EMBA-Global Asia 2014: Programme Assessment Regulations. PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS EMBA-Global Asia

EMBA-Global Asia 2014: Programme Assessment Regulations PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS EMBA-Global Asia

1 OVERVIEW 1.1 EMBA-Global Asia is a joint degree programme between Columbia Business School, The University of Hong Kong and London Business School (known as the Schools). Students who successfully complete the programme requirements will receive an MBA degree awarded jointly by the three Schools. 1.2 The Programme is governed by the Collaboration Programme Review Board who oversees the quality and standards of the degree on behalf of the three Schools. 1.3 Students will be governed by these Programme Assessment Regulations and in addition, students are also governed by the General Assessment Regulations (GARs) for this Programme and the Student Code of Conduct and the Student Disciplinary Procedure, Student Complaints Procedure and Academic Appeals Procedure for this Programme. 2 CONDITIONS FOR ADMISSION 2.1 EMBA-Global Asia requires the following from students seeking entry to the Programme, all in accordance with the academic standards of the institutions as they may determine in sole discretion from time to time A good undergraduate degree A minimum of five years management experience An acceptable GMAT score For non-native English speakers, TOEFL/IELTS scores and/or demonstrated proficiency in spoken and written English Evidence of leadership potential, motivation, maturity, capacity for growth and an international outlook Two references At least one interview 3 ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS 3.1 These regulations include the following: Programme Requirements: the components of the Programme that students must complete to be eligible for the award of the degree. These include the core courses, elective courses and the International Assignment / International Seminar Acceptable Programme Performance: the academic standard that students must reach and maintain to be eligible for the award of the degree. Course Assessment: a specification of the combination of assessment instruments used for evaluating the degree courses. These may include assignments, exercises, projects, an assessment of class participation, and examinations of various kinds.

3.2 The award of the MBA degree depends upon candidates meeting the requirements of the Programme in the areas prescribed in 3.1, in accordance with the academic standards of the Programme as determined from time to time. For an award of degree under this Programme, all three institutions must agree that a candidate has met the degree standards. 4 PROGRAMME REQUIREMENTS To successfully complete the Programme, a student must gain 20 Programme credits. These credits have the following equivalence in the partner Schools: 1 credit at London Business School = 6 credits at HKU Business School = 3 credits at Columbia Business School = 1 Programme Credit. 4.1 Core Courses 4.1.1 Core courses represent more than 50% of the degree requirement (12 credits). All core courses will be conducted in Terms 1 to 3. 4.1.2 Students are not permitted to take more than the 20 credits required to complete the programme. 4.2 Elective Options 4.2.1 Students must complete elective options equal to a value of 8 credits, including 7 elective courses (7 credits) and one compulsory International Assignment / International Seminar (1 credit) unless granted an exemption for the International Assignment/Seminar by the Programme Administration. 4.2.2 Elective options are spread across Terms 4 and 5, and between the three Schools to suit students specific academic interests and schedules. Electives cannot be taken before the completion of Term 2. 4.2.3 Elective options include: Elective courses at the Schools International Assignment/International Seminar Students must take one International Seminar/Assignment (unless granted an exemption by the Programme Administration). This will count as one elective credit. For LBS, an IA is considered as a Programme requirement and attracts one credit. The grade awarded is considered part of the academic requirements for the degree and the grade counts towards the GPA. A second International Assignment may be taken but this will not attract a credit towards the degree and will not appear on the CBS transcript. For CBS, a second International Seminar may be taken and this will count as an elective option. The maximum number of International Seminars/Assignments is two, (normally only one from each School) and additional fees will apply for the second Seminar/Assignment.

