Assessments and grades

Assessment briefs are summaries of each assessment activity that you will be asked to complete for your modules. Assessment briefs provide important information such as submission date, the size of the assessment (e.g. word limits), the weighting of activity (if there is more than one assessment point for your module), and additional information that you will need to complete the assessment activity successfully.

All assessment briefs have to be approved by University reviewers to ensure that they are appropriate, inclusive and provide all students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have met the relevant learning outcomes of the module.

All approved assessment briefs are sent to academic staff from a different University (known as External Examiners), who provide an independent opinion of the proposed assessment. At this stage, the External Examiners have to approve the assignment brief before receiving it at the start of your modules.

In the first few weeks of a module, you will be given an opportunity to discuss the details of the assessment brief to ensure that you understand the tasks that have been set. You will share your understanding of the assessment brief with the tutor, who will be able to address any queries and provide clarification.

Where possible, your work will be submitted anonymously. The nature of some assignments means that anonymous submission is not possible (e.g. presentations, practical examinations, oral examinations). When academic staff mark your work, you will only be identified by your student number and not by your name.  This is done to avoid any unintentional bias when your work is marked.

Each piece of submitted assessment will receive a percentage mark. Your marks will relate to performance descriptors that outline the generic characteristics of a piece of work at your level of study.  

To ensure consistency of marking across a module, every assessment activity is moderated by an independent member of staff (i.e. a member of staff who is not part of the module teaching team).  The role of the moderator is to ensure that the marks are at the appropriate level and that the feedback provided to you is appropriate, supportive and will allow you to develop and enhance your future work.

You will be provided with your percentage mark and some feedback comments. The feedback will explain why your work has been given a particular mark.  It will also explain how you could improve this mark in future assessment tasks.

The external examiner will look at a sample of work from each module. At this stage, the role of the external examiner is to ensure consistency of marking within the module and that the level of the work is equivalent to that at other universities in the country.

Your percentage mark remains unconfirmed until an assessment board has considered it. The role of the assessment board is to receive and confirm the marks for your work whilst applying our academic regulations to ensure our assessment processes have been consistent and fair. Assessment boards are chaired by a senior independent member of staff and take into account comments that have been made by the external examiner.

The University academic appeals procedure is in place to enable students to appeal against the decisions of an assessment board, for example, where a grade has been recorded incorrectly, or there has been or an error in the application of the University regulations in a decision regarding progression, completion or classification.  Visit the Academic Appeals webpages for further details.

We are committed to supporting the development of your academic integrity. This means that any work that you write or create has been produced in an honest, fair, and transparent way. Academic integrity is important for recognising and acknowledging the work of other people that you have used in the preparation of your assignments. We know, however, that there are occasions where academic integrity is not maintained (for example, through plagiarism, collusion and cheating), and that this may be unintentional or deliberate. These instances are known as academic misconduct. All examples of academic misconduct will be investigated and penalties may be applied if proven.

As a student, you will have access to a wide range of support services and resources designed to help you to develop your academic skills and to ensure the academic integrity of your work. In addition to the support available through your course, you can also access the Learning for Skills services provided by the libraries, both in-person and online.

Read the academic integrity policy for details.