Class Representatives and Complaint Procedures

It is university policy that each class should elect two class representatives at the beginning of each year. One of the roles of the class representatives is to convey information from the lecturer/department to other students. The class representatives will also be called upon to represent the learners in meetings with Department/School staff and/or management.

The correct procedure for any learner who has a complaint about a lecturer or course is for the learner firstly to approach the lecturer and attempt to resolve the issue. If this is unsuccessful, the learner should complete a student complaint form (available from the secretary) and take the issue to the Site Head of Department. If the matter is still not resolved, it may be escalated to the Head of Department. If many learners in a class have a problem with a lecturer or course, the problem must be detailed on a student complaint form and the form should be passed to the class representatives who should act on behalf of the learners by first approaching the lecturer and then, if necessary, escalating the problem to the Site HoD and then the HoD.

Roles, Responsibilities and Attendance Requirements

According to University Policy all lectures must be attended punctually and regularly. Attendance at all practical’s is especially important for students studying within the Department of Networking and IT Support as the computer laboratory time is at a premium and skills gained in practical classes are fundamental for all ICT courses.

Registers will be taken at all classes and filed for future reference. The department has adopted the following attendance policy:
• if a student does not attend 80% of classes between tests, the next test will not be marked - meaning the student will be awarded 0% for the next test.
• if a student does not attend 80% of classes during the year, the student will not be admitted to the fourth and supplementary tests.

Misunderstandings about course content or failure to understand a topic can often be cleared up in one-on-one sessions with the lecturer and learners are urged to consult their lecturers if they have any queries, etc. It is also important for a lecturer to be aware of any personal problems which may affect a learner’s performance. If necessary, the lecturer will be able to direct the learner to the many support services offered by the University, such as Student Counselling Services, Health Services, HIV/AIDS Support Services, etc.
Learners are requested to make appointments to meet with lecturers during the available consultation times. As this will not always be possible, however, lecturers are also expected to make time to meet with learners in ‘emergency’ situations.

Punctuality

Students are expected to be on time and ready to begin at the stated time on the timetable. Students who are not able to attend a formal contact session must provide the lecturer with a written note explaining their non-attendance. These notes will be kept in the course file in case queries regarding a student’s poor performance are raised. See “Make-up and Sick-test Assessment” below for details regarding the submission of medical certificates for missed tests, late assignments, etc.

Peer Assisted Learning programme (PAL)

PAL and tutoring is co-ordinated by WSU Learning and Teaching Development (LTD) division. It is run for the benefit of all learners – more especially those who are struggling with the course content. Learners are expected to attend as many PAL and tutorial sessions per week as possible. Registers will be taken at all PAL and tutorial sessions and filed for future reference.

Mode of Delivery & Access to Online Systems

This module is presented using a technology infused full contact approach. In other words, it is 100% face-to-face and supplemented by technology tools such as the WSU Learning Management System (Moodle) (WiSeUp), Office 365 applications, smart boards, projectors etc. Registered students will be given login credentials to access tools such as university emails, MS Teams and WiSeUp.
To access the Moodle platform, follow the instructions below):

1. URL Address – https://wiseup.wsu.ac.za/
2. Enter password and username when prompted.
3. Click or tap here to enter text.

To access Office 365 apps, follow the instructions below:
1. URL Address – https://www.office.com
2. Click sign in
3. Enter password and username when prompted.

Make-up and Sick-test Assessment
• Wherever possible, students must inform lectures of existing medical conditions that may inhibit them from fairly participating in an assessment for example bi-polar disorders, anxiety, mobility, auditory or vision impairments etc. This must be done at least two days prior to the date of assessment.
• Medical certificates regarding missed tests and/or assignments, etc. must be submitted to the lecturer or site department secretary within 5 working days of the test date or due date. Medical certificates not received within 5 days will not be considered – unless the learner was hospitalised.
• If a medical certificate is accepted, the assessment will count towards the learner’s DP mark.
• Complaints or queries about assessment marks must be raised with the lecturer concerned within 3 days of the assessment being returned to the students.

Moderation of Assessments

All summative assessment question papers and memoranda for modules are internally moderated during the year. The final and supplementary examination question papers and memoranda are also internally moderated for non-exit level modules and externally moderated for exit-level modules. In accordance with university rules, a sample of the final and supplementary examination marking is moderated.

Exclusion and Re-Admission of students

As per the Institutions exclusion and re-admission rules.

Students should take note of the institutional rules G7-G11 on re-admission of students to undergraduate programmes. As provided for under institutional rules G8.1, 8.2. 9.1 & 9.2 the Department of Networking and IT Support has set the following criteria for re-admission.

A student that progresses at a slower rate than that set out below, will be refused further re-admission on the grounds of “poor academic performance”

Registration requirements that must be met

a) First time entering students must enrol for all the required courses at that level (i.e., Level 1A OR Level 1).
b) If a student fails courses spanning multiple levels, then the student must firstly enrol for the courses at the lower level. Consideration for enrolment of courses at the higher level will only be considered if the pre-requisite criteria for these courses are met AND if there are no timetable clashes.
c) A student will not be allowed to jump levels or enrol for courses at more than two levels (e.g., a student with Year1 courses outstanding cannot enrol for Year3 courses but will be required to complete the Year1 first).
d) The Head of Department may limit the number of courses that a student may enrol for when poor academic progress is evident.
e) A returning student who was studying under the National Diploma and Bachelor of Technology qualifications can only be allowed to register for qualifying courses in the Diploma in ICT and\or Advanced Diploma in ICT qualification through a migration process. This is subject to modules completed that are aligned with the new qualification.

Plagiarism

Students who submit work which has not been adequately referenced but who have clearly used information from textbooks, research articles, newspapers, magazines, and internet pages will be held to be in breach of the plagiarism and copyright act which is a criminal offence. Plagiarised work will not be accepted for marking and students may be subjected to disciplinary action.