programme(s).

Article 1.2 – General

1. The terms defined in the Teaching and Examinations Regulations (TER) for the relevant programme shall also apply to these Rules and Guidelines. The remaining terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them by the Act.

2. In the event that a provision in these Rules and Guidelines is in conflict with a provision in the TER for the relevant programme, the latter shall prevail.

Article 2.1 – Composition of the Examination Board

The Examination Board consists of a chairperson (external member), a secretary and an internal member. The secretary is responsible for handling the day-to-day affairs of the Examination Board. The Examination Board is appointed by the programme management for 2 years to fulfill their duty as a member. 

Article 2.2 – Duties of the Examination Board

The Examination Board is a body at Amsterdam Tech which guarantees the quality of the examinations and exit qualifications. The duties of the Examination Board are set out by law.

To this end, the Examination Board is responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:

• Ensuring that criteria and requirements set out in the Teaching and Examination Regulations are met regarding the intended learning outcomes and profile of a graduate
• Advising on the Teaching and Examination Regulations where necessary
• Safeguarding the quality of examinations in accordance with the programme’s target competencies 
• Establishing the standards and guidelines for scoring and awarding results for examinations within the framework of the Teaching and Examination Regulations
• Granting exemptions from taking certain modules or projects
• Taking measures against plagiarism and making the final decision in case of plagiarism
• Appointing examiners to conduct assessments and determine their results
• Issuing certificates and diplomas 
• Granting a learner permission to follow a flexible curriculum, the final examination for which will lead to the obtaining of a degree
• Publishing an annual report on its activities

Article 2.3 – General benchmarks

The Examination Board monitors the quality of the degree programme and that students’ learning outcomes are being achieved. The Examination Board uses a number of general benchmarks in its decisions. These are:

– the need for students to achieve the learning outcomes of the relevant programme in order to graduate;

– the desirability that only students that meet the entry requirements will move on to the next phase of the programme;

– the desirability of limiting time wasting for students as much as possible in preparing for examinations;

– the desirability of encouraging students to discontinue their degree programme as early as possible, if passing a bootcamp or final examination (final project) has become unlikely;

– the desirability of protecting students from themselves in cases when they wish to take on too heavy a study load;

– strictness with regard to students who deliberately or repeatedly violate rules.

Article 2.4 – Decision period of the Examination Board

The Examination Board shall take a decision no later than eight weeks after receiving a written petition.

Article 2.5 – Meetings of the Examination Board

The Examination Board shall meet at least two times a year.

3 – Examiners

1. There is at least one examiner for every programme curriculum.
2. The examiners are responsible for measuring the learning mastery, giving constructive feedback to student work (assignments, projects etc.) and determining the final results for each module and the programme. 
3. The Examination Board identifies the requirements for examiners and appoints them to programmes.
4. The Examination Board can appoint professionals outside the university as external examiners.
5. The examiners shall agree to provide the Examination Board with the required information. 

4 – Measurement of Learning Mastery

Article 4.1 – Requirements

The requirements to be fulfilled for the successful completion of a programme or a module are explained in the Programme Handbooks. The examiner is responsible for measuring the students’ learning mastery on the relevant components of the programme. Measurement may consist of assignments, projects, presentations, essays, reflective accounts or other practical / hands-on forms of testing that are relevant for evidence-based learning and assessment in each programme. The content of the assessment needs to be based on the learning outcomes of the modules and the programme.

Article 4.2 – Participation and Learning as Responsibility 

Specific rules or expectations are outlined in the handbooks for each programme. Students who are enrolled in each degree programme are expected to participate in learning activities as a community member. Regardless of this, any student who is unable to contribute to community learning may result in exclusion from the programme. 

Article 4.3 – Deadlines

Specific deadlines such as assignments and projects are communicated via handbooks and the learning management system.

Article 4.4 – Assessment 

1. Assessment in the programmes is project-based. Students are entitled to project submission if they are properly registered to the programme in time, meet the entry requirements and are registered in the university’s learning management system. 
2. No scores will be given to any study units for which the student has no valid enrolment. 
3. The workload for a single module project shall take no longer than 16 hours to complete.
4. All submissions shall be made online by the student in the relevant course on the learning management system.
5. Student work is assessed based on predetermined rubrics, which are set down in writing on the learning management system and which may be modified based on the correction process. In this case, the student is informed timely.
6. The method of assessment shall be in a manner that the student is able to verify how the results of his or her assessment have been arrived at. 
7. Final scores for each course (bootcamp) shall be assigned on a 100-points scale based on the predetermined weights of the assessed items. The information on weights shall be available in programme handbooks.
8. If relevant, the examiners might apply the moderated assessment method to determine the final score of the student work.
9. The passing score of a course (bootcamp) must be at least 60.
10. Rules regarding plagiarism are outlined in the programme handbooks. By participating in the assessment, the student gives their consent for the work to be run through the plagiarism-scanning software where relevant.

