Assessment overview and School responsibilities

This page contains essential information around assessments, including an outline of School responsibilities. Its content is primarily directed at staff but may also be of interest to students across all of the UK, China and Malaysia campuses.

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1.0 Purpose

The University is committed to ensuring that methods of assessment are effective in enabling every student to demonstrate the extent to which they have achieved the intended learning outcomes for the credit or qualification being sought in an equitable, valid and reliable way. The University meets that commitment through its policies and procedures.

These guidelines have been written to signpost the relevant policies and procedures and were written using the Advice and Guidance sections for Assessment in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (see Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures below).

2.0 Key Principles

2.1 Assessment requirements

It is an established principle of the University, endorsed by the Executive Board (UEB) and Education and Student Experience Committee (ESEC), that when registered for a University of Nottingham qualification, all teaching and assessment must be in English. The only exception is where the subject of study is a language or literature other than English.
The volume, timing and nature of assessment should enable students to demonstrate the extent to which they have achieved the intended learning outcomes.
Assessment must be carried out securely, including the secure storage of assessment questions, the appropriate invigilation of examinations and the confirmation of student identity in the submission or sitting of assessments.

2.2 School responsibilities

The School is responsible for the following:

Setting assessment at the level appropriate to the academic standard for each award of credit or qualification.
Ensuring that student performance is equitably judged against the appropriate academic standards (see policies on marking and grading, degree classification and external examining).
Ensuring that the principles, procedures and processes of assessment are publicised to students, academic and administrative staff, external examiners and appropriate others through suitable channels.
Schools wishing to hold 'in-house' examinations or tests (including on-line assessments and 'take away' examinations) must ensure that they publish written policies on the use of such assessments. Schools holding such assessments whilst students are still being taught on other modules must ensure that there is no conflict between those assessments and student attendance at teaching or other activity associated with other modules the student is taking.
Schools must also ensure that the needs of students with dyslexia, disabilities and/or long-term medical conditions are considered when conducting assessments. These assessments could include such as 'in-house' examinations or tests (incliding on-line assessments and 'take away' examinations). The School's policy must be included in a School's student handbook(s).
Schools must ensure any ‘in-house’ examinations or tests are carried out securely including obtaining confirmation of student identity and the proper invigilation of examinations. Guidance and support can be sought from the Assessment Operations team within Registry and Academic Affairs.

Schools are also responsible for the following and must ensure that:

The rules and regulations for progressing from one stage of a programme to another and for qualifying for an award are publicised to students, academic and administrative staff, external examiners and appropriate others through suitable channels. Guidance for Schools on the sort of information they must make available to students can be found in Information about Provision of Higher Education. This also includes information about assessment policies and procedures.
All those involved in the assessment of students, including support staff who have responsibilities in this area, are competent to undertake their roles. Please refer to the relevant regulations and/or policies including Responsibilities of the School Examinations Officer, marking and grading, Policy on occasional teachers, Policy on students who teach and any other policy mentioned in this overview. For more information, please consult the Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures section below.
Where students are involved in assessment through peer to peer activities, that they are provided with the guidance that helps them to fulfil this role.
There is a transparent communication of student achievement at individual assessment task level.
Those who might be eligible for the recognition of prior learning are made aware of the opportunities available, including informign them that support can be provided in the process of application and assessment for recognition in line with the policy on Recognition of Other Learning (see Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures section below).
Assessment and feedback practices are informed by reflection, consideration of professional practice and subject specific educational scholarship.
Clear assessment guidance and criteria are published to ensure staff and students can engage in dialogue to promote a shared understanding of the basis by which academic judgements are made.
Students are provided with opportunities to develop an understanding of, and the necessary skills to demonstrate, good academic practice.
Feedback on assessment is timely, constructive and developmental. See the Assessment feedback regulation (in Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures section below).
They act responsibly in any circumstance where draft assessment questions/tasks, or students' work, are held or transported off-site (including where scripts are sent to an external examiner).
Students are given information regarding until what point in the assessment process anonymity will be protected in the marking by (student ID) number-system employed by the University. For more information about this system, please consult the Marking by number regulations, provided in the Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures section below.