Introducing the new Assessment of Courses Policy

1. Whole of programme design

The policy advocates for a ‘whole-of-programme’ approach, ensuring assessment tasks are coherent at a programme level and aligned to the Graduate Profile. This approach provides students with a more logical learning pathway and supports the development of the capabilities defined in the Profile.

2. Authentic assessment

The Policy emphasises the importance of assessment tasks being authentic and relevant to disciplinary or professional contexts. In practical terms, this means crafting assessments that mirror real-world scenarios, drawing from disciplinary or professional practices.

You are encouraged to design tasks that demand understanding, analysis, synthesis, and the creation of new information or concepts. These could take the form of case studies, projects, presentations, or other simulations of real-world situations. The goal is to foster the development and application of knowledge and skills, moving beyond mere rote learning.

For instance, instead of a traditional exam, consider assessing students based on their ability to write a research proposal, conduct a literature review, or present a case study analysis. Alternatively, students could engage in case studies, projects, presentations, or other tasks that closely resemble real-world challenges. Or think about collaborating with industry partners to create authentic assessments that further enhance their relevance.

This aligns with contemporary approaches to assessment design and provides a more accurate reflection of the skills and experiences students will encounter in their future careers.

3. Emphasis on formative assessment

The Policy advocates a broader spectrum of assessment types and techniques and delineates formative from summative assessment, underscoring the role of formative assessment in enriching students’ learning. It signals a move away from conventional assessment as we look to provide greater diversity of assessment tasks, incorporating both formative and summative.

4. Encouraging the use of digital modalities

The Policy encourages assessment design and delivery, that takes account of new technologies, including digital modalities for all stages of the assessment process.

5. Greater clarity on group assessment

The policy offers clearer guidelines for group assessments. Specifically, it emphasises that when a group task surpasses a defined threshold, the assessment should authentically evaluate both individual students’ performance or achievement and the group’s overall achievement. If you assign a group project, ensure you establish transparent criteria for assessing individual contributions alongside the final group output.

6. Dropped: 50% invigilated assessment rule

The new policy eliminates the previous requirement for Stage One courses to have at least 50% of assessment tasks invigilated (typically, exams). This rule had been waived for the past two years and is now officially dropped.

Page updated 25/06/2024 (updated policy links)