Article 4.5 – Assessing the learning mastery of the programme learning outcomes

1. The learning mastery shall be assessed by the examiners in the programmes. The rubric evaluation (1-5) is used to show the learners where they are in their learning mastery, and they can resubmit the assessed work if they wish to increase their learning mastery in a specific competency. 
2. The satisfactory score for each learning outcome is 3 out of 5.
3. All rubrics and evaluation criteria shall be made available in the programme handbooks and in the learning management system of the programme.

Article 4.6 – Resubmissions to increase learning mastery

1. Students can re-submit assignments and module projects in order to increase their mastery level in the learning outcomes within 14 working days after the results have been announced. In the case of a resubmission, the second mastery score counts as 65% and the previous score as 35% of the total weight. E.g They scored 3 in the first one, and 5 in the second. Then their final mastery score would be 4. 
2. Their final score out of 100 will be the second score they receive. If they have a late penalty reduction in their first score, the same penalty applies to the second score as well. 
3. Learners  cannot resubmit after their score has been scored zero when the submissions are closed. Resubmission only applies after a submission of work has taken place. 
4. Learners can re-submit work once. 
5. When a learner submits work late, a late submission policy is applied. 

Article 4.7 – Work-based Final Projects

1. All students who are entitled to take the Final Project module are required to submit a final project whose requirements are outlined separately in the final project guides.
2. Final projects are required to go through both internal and external examinations.

Article 4.8 – Oral Assessments (Viva Sessions)

1. All students are required to participate in a Viva session in which they voice their learning after a course and as part of their final project assessments.
2. An internal and external examiner shall be appointed to take part in the Viva of the final projects.
3. An Examination Board member may also be invited to join a Viva session.
4. Viva sessions shall be conducted at times to be determined by the examiners if possible following consultation with the student. 
5. Students are informed at least two weeks before the session about the expectations and the session’s details. 
6. Students must receive their learning mastery reports before they arrive in the Viva session.

Article 4.9 – Fraud and plagiarism

1. The provisions of the regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for the students apply in full, and form part of these rules and guidelines.
2. If an examiner discovers that a student has plagiarized (e.g copying from another student), the examiner shall make a written report to be presented to the Examination Board within five working days. 
3. The Examination Board decides on any possible sanctions in the first meeting after the fraud or plagiarism was discovered and the student has been given the opportunity to respond to the allegation.
4. the Examination Board may decide to deem invalid the assessment in question and to exclude the student from further participation in the assessment in question or from every assessment for a period of no more than one year. 

5- Academic Appeals

1. Any student who believes that an error or errors have been made in the assessment of his or her exam (assignments or projects) may submit a reasoned request in writing for a reassessment to the examiner no later than 14 days. 
2. Academic Appeal procedure shall be available to students in the Learner Handbook and at www.amsterdam.tech

6 – Awarding Degrees

If a student meets the requirements for graduation, the Examination Board will, in principle, automatically proceed to award the degree certificate, unless the student requests otherwise. The Examination Board may decide not to honour this request, but must have well-founded reasons for doing so.

Article 6.1 – Diploma classifications

If the weighted average of all compulsory (examination) components is 60 or higher and the final project has been awarded a minimum score of 60, the Examination Board shall consider awarding the degree qualification. The Examination Board has the option to deviate from these rules in special circumstances (either on request of a student or not). This means that a degree qualification is not automatically awarded. Other diploma classifications shall be listed on the diploma supplement.

7 – Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

An exemption from certain modules or final examination (final project) implies that the student is deemed to have passed the relevant module or final examination, without a score being awarded. Requests for exemption from an exam or final examination must be submitted to the Examination Board through the RPL process.

8 – Retention periods

Examination materials  for which a score or partial score is awarded, as well as the results of exams, including final projects, degree certificates and diploma supplements, shall be retained for a period of five years.

9 – Hardship clause

The Examination Board may make exceptional arrangements in cases where the provisions of these Rules and Guidelines have unreasonable or unfair repercussions for the student.

10 – Amendments

These Rules and Guidelines shall not be amended during the current academic year, unless such amendments can be reasonably assumed not to damage students’ academic progress.

11 – Effective date

These Rules and Guidelines shall enter into effect on 1 April 2021 and apply until the new version of the Rules and Guidelines has been defined.