Akonga/Learner Results, Transcripts and Award Certificates for Qualifications – OPBD Procedure

To provide operational procedures at the Otago Polytechnic Business Division of Te Pūkenga to ensure:

• Academic results are entered into the Student Management System (SMS) in a timely manner. 
• Academic results are available to ākonga via the learner portal.
• Academic results enable the production of Academic Transcripts, and Award Certificates on completion of a Formal Award (programme of study/qualification) micro-credentials, and Non-Formal Awards.

Otago Polytechnic Business Division (OPBD) Academic Registry is the department with centralised responsibility for overseeing the results process for OPBD and for forwarding unit standard results to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). 

1. Course/Assessment and Final Results (refer to TKM Notification of assessment results and Notification of final course or programme outcomes, Section 6.9 and 6.14).
   • 1.1. Final course results: First-semester course occurrence results must be completed prior to the responsible course academic staff member/s going on leave and be available to ākonga and other stakeholders prior to the second-semester start date; in the case of second-semester course occurrence results these must be completed prior to the responsible course academic staff member/s going on leave and before the commencement of the Christmas Break.

2. Resits and Resubmissions (refer to TKM Variations to Assessment, Section 6.5(3) and (4) and Reassessment Opportunities, Section 6.15).

2.1.  Ākonga who do not pass a course within the required time frame (including resubmissions and resits) are required to re-enrol.  Any exceptions including extensions passed the end date of the programme of study are to be referred to the Director: Academic Excellence/or equivalent.

3. Grade Tables

3.1. OPBD Academic Excellence is responsible for ensuring the correct grade table as approved in the programme regulations is in the SMS (refer to clauses 3.2 and 3.3).

3.2. For non-unified OPBD programmes of study refer to Grades and Abbreviations below (Appendix 1).

3.3. For Te Pūkenga unified programmes of study refer to TKM Grading, Part 6, Section 6.17 and Assessment Grades Section 6.17.

3.4. Programme Heads/Leaders/or equivalent are responsible for ensuring that the approved grade tables are used in all programmes of study documentation including ākonga programme handbooks (hardcopy and online) and course outlines.

4. Withdrawals (refer to TKM, Section 2E Provider-based learning withdrawals and refunds for domestic learner/ākonga nō Aotearoa, Sections 2.20-2.27).
5. Results (refer to TKM Notification of Assessment Results, Section 6.9).

5.1. All assessment events with the weighting as approved in the programme of study document, are loaded into the SMS centrally.

5.2. Programme Heads/Leaders or equivalent are responsible for ensuring effective and accurate systems are followed for:

• checking the accuracy of results data entered into the SMS.
• correcting errors in results.
• timely marking, feedback and results entry in SMS and notification to ākonga. 

5.3. Student Administrators are responsible for finalising results according to the approved programme of study/qualification.

5.4. Where a course contains any National Qualifications Framework (NQF) unit standard(s), results are to be entered for each assessment event, the NQF unit standard(s) as well as for the course itself.

6. Results Amendment (refer to TKM Reconsideration of course final grade, Section 6.20 and 6.21).

6.1. Where an error is found in a finalised result, this error must be corrected in the SMS following authorisation from the Programme Head/or equivalent. 

6.2. Ākonga must be informed of the correction of the error. 

6.3. Correction of the error including Programme Head/Leader/or equivalent authorisation must be notified to Student Administrator, on Student Result Amendment Form available from the Programme Administrator or downloaded from (OPBD Intranet Tūhono (Staff Directory, Academic Registry, How can we help you? Student Result Amendment Form).

7. Notification of results (refer to TKM Notification of Assessment Results, Section 6.9 and 6.13(1).

7.1. There is to be no public display of results.

7.2. Published work such as Theses are approved for release in the public domain provided they meet copyright.

7.3. The forwarding of all NQF results to NZQA is centralised and can only be carried out by delegation from the OPBD Deputy Chief Executive: Academic Delivery/or equivalent.