Independent Research Courses: Either: Or London Business School: Management Report (One London credit) Columbia Business School: Independent Study and/or Team Project (1.5 or 3 CBS credits) 4.3 The Curriculum * No. of Contact Hours Term 1: Summer 2011 Executive Leadership 15 0.5 Financial Accounting 30 1.0 Managerial Economics 15 0.5 Leadership and Organizational Change 30 1.0 Managerial Statistics 30 1.0 Subtotal Term 1 120 4.0 Term 2: Autumn 2011 Marketing Strategy 30 1.0 Corporate Finance 30 1.0 Managerial Accounting 15 0.5 Decision Models 15 0.5 Operations Management 30 1.0 Subtotal Term 2 120 4.0 Term 3: Spring 2012 Global Economic Environment 30 1.0 Strategic Management in Asia 30 1.0 Capital Markets and Investments 30 1.0 Managerial Negotiations 30 1.0 Subtotal Term 3 120 4.0 Term 4: Subtotal Term 4 120 4.0 Term 5: Subtotal Term 5 120 4.0 Total 600 20.0 No. of Programme Credits

* Subject to possible modification by the Programme Management Board of the course sequence in each intake # Elective options include electives offered by the Schools, as well as the International Assignment/International Seminar offered by London Business School/Columbia Business School 5 COURSE ASSESSMENT 5.1 Reference to courses and credits includes core courses, elective options, International Seminars and International Assignments, unless otherwise indicated. 5.2 Each student will be assessed using assessment instruments selected by the Programme faculty and their own institutions at their discretion, which may include individual and group assignments, exercises, projects, an assessment of class participation and examinations of various kinds. 5.3 The faculty member responsible for the course will submit to the External Examiners through the EMBA-Global Asia Programme Management Team: 5.3.1 A detailed outline of the course, including course content (for reference), assessment details including the weightings of each assessment component. 5.3.2 A copy of the examination paper and/or assignment instructions to be used and sent at the same time as the selection of scripts is forwarded to the relevant External Examiner; 5.3.3 A marking scheme and/or model answer/response. 5.4 New courses, and courses for which the assessment scheme has been significantly altered, should be drawn to the attention of the Examinations Review Panel. The Panel may raise with the Collaboration Programme Review Board any serious concerns it may have with a course's assessment scheme. 5.5 For each core course, the assessment scheme will identify a significant component based on individual performance. For ease of reference, this will be known as the individual assessment, although it may take whatever format the faculty member judges to be most appropriate: for example, a closed book examination, a 'takehome' examination or an individual assignment. Students will fail the course if they fail the individual assessment. 5.6 The faculty member responsible for the course will set the initial grade weightings for each component of the course. 5.7 The course grade will depend on the student's grade in each course component and the relative weighting of those components, as proposed by the faculty member responsible. The weightings of components and overall approach to grading will be reviewed by the relevant External Examiner. To pass a core course, students must pass the individual assessment.

5.8 The Programme grading system is A (H at CBS) through D (LP at CBS) (Pass), F (Fail) and IN (Incomplete). The External Examiners will normally see all individual assessments graded A (H at Columbia) and F and a selection of other scripts. They will agree with the internal examiner (faculty member for the course) a grade to be reported to the Examinations Review Panel. 5.9 Where a student fails a core course, the faculty member responsible for the course, may, at his/her discretion, permit the student to re-sit/re-submit the course s individual assessment component or may determine in conjunction with the Programme Management Team that the student retake the entire course. Students cannot re-sit/ re-submit individual assessment components for courses that they do not fail. Faculty members may request a new deliverable (e.g., a paper or other assignment) in reassessing a failed core course. Re-sits or re-submissions will be arranged as early as possible in the term following the failed assessment. For examination re-sits, this timetable can be met through students sitting a scheduled examination with another group (for example another class), if possible. One additional examination session will be provided for all students permitted to resit. There will be no re-sits for examinations other than those for core course individual assessment. Where the individual assessment takes the form of an assignment, the faculty member responsible for the course will set the deadline for re-submission, but this should be no later than the end of the term following the failed assessment. If a student who has failed the original core course individual assessment does not attend the re-sit or re-submit an assignment, s/he will be deemed to have failed the course. Students who receive a failing grade on a resit/re-submit or who fail to attend the re-sit or to re-submit, may not retake the course and will be deemed to have failed that course. Students will have one opportunity only to re-sit/re-submit an assessment or retake the course in question. 5.10 The maximum grade that a student can achieve with a re-sit/re-submit is a D ( LP at Columbia; C at London), which will replace the failing grade on the transcript Students who are required to retake an entire course will receive the actual grade achieved for the course, the grade will not be subject to a cap, and the original failing grade will remain on the transcript. 5.11 For all course assessments, the faculty member responsible for each course is the final authority on grades. Once submitted by the faculty member to the EMBA- Global Asia Programme Management Team, grades cannot normally be changed unless there is significant evidence of administrative error. 5.12 Individual Schools will submit a roster of course grades for the courses for which they are responsible. These grade rosters will be collated and held by the Programme Management Team at The University of Hong Kong and submitted to the Examinations Review Panel for a recommendation on the award of degree to each student. Students may request a transcript from any School but the official Cumulative GPA will be held at CBS. 6 GRADING SYSTEM All course grades will be recorded at HKU, LBS, and CBS and will be recorded according to internal policy. The following table shows the grade equivalencies at each school. *P1 distinguishes the weighted grade from the unweighted grade of P in a Pass/Fail course.

