Internal Marks System

A fully digital, end-to-end internal assessment engine — from defining mark components, to teacher entry, HOD approval, student-facing publication, and final lock. Covers all 9 pages inside admin/marks/. Designed for transparency, accountability, and zero paperwork.

graph LR
    A[components.php
Define Mark Components] --> B[distribution.php
Create Mark Sheet]
    B --> C[Teacher Entry Portal
Teachers Fill Marks]
    C --> D[review-sheets.php
HOD Reviews Pending]
    D --> E[managed-sheets.php
Bulk Approve / Publish / Finalize]
    E --> F[view-marks.php
Detailed Sheet View]
    E --> G[Student Portal
Students See Their Marks]
    D --> H[grievances.php
Student Disputes]
    H --> I[grievance-settings.php
Configure Dispute Rules]
    E --> J[class-reports.php
Analytics & Exports]
    

Page 1: Assessment Dashboard (`admin/marks/index.php`)

The central command center for the Internal Marks module. Every HOD starts their session here to get a complete situational awareness of the department's internal assessment health.

• Six Live KPI Counters:
  The top section displays six real-time counters that are recalculated fresh on every page load:
  • Components — Total active mark components defined for the department.
  • Distributions — Total mark distribution sheets created for all classes.
  • Pending Approval — Sheets submitted by teachers awaiting HOD review.
  • Published — Sheets approved and made visible to students.
  • Finalized — Sheets permanently locked; no further edits allowed by anyone.
  • Pending Grievances — Active student disputes awaiting a response.
  Core Benefit: The HOD gets a zero-click health summary of the entire department's assessment pipeline the moment they open the module — no searching, no clicking into subpages.
• Sheet Pipeline Progress Chart:
  A visual horizontal progress bar chart shows the percentage breakdown of all sheets across the three active stages: Pending, Published, and Finalized. This gives an at-a-glance view of how far along the assessment cycle is for the current semester.
• Recent Distributions Table:
  The bottom half lists the five most recently created mark sheets with their class name, subject, semester, current status, and creation date. Clicking "View All" takes the HOD directly to the full management screen.

Page 2: Define Assessment Components (`admin/marks/components.php`)

The foundational setup step. Before any marks can be assigned, the HOD must define the building blocks of internal assessment — what types of evaluations exist and how many marks each carries.

• What Is a Component?
  A component is a single evaluation event — for example: Unit Test 1 (out of 20), Assignment (out of 10), Practical Exam (out of 25), or Viva (out of 15). The HOD defines a name, maximum marks, and whether it is mandatory for every class or optional.
• Department-Specific Library:
  Components created here belong exclusively to the HOD's department. Once created, they appear as selectable options in every new mark sheet distribution for any class or subject in the department.
  Core Benefit: Define once, use everywhere. Creating a "Unit Test 1" component once means it is instantly available for all 20 classes across all subjects — no repetitive data entry.
• Safe Deactivation:
  Components can be deactivated instead of permanently deleted. A deactivated component is hidden from new sheet creation but does not affect any historical mark records that already reference it.

Page 3: Create Mark Sheet Distribution (`admin/marks/distribution.php`)

The central orchestration page. This is where the HOD designs the internal assessment structure for a specific class and subject by selecting which components apply and who the responsible teacher is.

• Sheet Configuration:
  The HOD selects a Class, Subject, Semester, Academic Year, and the responsible Teacher. This combination forms one "distribution sheet" — the official record for that subject's internal assessment for the semester.
• Component Selection:
  From the department's component library, the HOD picks which evaluation types apply to this specific subject (e.g., Unit Test 1, Assignment, Viva). Each selected component becomes a column in the teacher's marks entry form.
  Core Benefit: Different subjects can have completely different assessment structures. A lab subject might include a Practical Exam component; a pure theory subject might only have Unit Tests and Assignments.
• Special Allocation Support:
  When creating a distribution for a cross-divisional elective group (a Special Allocation), the HOD selects the Special Allocation instead of a regular class. The system then loads the students from that merged group — drawn from multiple divisions — into the teacher's mark entry form automatically.
  Core Benefit: Elective subjects that combine students from Div A, Div B, and Div C into one group are handled seamlessly — the mark sheet automatically contains all enrolled students from all contributing divisions.
• Automatic Student Population:
  Once the class or special allocation is selected, the student roster is pre-populated automatically. The teacher sees every enrolled student's name and roll number ready for mark entry — no manual list creation needed.

