In line with the continuation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period for another two weeks
from 15 April 2020 to 28 April 2020, as announced by the government on 10 April 2020, UTAR has
extended the temporary closure of UTAR campuses from 15 April to 28 April 2020.
The University Senate has deliberated at length on the strategies to be taken to address the disruption
of academic activities caused by the temporary closure of UTAR campuses and has decided on the
following measures to be taken:
1. Final Assessment to replace Final Examination Recognizing
the challenges during this period for teaching and learning,
administration of Continuous
Assessment and Final Examination amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, UTAR
Senate has decided that
the physical Final Examination for all courses during April/May 2020
shall be replaced with non-face-to-face Final Assessment that can assess
the same course learning outcomes. For certain programmes
such as MBBS and Nursing, which require the conduct of a physical Final
Examination to fulfil the
requirements of professional bodies, the future arrangement for the
physical Final Examination will be
informed to students in advance when the Government allows students to
return to campus. This was
announced to the staff and students on 1st April 2020.
a) Types of Final Assessment – The alternative assessment methods to be used for non-face-to-face
Final Assessment shall include (i) asynchronous mode, e.g. 1.1 extended assignment, 1.2 reflective
assignment / writing, 1.3a open-book assessment / 1.3b open-book time-restricted assessment, or (ii)
synchronous mode, i.e. Online Examination.
Please refer to your respective faculty / institute / centre for further details of the Final Assessment for
your registered course, or you shall be notified when the information is ready by Week 13.
b) Declaration Page – For asynchronous mode Final Assessment, in the submission of the answer
script / report that students have completed, the students must enclose a copy of the Declaration
Statement Page, which shall be inserted after the Title Cover Page of the FA submission to confirm the
originality and academic integrity of the students’ work. For synchronous mode Final Assessment, i.e.
Online Examination, similar Declaration Statement shall be included in the Online Examination
Question Paper for students’ acknowledgement.
c) Submission / Timetable Information of Final Assessment
For most of courses, asynchronous mode of Final Assessment is
chosen to replace physical face-to-face Final Examination, students
shall take note of the announcement / emails from Institute / Faculty /
Centre by Monday of Week 13 on the submission deadline set by the
respective course coordinator /
examiner. Students can refer to the details of the assessment methods,
duration and deadlines of online
submission with their course coordinator / lecturer from Monday of Week
13 onwards. It is important
for students to abide by the submission deadline for the asynchronous
mode Final Assessment.
For a small number of courses in the undergraduate programmes for Faculty of Medicine and Health
Sciences (FMHS), synchronous mode Final Assessment, i.e. Online Examination is chosen to be the
Final Assessment to replace physical face-to-face Final Examination. As such, Online Examination of
these courses will be conducted in Week 16 and Week 17, i.e. from 11 May 2020 until 23 May 2020.
Online Examination Timetable will be released to the students by Monday of Week 13 in UTAR
Portal by DEAS. An announcement will be made to inform students to check the Online Examination
Timetable. Any enquiries on the Online Examination Timetable should be forwarded to DEAS.
2. Extension of Course Withdrawal Application Deadline
For students who wish to withdraw from one or more course(s) registered in the January 2020
Trimester, the application deadline is now extended to the end of Week 13 of January 2020 Trimester,
i.e. 26 April 2020 for Foundation Programmes, or the end of Week 14, i.e. 3 May 2020 for
Undergraduate / Postgraduate Programmes. Please refer to FGOs of your respective institute / faculty /
centre for the advice and information on the application procedures and forms.
3. Application of ”I” Status
For this trimester, students who face challenging issues or problems that affect their academic studies
due to reasons beyond their control can consider to apply for “I” (Incomplete) Status for one or more
course(s) undertaken, by the end of Week 13 of January 2020 Trimester, i.e. 26 April 2020 for
Foundation Programmes, or by the end of Week 14, i.e. 3 May 2020 for Undergraduate / Postgraduate
Programmes.
“I” (Incomplete) Status is for students who find themselves unable to fulfil all course requirements due
to:
i. Zero access to internet or justifiable inability to take online courses and examination as required
by the course(s), ii. Absence by the order of government during MCO (e.g. quarantine), iii. Humanitarian grounds (e.g. long term hospitalization, death of immediate family members), or iv. Any other challenging circumstances beyond student’s control.
Students experiencing the aforementioned impact (i) to (iv) can apply to their respective faculty /
institute / centre for the Dean’s consideration for “I” Status on a case-to-case basis after verification by
the faculty. Upon Dean’s recommendation and Senate approval, students are required to fulfil the
remaining course requirement(s) (e.g. assignment, final assessment), no later than Week 8 in the
subsequent trimester, if applicable. Upon completion of all the remaining course requirements,
students will be graded as per the January 2020 Trimester final assessment scheme of that particular
course(s). No extra tuition fee will be charged for course(s) with “I” Status.
Please also refer to FGOs of your respective institute / faculty / centre for the advice and information
on the application procedures and forms.
Thank you. Do stay at home and be safe and healthy.
Office of the Registrar 17 April 2020