CBS Grade HKU Grade LBS Grade H+ A+ A+ H, H- A, A- A HP (+/-) B (+/-) B P1(+/-)* C(+/-) LP D C F F F IN IN IN 6.1 Grading 6.1.1 Having computed an overall score for each student on the course, students are ranked; the final grade is determined solely by their position in the ranking. 6.1.2 Grades for courses are weighted on a 11 point scale and the system is as follows: A+ (H+) 11 A (H) 10 B (HP) 7 C (P1) - 4 D (LP) 1 F 0 The GPA will be recorded on the CBS transcript on the 11 point scale. +/- grades at CBS will carry a weight of +/- 1. 6.1.3 Those students who have satisfactorily met all course requirements, including the final exam, but have not completed certain assigned papers or reports (postponed for exceptional reasons satisfactory to the instructor), may receive an IN or incomplete. If the required work is not completed by a specified date the IN automatically converts to an F. 6.1.4 At CBS H, HP, P & LP are passing grades, at LBS A+, A, B & C are passing grades, and at HKU A+, A, B, C & D are passing grades, and F is a failing grade. Students will not receive credit for a course in which they have an IN until it is changed to an official grade. 6.1.5 Failure is absolute. There are no forced fails. The award of a D grade is unforced i.e. outside the grading curve. Awards of LP (CBS, C (LBS) and D (HKU) will reduce the proportion of C grades awarded. 6.1.6 The population that is ranked is the whole class or stream, excluding students not taking the course for credit, incompletes and retakes, but including the students who have failed. Where two or more streams are being taught in parallel with substantially identical assessment, the streams can be combined for the purpose of determining the award of grades. 6.2 Core Course Grade Curve 6.2.1 Grades for all core courses at CBS will be distributed as follows:

Columbia Business Columbia Business School Grades School Grade Distribution H, H- 25-30% HP+, HP, HP- 55-65% P1+, P1, P1-10-15% LP F The number of + grades must be equal to or less than the number of grades for the class. Plus (+) and minus (-) may be added to any grade and will have the standard weight of 1.00. The number of pluses (+) added in the course will be equal to or less than the number of minuses (-). 6.2.2 Grades for all core courses at LBS will be distributed as follows: London Business London Business School Grades School Grade Distribution A+ 10% A 40% B 40% C 10% F 6.2.3 Grades for all core courses at HKU will be distributed as follows: Letter Grade Proportion of Class A+, A, A- 15 35% B+, B, B- 40 50% C+, C, C- Remainder of class D+, D F I Incomplete course: work to be completed by a specified date or the grade converts to fail 6.2.4 Where two or more students have the same numerical grade, departures from strict proportionality are permitted, but this should not lead to deviations of more than ±2% in the proportions of students in each class and the boundaries between lower grades should remain unaltered. 6.2.5 All core courses (with the exception of Executive Leadership which is assessed as Pass/Fail), will be assessed using the system outlined above. 6.3 Elective Course Grade Curve 6.3.1 For elective courses at London Business School, the grading scheme allows for more flexibility as given in the table below: Letter Grade Proportion of Class A+ 10% 50% A B Remainder of class C

