Oral presentations (as an additional assessment opportunity)

How to use an oral presentation as outlined in the Assessment Policy

• If there are uncertainties about a student's understanding of the assessment or key concepts, an oral presentation can be used as an additional assessment opportunity to help clarify their knowledge.
• If a student’s written work indicates gaps or areas where further demonstration of understanding is necessary, an oral presentation offers them an additional chance to expand on their responses.

How not to use an oral presentation as outlined in the Assessment Policy

• In the policy context, an oral presentation should not be used to question students about suspected academic misconduct. These should be referred for investigation through the appropriate channels.

Approach to and the conduct of oral presentations

The approach to and conduct of oral assessment must comply with the Assessment—Conduct of Coursework Assessment and Examinations Procedure.

Key tips for ensuring a fair and balanced process:

• The subject coordinator will provide the student with advance notification of the requirement.
• The oral presentation will be arranged at a mutually convenient time for both the student and the assessor.
• The oral presentation should not be overly complex, and questions should be related to the subject learning outcomes, a particular topic or a specific assessment task in the subject.
• Students may be invited to an oral presentation individually or in groups. Refer to the Assessment - Conduct of Coursework Assessment and Examinations Procedure for the conduct of group assessment work.
• The presentation should be conducted in a comfortable and fair environment for students, avoiding a scenario where two or more assessors are assessing one student.

Possible outcomes

There are two possible outcomes:

1. If the student demonstrates a clear understanding of the assessment requirements and outcomes or if gaps in understanding are identified, this will be noted in the feedback and reflected in their marks. For information about the return of assessments and feedback, refer to the Assessment—Conduct of Coursework Assessment and Examinations Procedure.
2. If the student fails to attend the oral presentation or provides a response suggesting a breach of academic integrity has taken place, they can be referred for investigation of academic misconduct under the Student Misconduct Rule. At this point, the matter should be referred to an Academic Integrity Officer for investigation. More information on reporting suspected academic misconduct can be found on the Reporting suspected academic misconduct page.

More information

Review the Division of Learning and Teaching assessment webpage for more information about different assessment types.

If you have any questions about the design of assessments, including oral assessments, please Log a service request for Educational Design Support from the Division of Learning and Teaching.