8. Award Certificates for Qualifications (refer to TKM Awards, Part 7).

8.1. Non-formal Awards (refer to TKM Non-formal Awards, Section 7.3).

8.2. A Head of College, or equivalent, may authorise the issuance of a Record of Attendance or a Record of Achievement to ākonga who meet the attendance or assessment requirements of any course or group of courses. 

8.3.. The approved templates for non-formal awards are generated from the SMS, and a copy of the Record of Attendance or Achievement is scanned to ākonga record in the SMS.

9. Co-branding (refer to TKM Graduation Certificates and Academic Records, Section 7.6)
10. Replacement Certificates (refer to TMK Graduation Certificates and Academic Records, Section 7.6.(4)).

10.1. OPBD Academic Registry will replace original Certificates with no charge provided they have:

• not been received by ākonga,
• been damaged in transit, or
• have been issued with incorrect information.

10.2. All other requests to OPBD for replacement Certificates must be in writing to Academic Registry and a fee payable will apply.

11. Academic Transcripts (refer to TKM Graduation Certificates and Academic Records, Section 7.6)

11.1.  Academic Transcripts are to be produced on the official approved Academic Transcript paper

11.2.  All  Academic Transcripts must be produced from the SMS using the approved SMS report(s).  Exceptions can be approved by the OPBD Chair of Academic Committee only.

11.3.  Academic Transcripts can only be produced following the finalisation of results into the SMS.

11.4 Initial Academic Transcripts are signed by the Head of College/or equivalent.

12. Ākonga Results Notices (refer to TKM Notification of assessment results, Section 6.9).

12.1.  A Result Notice is a record of ākonga results for those courses undertaken for that programme of study, semester, or year and are available via the learner portal.

12.2. The result will be reported at the course level and will also show all unit standard results where applicable.

12.3. Result Notices can be produced via the learner portal by ākonga

12.4. Requests from ākonga to OPBD Academic Registry to produce a Result Notice will incur a fee for each Result Notice.

12.5. Result Notices must be produced from the SMS using the approved SMS report(s).  Exceptions must be approved by the Deputy Chief Executive: Academic Delivery/or equivalent only.

Register of Transcripts

13.1. An OPBD Register of Academic Transcripts produced by OPBD must be held and produced by the SMS and will include details of any OPBD Academic Transcripts produced including date and signatory.

13.2. A separate OPBD Register for any Transcripts not produced by the SMS must be held and managed by the appropriate College e.g., Bachelor of Nursing, record of theoretical and clinical hours as required by regulatory bodies.

Appendix 1. Key to all Grades and Abbreviations for approved OPBD programmes of study ONLY

Appendix 1. Key to all Grades and Abbreviations (refer to TKM Assessment, Section 6.16 and Grading and Assessment Grading, 6.17).

IMPORTANT NOTE:

• For non-unified OPBD programmes of study refer to Grades and Abbreviations below.
• For Te Pūkenga unified programmes refer to TKM Part 6, Grading, Section 6.17

∗NRE includes Level 8 courses. 

*X is for Level 9 courses only 

 The following programmes have variations to the generic grade tables. 

Note: These grade tables apply from 2004 onwards. Should information be required regarding a grade which does not match one of the above, please contact the OPBD Academic Registry. 

Te Pūkenga Policies

Te Pūkenga National Kaupapa-here / Privacy Policy Ngā Hātepe | Privacy Procedure

Otago Polytechnic Business Division Procedures

• Assessment and Moderation – OPBD Procedure 
• Grade Tables, Honours, Distinction, and Merit – OPBD Procedure 
• Graduation – OPBD Procedure
• Learner Fees – OPBD  Procedure
• Recognition of Prior Learning/Recognition of Prior Knowledge and Skills – OPBD Procedure
• Withdrawal, Transfer, Cancellation, and Refund – OPBD Procedure

Policy Version:  V12: Previously Coded: AP1008.