F IN Incomplete course: work to be completed by a specified date or the grade converts to fail 6.3.2 For Columbia Business School electives, the recommended grade distribution will include no more than 50% H (A)and no less than 5% P1(C) or below. 6.3.3 For Hong Kong University: Letter Grade Proportion of Class A+, A, A- 15 35% B+, B, B- 40 50% C+, C, C- Remainder of class D+, D F I Incomplete course: work to be completed by a specified date or the grade converts to fail 6.4 Records of Failed Courses 6.4.1 For a failed elective, students are required to take another elective to make up the unearned credits. Additional tuition fees will apply and will be charged per Programme credit i.e. as a full credit course as outlined in Paragraph 4.3. Students cannot re-sit the exam or resubmit the final assessment for a failed elective and the Fail grade will remain on the student s transcript. 6.4.2 A core course fail will be expunged from a student s record following a successful performance on the failed examination or assessment through a re-sit/re-submit but the passing grade in this instance will be capped at a D at LBS and HKU, LP at Columbia. 7 ACCEPTABLE PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE 7.1 Students must achieve a passing grade as specified in 5.8 in all Core Courses and maintain the minimum GPA in order to graduate from the Programme. Students failing a Core Course (see Paragraph 5.9) will be deemed to have failed the Programme. 7.2 Students are required to maintain an acceptable level of academic performance to remain eligible for the award of the degree. At the end of each term, the EMBA- Global Asia Administration will evaluate the Student Grade Point Average (GPA) of all students as shown in 6.2.2. Only courses assessed by letter grade are included in the Student GPA calculation. Pass/Fail courses are not assigned a GPA value and are therefore not included in this calculation. Note that the final Student Record GPA will include any failed core courses excluding Pass/Fail courses. The GPA recorded on the Columbia transcript will be used to calculate acceptable performance. After Terms 1&2 GPA < 4.400 Dismissal

GPA < 4.800 Probation GPA < 5.900 Warning Subsequent Terms GPA < 4.800 Dismissal GPA < 5.200 Probation GPA < 5.900 Warning Graduation Requirement GPA 5.500 8 EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES AND APPEALS OF GRADES 8.1 Please refer to the General Assessment Regulations, the Terms and Conditions, the Student Complaints Procedure, the Academic Appeals Procedure, the Student Code of Conduct and the Student Disciplinary Procedure for the EMBA-Global Asia Programme. 9 AWARD OF THE DEGREE 9.1 At the end of the Programme, the Examinations Review Panel will review each candidate s academic performance and put forward a list of recommended graduates for ratification by the Schools. 9.2 An acceptable standard of academic Programme performance is defined as completion of the Programme requirements (as outlined in Section 4) and maintenance of acceptable academic Programme performance (as outlined in Section 7). The Examinations Review Panel will not recommend the award of the degree to students who fail to meet these requirements. 9.3 The Examinations Review Panel may recommend the award of the MBA Degree with Distinction to students whose academic performance it considers outstanding. To be eligible for the Award of Distinction, students must have completed the Programme within 21 months and not resat or resubmitted any core course assessments or retaken any core course, unless deemed acceptable due to approved extenuating circumstances. 9.4 At the discretion of the Examinations Review Panel, Distinctions will be awarded to the top 10% of the class who complete the Programme within 21 months. The top 10% is calculated based on the Student Cumulative GPA. 9.5 Any circumstances that require a student to complete the programme beyond a 21- month period must be approved by the EMBA-Global Asia Programme Management Board and cannot exceed five calendar years from the initial registration date of the start of the Programme. Those who fail to complete the degree requirements within this period must apply to be re-admitted to the Programme through the Admissions process. 9.6 Students must meet all of their financial obligations in full, before authorised transcripts are issued.

