Assessment

For partial or final assessment tests, the teaching staff can decide on any combination of the following modalities:

1. Objective test, face-to-face or virtual, to evaluate the fundamental conceptual knowledge of the subject. This test could be part of a two-phase exam and be eliminatory, so that if this part is not passed, the second part can no longer be taken or will not be evaluated.
2. Exercise resolution test where students will have to apply the knowledge acquired to solve any exercise that can be addressed with the contents taught and regardless of whether or not identical or similar examples have been performed in class.
3. Combined test between basic conceptual knowledge and applied exercises; that is, a combined test of the two above.

All tests and exams may be with or without notes and face-to-face or virtual depending on the circumstances. This all remains at the discretion of the teaching staff, who must announce it well in advance and, if possible, at the beginning of the classes in each block associated with a partial or final exam.

Student assessment includes the following activities:

1. Three individual partial tests (one test per block), carried out individually, face-to-face, in a controlled environment, and in written format. These partial tests assess the student's acquired knowledge and his/her capability to design efficient digital circuits and systems.
2. Exercises resolution: a set of on-line exercises, with automatic grading, must be delivered on previously scheduled dates.
3. Webinars attendance, and the viewing of videos before attending the class will be assessed through eventual “5-minutes tests” that will be carried out within the webinar itself.
4. For each laboratory session, the attendance (in-class or online as determined), the lab-work preparation and the work carried out during the session will be assessed. Let’snote that, depending on the circumstances, and if deemed appropriate, it may be necessary to schedule a practical exam to complete the assessment.

The mark of the course by continued assessment (CA) is obtained from:

1. (activity 1) The mark obtained in the 3 partial tests (PT1, PT2, PT3),
2. (activities 2 and 3) the delivery of exercises, answer to questionnaires and class attendance (Pb),
3. (activity 4) the mark of the laboratory activities (LT), and

according to the formula: CA = PT · 0.5 + LT · 0.3 + Pb · 0.2

where PT = (PT1+PT2+PT3)/3

To pass the course the following conditions must be met:

1. CA ≥ 5
2. PT1, PT2, and PT3 must be ≥ 4, and PT must be ≥5, and
3. LT must be ≥ 5

 At the end of the course:

• If the mark obtained in PT1, PT2, or PT3 (only one of them) is < 4, the student is encouraged to raise this mark by repeating the test scored under 4. To pass the course, the new mark obtained must be ≥ 4, and the new average of the three marks must be ≥ 5. The mark PT will be this new average.
• If a student has obtained a mark < 4 in two or more partial tests, he is encouraged to take a final test of the whole course curriculum. The mark PT will be the grade obtained in this test, which must be ≥ 5 to pass the course.

If PT < 5 or LT < 5 after retaking these new tests, the final score of the course will be the lowest number between CA and4.5.

The following figure summarizes the possible situations for students having passed the laboratory practices (that is, LT≥ 5)

 

 

  b) Assessment activities: scheduling

Dates of the assessment tests and the submission of exercises are published in the Virtual Campus (VC) and may be subject to changes in programming due to unforeseen eventualities. Any modification will be reported through this platform.

It is important to bear in mind that no assessment activities will be permitted for any student at a different date or time to that established, unless for justified causes duly advised before the activity and with the lecturer’s previous consent. In all other cases, if an activity has not been carried out, this cannot be re-assessed.

 c) Recovery process

The evaluation activity 1 corresponding to the theory can be recovered in the final test, following the conditions explained in sectiona. The student can present himself to the recovery as long as he has presented himself to 2 of the 3 partials of theory.

1)     If the grade obtained in one (and only one) of the partial tests PP1, PP2 or PP3 is < 4, this qualification must be passed by taking a recovery exam of the corresponding block. To pass the course the grade obtained in this exam must be ≥ 4, and the new  average PP of the three partials must be ≥ 5.

2)     If the grade obtained in two or more partials is < 4, the student must take a new exam that will include the entire cours. The grade obtained will be the new PP, which must be ≥ 5 to pass the course.

Activities 2 and 3 (delivery of exercises, class attendance and tests) which corresponds to 20% of the final grade and activity 4 (laboratory practices) which corresponds to 30% of the final grade  cannot be recovered.

d) Grades review

Grades obtained by students in each test are published in the VC. Once the grades arepublished, students will be informed of the procedure to follow to review their exam. Students must request, through the VC, an exam review, and will receive a call with the day and time to do it through TEAMS.

Any student who does not follow this procedure, within the time frame established, may not request a new review.

e) Special grades

• A "non-assessable" grade cannot be assigned to students who have participated in any of the individual partial tests or the final test.
• In order to reach the qualification “with Honours”, the final grade must be ≥ 9.0. Because the number of students with this distinction cannot exceed 5% of the number of students enrolled in the course, this distinction will be awarded to whoever has the highest final grade.

 f) Irregularities committed by the student, copy and plagiarism

Notwithstanding other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with the academic regulations in force, assessment activities will receive a zero whenever a student commits academic irregularities that may alter such assessment. Assessment activities graded in this way and by this procedure will not be re-assessable. If passing the assessment activity or activities in question is required to pass the subject, the awarding of a zero for disciplinary measures will also entail a direct fail for the subject, with no opportunity to re-assess this in the same academic year.

Irregularities contemplated in this procedure include, among others:

• the total or partial copying of a test, practical exercise, report, or any other evaluation activity;
• allowing others to copy;
• presenting group work that has not been done entirely by the members of the group;
• presenting any materials prepared by a third part as one’s own work, even if these materials are translations or adaptations, including work that is not original or exclusively that of the student;
• having communication devices such as mobile phones, smart watches, etc., accessible during theoretical-practical in-class assessment tests (individual exams).
• talk to peers during individual theoretical-practical assessment tests (exams);
• copy or attempt to copy from other students during theoretical-practical assessment tests (exams); - use or attempt to use writings related to the subject during the performance of the theoretical-practical evaluation tests (exams), when these have not been explicitly allowed.

 g) Assessment of students who followed the subject last year but do not successfully passed it

Students who completed and passed the laboratory practices in the previous course but did not pass the course, may choose not to repeat them again during the currentacademic year. In that case, the laboratory practices grade (LT) will be 5, regardless of the grade reached the previous year.

The list of students who can choose this option will be published at the beginning of the course in the VC. If, anyway, the student wants to make the laboratory practices again, he/she must communicate it by mail to the practice Coordinator.

If a student has committed irregularities (copies/plagiarism) in any evaluation activity in a previous call of the subject he will not have the right to have his practices validated (if he had approved them).

From the second matriculation and if the student has the approved practices and choose to validate them, the estudent can choose that the evaluation system is:

1. make the normal evaluation (continues + final recovery) established in the section "a) Process and programmed evaluation activities" where a 5 would be maintained to the practices but the grade of the exercises would not be maintained.
2. replace the continuous evaluation with a final exam (on the date of the third part) and take into account your grade of practices and exercises of the previous course (5 maximum in each case):

final grade = 0.5 * final test + 0.3 * grade of the practices of the previous course (a 5) + 0.2 * note previous course exercises (maximum a 5)

If the student fails he has a second chance in this alternative 2) which would be to do again a final exam of the whole subject on the dates of the final recovery, maintaining the same conditions for practices and exercices (maximum a 5).

To be eligible for this differentiated evaluation (2),repeating students must request it from the person responsible for the subject by email no later than 15 days after the start of classes.