Assessment Policy and Regulations1
Background
This section gives full details of assessment policy, regulations and procedures. It includes important information on presentation of assignments, references, late submission of assignments, etc. Please refer to your Course Handbook for assessment details specific to your course.
The professional accreditation bodies and our partner Universities give input into the teaching and assessment methods over each course as a whole. The College’s formal assessment requirements are designed to help candidates demonstrate the standard and quality of the work they have undertaken. The interests of the public and the quality of healthcare that the professions provide are of paramount concern.
Aims
The assessment policy seeks to reflect the aims, objectives and overall philosophy of the College.
The different subjects on our courses are taught in different ways and it is appropriate that students are assessed by a variety of methods that reflect the nature of the different learning experiences. Assessment methods include short tests (which are formative2), essays, study questions, questions on case histories, writing up clinical case histories, reflective writing, competence logs, presentations, and experiential assessment of practical skills. Some assessments are formative, whilst some are summative. Details are given in the module descriptions.
The aims of both summative and formative assessment within a course are:
- To allow students to monitor and validate their own progress, and to identify their strengths and weaknesses
- To provide useful feedback to students which enables them to improve their work
- To act as an incentive to learning
- To create learning opportunities
- To allow staff to monitor students’ progress through the course
Summative assessment within a course has one crucial additional function:
- To ensure that students reach an adequate professional and academic standard
The College’s application and interview procedure has been designed to recruit students with the academic ability and personal qualities necessary to complete the course, and, for courses leading to professional qualification, to become professional practitioners. We aim to use information from ongoing assessment to enable College staff to satisfy themselves that the commitment of students is sustained, to acknowledge good work and to identify any areas of difficulty for individuals or groups of students at an early stage.
For each course as a whole, there is a gradual progression in the nature of the learning and hence also in the assessment. It is often the case that early on in the course there is a stronger element of factual learning in order to lay the necessary foundations of fundamental knowledge. As the course progresses, students learn to explore the material and to build their own repertoire, making links between the realities of clinical practice and theoretical knowledge, making their own interpretations and devising appropriate strategies. We aim to reflect this progression in the nature of the assessment for different parts of the course, with assessment typically progressing from an emphasis on information and concepts to an emphasis on interpretation, analysis and synthesis.
We aim for high quality feedback on assessments, recognising that the feedback students receive on their performance is crucial to their learning. For all summative assessments, apart from some examinations and skills competency tests, the marker(s) provide written feedback to the student, sometimes accompanied by verbal feedback. Feedback gives the student guidance on strengths and weaknesses in their work and ways to improve their work in the future. In the case of some skills competency tests students are given verbal rather than written feedback.
The formative assessments are also designed to help students to learn. Although the formative assessments do not contribute to the end of module mark, students are required to undertake them and can fail the module if they do not do so.
Inclusivity
During the process of designing assessments the College will endeavour to allow for the needs of students with disability, dyslexia, and other protected characteristics.
Scope
Assessment on a course rewards achievement, not effort. Marks are determined by the standard achieved by the student in relation to the fixed assessment criteria, they are not awarded in relation to how much better or worse a particular student is performing relative to their own past performance, nor in relation to a student’s performance compared to the performance of others.
Assessment Procedures and Regulations
There are clear regulations governing assessments (e.g. on late submissions, missed exams, word counts, and referencing). These are detailed later in this section of this handbook.
Details of the rationale, criteria and procedures for assessment for each module of a course are contained within the module description, which is contained within the Course Handbook. The assessment strategy for each module is intended to directly address the learning objectives of that module. All learning outcomes must be summatively assessed.
For all assessments the assessment and marking strategy, including the nature of the assessment and the assessment criteria, is approved as part of the validation of the course. For all examinations, and other assessments where appropriate, the External Examiners are provided in advance with the question paper and outline suggested answers. Changes to learning outcomes and assessments must be approved through the minor and major changes procedures.
Gateway Professional Competences
On some courses, particularly those leading to professional qualifications, there are assessments of competences which are necessary for professional membership. These assessments of gateway professional competences must be passed in order to pass the module. The assessments of gateway professional competences normally form part of the assessment of the learning outcomes for the module.
1Reviewed by Academic Board 04/11/2021. Next Review November 2024.
2The purpose of formative assessment is to encourage students to develop their learning and to be aware of their progress, whereas summative assessment determines whether the student has achieved the desired learning outcomes in relation to defined criteria. Summative assessment produces final marks and determines whether modules are passed.