9.7 The Degree will be awarded after each of the Schools ratifies the recommendation of the Examinations Review Panel that the student has met all of the Programme requirements for the award of the degree. 10 PROGRAMME POLICIES 10.1 Attendance Requirements 10.1.1 The EMBA-Global Asia Programme requires students to attend each class. To support this requirement, all students must provide a letter of sponsorship from employers indicating that at a minimum, students will be relieved of work responsibilities in order to attend class. 10.1.2 If a student is unable to attend a class session, it is the responsibility of the student to contact both the faculty member and the EMBA-Global Asia Programme Management Team prior to the class session or as shortly thereafter as is reasonably possible with notification of the absence. 10.1.3 Sanctions up to and including expulsion from the Programme may apply should students miss more than two class days in a given term without explanation acceptable to the Programme Management Team. Permission for absences of more than two days in a given term must be made in writing to the Programme Management Team. Failure to attend an elective on which you are registered will result in a fail grade being awarded. For example, dropping an elective after Add/Drop closes without permitted extenuating circumstances or failure to attend elective sessions in accordance with the attendance policy. 10.2 Leave of Absence 10.2.1 Situations may arise requiring a student to take a leave of absence. Students who need to miss a term of study must request a leave of absence, in writing to the Programme Management Board for approval and complete necessary paperwork. Students who interrupt studies for more than one term for any reason must follow the same process which must include submitting necessary paperwork and must state when academic work will be resumed. 10.2.2 Approved leave of absences are extended at the discretion of the EMBA-Global Asia Programme Management Board. Students absent for more than one term without obtaining prior approval must submit a formal application for readmission to the programme. 10.3 Final Examinations 10.3.1 Students are expected to take final examinations as scheduled 10.3.2 Scheduling conflicts must be discussed with the faculty member and the EMBA-Global Asia Programme Management Team no later than 24 hours before the exam date. An exam conflict is defined as either: 1) two final exams scheduled at the same time or; 2) four or more final exams scheduled within a two-day period. 10.3.3 In unforeseen situations that warrant an exception (health problems, funerals, etc.), the EMBA-Global Asia Programme Management Team

will handle arrangements for the make-up exams. 10.4 Study Groups 10.4.1 Students are pre-assigned to study groups of four to six students prior to the start of Term 1. These study groups will remain intact for the first three terms; study group changes in Terms 1 through 3 cannot be accommodated. 10.4.2 Study groups may be reconfigured for the purpose of a specific exercise or course assignment at a faculty member s discretion. 10.5 Video Recording / Audio Recording Students are expected to attend each class session. In exceptional circumstances, a student may request that an individual class be recorded. Recording is not a substitute for class attendance and cannot be guaranteed. Students may contact the Programme Management Team for more information. An instructor may decide not to allow all or a portion of her/his course to be recorded. An instructor may also decide to limit the method of distribution of the recording to one or more formats. Students may not videotape or audiotape courses with their own equipment without the consent of the faculty member. 10.6 Course Load 10.6.1 The standard course load per term is 4 Programme Credits. 10.6.2 Students requesting an increased or decreased course load must seek approval from the Programme Management Team. Good academic standing is required for any increased course load. 10.6.3 In Term 3, in addition to the core courses, students may register for up to two Spring block week electives without prior approval. 10.7 Transfer of Credits Credits may only be transferred and count towards the award of the degree if they are part of a Masters Degree Programme at any of the Schools and are subject to Programme Management Board approval. 10.8 Extending Students Permission to extend beyond the 21 month period may only be granted if a student has extenuating circumstances. Students must formally submit a request to The Programme Management Team for approval. Students should note that extending does not guarantee admittance onto any particular elective. Students should also be aware of possible implications including but not limited to: the impact of under loading or over loading in previous terms the impact on financial aid if you receive this visa ramifications possible changes to your tuition invoices and additional tuition fees postponement of degree conferral to following academic year