Page 4: Review Pending Sheets (`admin/marks/review-sheets.php`)

The primary HOD approval interface. When a teacher completes and submits a mark sheet, it lands here. The HOD reviews the data and decides whether to approve or send it back for corrections.

• Dedicated Pending Inbox:
  This page exclusively shows sheets with a "Submitted" status — sheets that teachers have completed and marked as ready for review. The HOD never has to search through approved or published sheets here.
  Core Benefit: A focused, distraction-free workflow. The HOD's attention is directed only to items that need a decision, preventing overlooked submissions.
• Component Completion Progress:
  Each sheet in the list shows a small progress bar indicating how many assessment components the teacher has filled out versus the total expected. A "3/4 tests" badge makes it immediately clear if any components were missed before submission.
• Approve or Reject with Reason:
  For each pending sheet, the HOD can either approve it (moving it forward in the pipeline) or reject it. Rejections require a written reason, which is delivered directly to the teacher so they understand exactly what needs correcting.
  Core Benefit: Creates a formal, traceable correction trail. Rejected sheets carry a documented reason, eliminating ambiguous verbal instructions between HODs and teachers.
• Special Allocation Badge:
  Sheets belonging to cross-divisional special allocation groups are visually marked with a distinct "Special Allocation" badge, making them easy to identify at a glance within the review inbox.

Page 5: Manage All Sheets (`admin/marks/managed-sheets.php`)

The most powerful page in the module. A fully-featured operations center where the HOD can view, filter, and batch-process large numbers of mark sheets simultaneously.

• Cascading Smart Filters:
  The filter bar works in a cascading sequence: selecting an Academic Year loads only the relevant semesters; selecting a Semester loads only the relevant classes. This prevents the HOD from ever seeing irrelevant options and makes navigation of large datasets much faster.
  Core Benefit: Departments running multiple academic years and semesters simultaneously can instantly isolate exactly the sheets they need without scrolling through hundreds of irrelevant records.
• Status Tab Navigation:
  Live-counted status tabs (Pending Review / Approved / Published / Finalized / All) allow the HOD to instantly switch between pipeline stages. Each tab shows a real-time count badge, so the HOD always knows how many sheets are in each stage at a glance.
• One-Click Bulk Operations:
  The HOD can select multiple sheets using checkboxes and apply one of four bulk actions simultaneously:
  • Bulk Approve — Approve all selected pending sheets in one action.
  • Bulk Publish — Make all selected approved sheets visible to students at once.
  • Bulk Finalize — Permanently lock all selected published sheets for the record.
  • Bulk Unlock for Editing — Send selected sheets back to Draft status, allowing teachers to make corrections.
  Core Benefit: Publishing marks for an entire semester — potentially 30+ sheets across all classes — takes three clicks and seconds, instead of opening each sheet individually.
• Granular Unlock with Component Locks:
  When unlocking a sheet for corrections, the HOD can choose to keep specific already-completed components locked (preventing the teacher from touching finalized data) while opening only the components that need correction. This is a precision tool that prevents over-editing.
• Finalized Sheet Protection:
  Finalized sheets are completely excluded from all unlock and edit operations. Even if a finalized sheet is selected in a bulk action, the system automatically skips it and informs the HOD exactly how many sheets were skipped and why.
• Special Allocation Badge on Every Row:
  Any sheet that belongs to a cross-divisional special allocation group is permanently marked with an orange "Special Allocation" label directly in the sheet list, ensuring these groups are always identifiable during bulk operations.

Page 6: Detailed Sheet Viewer (`admin/marks/view-marks.php`)

A deep-dive view of one specific mark sheet. The HOD can see every student's individual marks across every component in a clean tabular layout.

• Student-Level Mark Breakdown:
  A single table shows every enrolled student's name, roll number, and marks scored in each assessment component. The last column shows the automatically calculated total and the percentage.
• Absent & Incomplete Status Indicators:
  Students who were absent during a specific component are marked with a distinct "AB" badge rather than a zero. This distinction is important for accurate reporting — an absence is different from scoring zero.
• Component-Level Visibility Toggle:
  Individual assessment components can be shown or hidden from the student-facing view independently. For example, the HOD can publish Unit Test 1 results immediately while keeping Viva marks hidden until all sections have completed their viva.
  Core Benefit: Partial result publication is fully supported. Students see only what the HOD explicitly authorizes, ensuring no premature disclosure of incomplete evaluations.
• Sheet Status Management:
  The HOD can change the sheet's status directly from this view — approve, publish, or finalize — without navigating back to the management listing, for faster individual sheet processing.

