Assessment Strategy - Module Credits and Assessment Weighting

Credit is awarded for successful achievement of learning outcomes, verified through the successful completion of individual module assessments. To achieve fairness to students, the credits they gain for their work should normally require similar amounts of work and study across different courses.

Study Hours

As a guideline, every 10 credits should reflect approximately 100 hours of study time. This includes all teaching activities, in class and/or online, independent home study and directed home study, and all aspects of preparing for and completing the formative and summative assessments.

In order to meet professional requirements, some modules may include additional hours spent in clinic or learning practical skills.

Typically, on courses which do not lead to a professional qualification, the proportion of contact time to home study time will reduce as the level of learning becomes higher, so, for example, there is more contact time for level 4 learning than for level 6. However, courses leading to a professional qualification often involve increasing amounts of clinical contact time as the course progresses.

It is recognised that some Masters courses which are also pre-registration courses leading to a professional qualification will require more total hours for every 10 credits than is usual, in order to meet professional requirements.

Assessment Load

Assessment tasks should be challenging. They should be designed to enable students to demonstrate their full range of learning, skills and attributes and to equip students with the skills they require to succeed in clinical practice and/or further study. The amount of assessment embraces both the number of tasks within the module (and across the course) and the size of those tasks, as well as the expectations, where applicable, of the relevant professional body.

Typically, the total word count for all written assessments in a module will be around 3,500 for a 20 credit module, or 5,000 for a 30 credit module. In cases where a module includes an examination, the word count for any written assessments should be reduced proportionately.

However, the ultimate determinant of the assessment load is the learning and teaching considerations for the module and the course, particularly in relation to the requirements for professional practice, rather than the credit weighting of modules. Variations are therefore possible where the educational justification is clear. It is recognised that in some cases writing articles to a short length can be more challenging and can develop different skills to those with more typical word counts. On the other hand, in some circumstances a higher word count for the number of credits is appropriate, for example to allow students to demonstrate criticality. Consequently some assessments, such as clinical portfolios and Masters dissertations, may involve higher word counts than is typical. This should always be justified and careful consideration should be given to the overall workload for students.

Assessment Weighting

As a guiding principle each module will have at least one summative assessment supported by a number of formative tasks through the module. Where a module includes more than one summative assessment, the proportionate weighting of assessment tasks should reflect whether one of the tasks is of more importance than the other, either in terms of the size of the tasks or of their significance in terms of which learning outcomes are being measured. The minimum weighting for any assessment task which attracts a mark should be 10%.

Some modules will also involve assessments of competency in practical and/or clinical skills, which are designed to meet professional body requirements. These are typically pass/fail assessments and are weighted as 5% or 10% for a pass (as specified in the module descriptor) and 0% for a fail.

It is preferable to use a variety of methods of assessment, and other modes of assessment such as presentations, vivas and mind-maps are encouraged. The weighting of these assessments should calibrate the expected workload for students compared to a standard written assessment.

Electronic submissions

When assessments are submitted electronically:

(1) All of the assessment must be uploaded as a single file, unless specified otherwise in the module descriptor.

(2) The submission must be in a file format that is accepted by Turnitin.

(3) Students are encouraged to use the originality report feature of Turnitin to ensure that their assignments are of a high academic standard. It is recommended that submission of a draft for an originality report is done at least a week in advance of the submission deadline. If a draft is submitted late, the version that has been submitted at the time of the submission deadline will be treated as the final version and marked as such, except when an extension has been granted.

If a technical problem occurs which is the responsibility of the College or of Turnitin and this causes a student to be unable to submit by the submission deadline, the deadline will be extended appropriately. Students must communicate with NCA staff (via the Help ticket system) when a technical problem occurs. Ad hoc solutions such as e-mailing assessments will not be accepted. Students should guard against problems with their own IT equipment and ensure that they comply with the College’s minimum specification. Problems with submission which are caused by a student’s IT equipment will be treated as late submission.

Provisional Marks

For most assessments, students are informed of their provisional marks as soon as the assessment has been marked and moderated. This provides students with feedback on their progress. However, these marks are only provisional until reviewed by the Assessment Boards, and on occasion the Boards may make adjustments to marks.

Appeals

Students should discuss any misunderstandings or concerns about assessments with their Course Director as soon as possible. If the matter can be resolved, the Course Director will report that to the assessment board when it meets. Note however that students do not have the right to challenge or question the academic judgement of markers / examiners. If an issue remains unresolved, for HSU students the Assessment Verification and Appeals Procedure can be invoked when there are concerns that:

• the mark(s) and/or result published by the institution contains arithmetical or other errors of fact;
• there were defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations and/or other assessments or in written instructions or advice relating to the conduct of the examinations or assessments which were not known to the Assessment Board, when such defects, irregularities or advice are shown to have had an adverse effect on the student's performance;
• the assessment procedure and/or examinations were not conducted in accordance with the approved regulations;
• there were extenuating personal circumstances which were not known to the Assessment Board, and where the student can show good reason why such circumstances could not have been made known to the Assessment Board when the student was assessed, and which are shown to have had an adverse effect on the student's performance.

Assessment Records and Academic Transcripts

An individual summary of marks is sent to each student at the end of each academic year, and a copy is kept in each student’s personal file. These files are available for inspection by the student concerned. The College is committed to open and fair dealings with students.

Records of Assessment Board decisions and students’ ratified marks are kept in perpetuity so that they are available in case of appeal but also for the purpose of providing references and replacement certificates and transcripts.