Honi Soit has accessed a document, “FASS Guidelines for Applying M03 Marking Paycode”, which advises Arts and Social Sciences tutors on how to apply different marking levels. The document lists the rationale that “The Faculty is seeking to develop an approach to marking classification that is consistent with obligations to staff under the Enterprise Agreement”.
The document aspires to make a distinction between assignments that attract M03 marking compared to M04 and M05. The M03 remuneration rate is higher as it requires detailed feedback and a higher than usual level of significant academic judgement whereas M04 and M05 remuneration rates are the default rates for standard marking of assignments.
According to the document, unit of study coordinators are expected to provide specific written guidance, rubrics, and/or through markers’ meetings to eliminate the role of casual academic markers “exercising significant academic judgment” where possible. This is to avoid “standard assignments” attracting M03 marking rates which would cost the university more money. This is a disadvantage for students as they would not receive a thorough critical review of their assignments. This also restricts the casual academic marker’s ability to think critically about assignments, considering they would not be paid an amount reflective of this effort. no choice but to avoid exercising significant academic judgment.
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Branch Committee member Sophie Cotton spoke to Honi Soit in a personal capacity, explaining how “this speaks to a much wider problem. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences seem to take the rules around proper payment practices as an obstacle course to funding cuts, rather than a legal requirement they have an obligation to proactively address. This is the tip of an enormous iceberg of underpayment.”