Page 7: Class-Level Analytics & Reports (`admin/marks/class-reports.php`)

A comprehensive analytics engine providing subject-wise and student-wise performance intelligence for the entire department.

• Subject-Level Performance Summary:
  For any selected class and semester, the system aggregates marks across all assessment components per subject and shows: Class Average, Highest Mark, Lowest Mark, and the number of students who passed or scored below the minimum threshold.
• Student-Level Cross-Subject Summary:
  A student-wise view lists every student's performance across multiple subjects side-by-side in a single table, making it easy to identify students who are consistently struggling across all subjects — not just one.
  Core Benefit: Identifies at-risk students based on internal marks weeks before semester-end exams, giving the institution time to intervene with remedial support.
• Excel Export:
  The complete class-level report can be exported as an Excel file directly from this page. The exported file mirrors the on-screen layout exactly and is formatted for direct submission to the university or for record-keeping.
• Mark Distribution Analysis:
  A distribution breakdown shows how many students scored within specific score bands (e.g., 90–100%, 75–89%, 60–74%, Below 60%) per component, making it easy to assess whether assessments were appropriately calibrated in difficulty.

Page 8: Student Grievance Management (`admin/marks/grievances.php`)

A structured workflow for handling student challenges to their internal mark records. Replaces informal complaints with a trackable, documented resolution process.

• Categorized Grievance Inbox:
  Submitted student grievances arrive here with their status: Pending, Under Review, Resolved, or Dismissed. Each grievance shows the student's name, the subject, the specific component disputed, the marks recorded, and the marks the student claims they should have received.
• Three-Stage Resolution Workflow:
  The HOD progresses each grievance through a formal resolution path:
  1. Under Review — The HOD acknowledges the grievance and begins investigation.
  2. Resolved — The HOD confirms the correction and the updated mark is reflected immediately.
  3. Dismissed — The grievance is rejected with a documented reason that is visible to the student.
  Core Benefit: Every grievance — whether upheld or dismissed — creates a permanent, timestamped record. This documentation is invaluable during university audits or accreditation reviews that require evidence of a fair appeals process.
• Auto-Mark Correction on Resolution:
  When the HOD resolves a grievance as valid, the system can automatically update the recorded mark to the corrected value without requiring the teacher to unlock and re-enter. This ensures corrections are applied immediately and traceably.
• Department-Scoped Privacy:
  HODs only see grievances related to sheets they administrate. Grievances from other departments are never visible, maintaining data isolation between departmental operations.

Page 9: Grievance Policy Settings (`admin/marks/grievance-settings.php`)

The configuration layer that governs how and when students can submit mark challenges.

• Grievance Window Control:
  The HOD sets a time limit (in days) after marks are published, during which students are allowed to submit a grievance. After this window closes, the submission form on the student portal is automatically disabled.
  Core Benefit: Eliminates the problem of students raising mark disputes months after results were published. The grievance window creates a fair, defined period for challenges that the institution can enforce consistently.
• Enable / Disable Grievances Entirely:
  With a single toggle, the HOD can disable all grievance submissions across the department instantly — useful at the end of a semester when mark records have been sealed and submitted to the university.
• Maximum Grievances per Student:
  A numeric limit can be set to restrict how many grievances a single student can file per semester. This prevents the system from being misused for repeated, unfounded challenges.

The Complete Mark Sheet Lifecycle

Every internal mark record follows a strict, linear progression through six stages. No stage can be skipped:

Special Allocation Integration

The Internal Marks module is fully integrated with the Special Allocation system from Academic Setup.

• What is a Special Allocation?
  A cross-divisional group — for example, 15 students from TY-BCA Div A and 10 from TY-BCA Div B who share an elective subject together.
• How it works in marks:
  When creating a distribution sheet, the HOD selects the Special Allocation as the "class." The system automatically loads all students from all contributing divisions into one unified mark entry form. The teacher enters marks for all of them in one place.
• Tracking:
  Sheets derived from Special Allocations carry a permanent orange badge throughout the entire lifecycle — in Review, in Managed Sheets, and in Reports — so they are always distinguishable from regular class sheets.
• Benefit:
  Core Benefit: Open electives, remedial classes, and interdisciplinary project groups — where students come from multiple divisions — are handled with the same rigor and traceability as standard class-level assessments.