Grading System
Methods and criteria of student achievements assessment are defined in the course syllabi. Assessment methods generally include an examination, an essay, a report, group work and a questionnaire. Each course ends up with an oral or written exam evaluated in a 10-point grading or pass/fail system.
Since the 2002-2003 academic year a 10-point grading scale has been used in all Higher Educational Institutions of Belarus according to the decree of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus. The minimum passing grade is 4, the maximum grade is 10. The following definitions must be used as a guide for the assignment of grades.
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10
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OUTSTANDING – Outstanding performance without errors
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9
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EXCELLENT – Outstanding performance with only minor errors
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8
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NEARLY EXCELLENT – Above average standard but with some errors
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7
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VERY GOOD– Performance considerably satisfies the average requirements
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6
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GOOD– Performance satisfies the average requirements
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5
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NEARLY GOOD– Fair but with significant shortcomings
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4
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SATISFACTORY – Performance meets the minimum criteria
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3,2,1
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FAIL – Performance does not satisfy the requirements
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Alongside the ten-point system the Belarusian universities use the pass/fail system of evaluation as a non-graded assessment system. Examinations, as well as course and final projects are, as a rule, graded. For the courses that do not end with examinations the pass/fail system is used to test if a student earned the credits allocated to it. A student passes when he/she proves that he/she assimilates no less than 50% of the required knowledge scope.
On 01 September 2012 BSUIR launched a module and rating assessment system for student achievements. According to this system the final assessment grade on each course depends on the current and final attestation in three or four course modules, as well as on class attendance and participation. Students’ participation in research projects, conferences, scientific seminars must also be taken into account when calculating the final assessment grade. So, 30% of the final assessment grade is supposed to be earned at the final examination, while the other 70% is to be accumulated during the academic semester.
The year 2013 saw the implementation of a new generation of academic programme standards, which were designed in accordance with the main Bologna Process documentation, UNESCO recommendations and the National Development Programme for Higher Education. The most distinctive features of the new standards are competence-based approach, integrated ECTS dimension, focus on ICOMs and labour market demands, Master’s degree programmes formed in two flows: practice-oriented and science-oriented, and etc.
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