Student Assessment

Student Assessment

Collaborative centres have the responsibility for managing the assessment process for UW validated schemes, overseen by the University of Wales.

Assessments are developed by staff at the collaborative centre but must be approved by the University of Wales appointed external examiners. The assessments are mapped against the learning outcomes of the module, as approved by the University.

University of Wales representatives, including the external examiners, attend the examining board at which all marks and degree outcomes are ratified and ensure that the process is conducted in accordance with UW regulations.

For further information and guidance, please refer to the University’s Assessment Handbook.

  • The following resources are designed for use by staff for the enhancement of approaches to assessment within programmes of study.

    The handbook provides an overview of, inter alia:

    • Assessment strategies
    • Assessment methods
    • Setting appropriate assessment levels
    • Developing appropriate assessment criteria
    • Approaches to marking
    • Management of plagiarism
    • Supporting students with specific learning disabilities.

    This is a key resource for all staff involved in assessment on University of Wales programmes.

    This resource is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish:
    Assessment Handbook
    كتيب تقويم منح الدرجات العلمية بنظام المقررات
    授课型学历评核手册
    Manual de evaluación de la actividad docente

  • All proposed assessments which contribute to the final award of a programme must be submitted to the University for approval.  This includes examinations, assignments, coursework, in-class tests, and project work.

    It is not necessary to submit level 4 papers for initial degrees, unless any work at this level should contribute to the final award of the programme.

    Draft assessments should be submitted to the University 16 weeks prior to the assessment is due to be taken. Marking criteria and/or model answers should be submitted alongside all draft assessments and it is recommended that centres submit the re-sit assessments at the same time as the main assessment.

    Please remember that if the programme is assessed in a language other than English, draft assessments should be submitted in both the language of delivery and in English.

    Collaborative centres will receive comments/approval from the external examiners on the draft assessments via the Academic Unit. Please note that assessments must not be distributed before final approval has been received

    Please see the University’s Assessment Approval Procedure and the Assessment Handbook for full details.

    Contact
    Please direct all assessment queries to assessments@wales.ac.uk

    Procedure for Approval of Assessment
    850.29 KB, PDF
    UW Assessment Handbook
    9.09 MB, PDF

  • Please find below a list of fees payable for:

    • Students re-submitting their master’s dissertation
    • Students re-submitting their theses

    These fees should be stated clearly in the Student Handbook and the student’s cheque (made payable to the University of Wales) should be sent to the University Registry at the same time as the thesis/re-submitted dissertation. If cheques aren’t included with the dissertation/thesis, the University will automatically invoice your collaborative centre.

    Please note that these fees are in addition to the normal registration fees made payable to the University.

    RE-EXAMINATION FEES (2016/17)
    Taught Master’s
    Resubmission of dissertation: £135.00

    MPhil
    Full resubmission: £265.00
    Resubmission on grounds of presentation or detail: £135.00

    DCounsPsy
    Full resubmission: £315.00
    Resubmission on grounds of presentation or detail: £160.00

    PhD
    Full resubmission: £315.00
    Resubmission on grounds of presentation or detail: £160.00

  • As a benefit of validation, all collaborative centres have access to Turnitin software. Turnitin software can assist with detection of plagiarism and has many other features and products.

    An activation email has been sent to the main administrative contact at each collaborative centre. If this email has been misplaced or the contact person has changed, please contact Global Campus Support.

    Turnitin’s Help Center provides guidance on how to use Turnitin as an administrator, instructor or student and includes links to ‘getting started’ training guides. Administrators and instructors can also take advantage of frequent 45 minute online training ‘walkthrough’ sessions.  

    Turnitin supports 15 languages as follows: English (US), Arabic, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

    For additional information and guidance, please refer to the University’s policy on the use of text-matching software.

  • All collaborative centres will need to hold examining boards in order to consider and confirm students’ progression and final award classifications.

    Examining boards are a key part of the quality assurance processes to ensure that standards are comparable with those of other schemes within the University of Wales and the UK.

    Examining boards are arranged directly by the University of Wales, ideally at the start of the academic session. The academic unit is responsible for confirming the date of the examining board, issuing invites to attendees, and coordinating all subsequent travel arrangements. Examining boards can only take place once the date has been approved by the University of Wales.

    This brief guide to examining boards is split into three sections:

    BEFORE THE EXAMINING BOARD

    Marking student work
    All student work should be marked by internal examiners. Please follow and ensure that markers make full comments. It is good practice for work to be marked anonymously and for markers to complete marking sheets.

    Unfair Practice
    If (plagiarism or collusion) is suspected, the university’s Unfair Practice Procedure must be followed and the university must be informed and invited to attend any hearing.

    Examination Transfer
    At least one month prior to the examining board, the institution administrator should upload an examination transfer. This will generate a University mark sheet (ORF). Please refer to the Guidance for Registration and Examination Transfers for further information.

    Internal examining board
    An internal board should be held in advance of the examining board.

    Special/extenuating circumstances
    Students should be made aware of the process for submission of extenuating circumstances in the student handbook. Applications should be considered first at the internal examining board or a special circumstances committee.

    Review of student work by external examiners
    External examiners will need to review a sample of all marked student work prior to the examining board to enable them to confirm the marks awarded and comment on the assessment process.

    If your scheme has been taught/assessed in a language other than English, you will also need to provide translated copies of the assessment and student work.

    DURING THE EXAMINING BOARD

    Agenda
    The University’s should be followed and the meeting chaired and minuted by staff from the Institution. Spreadsheets of students’results should be made available to all present (examples are provided in related links).

    Attendance
    The University has attendance at examining boards. The Board is Chaired by the Moderator, with External Examiners as full members. A University of Wales Senior Academic Officer or Academic Officer will also be in attendance.

    Consideration of Award (undergraduate degrees)
    Once the final degree classifications have been agreed by the examining board, the Academic Officer or Senior Academic Officer will enter the results on the ORF which will be signed by the Chair and all internal and external examiners.

    Consideration of Award (master’s degrees)
    Work contributing to Part 1 (taught element) and a Part 1 mark will be agreed and recorded on the ORF.

    AFTER THE EXAMINING BOARD 

    Disclosure of Marks
    Collaborative centres should release confirmed marks to students within a reasonable time frame. Students should also receive timely and constructive feedback on their performance.

    Confirmation of Award (undergraduate degrees)
    Within 4 weeks of the date of the examining board the ORF will be processed and students will be admitted to their awards in absentia by the Vice-Chancellor. Each collaborative centre is required to upload diploma supplements/transcripts for each student receiving an award. The certificates and diploma supplements/transcripts are then sent securely to the institution, for distribution to students.

    Confirmation of Award (master’s degrees)
    The mark for the dissertation (part 2) is considered and confirmed by correspondence. Marked dissertations should be sent to the Registry for onward transmission to the external examiner who will be asked to review/confirm the dissertation and internal mark within 4 weeks. Internal examiners, external examiner and chair of the examining board will all sign the Result and Report Form to confirm the Part 2 mark.

    Both Part 1 and Part 2 marks contribute 50% towards the final degree classification.

    Graduation Celebration
    All students receiving a University of Wales award are invited to attend the annual Degree Celebration held in Cardiff.

    Appeals
    If eligible, students may submit an appeal under the University’s Appeals Procedure.

    External Examiner and Moderator Reports
    All external examiners and moderators are required to complete a report for submission to the University within 4 weeks of the examining board, which will be forwarded to the collaborative centre for consideration and response.

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