Assessment bottle necks a reality or a state of mind? Probing the perception gap between students and staff Dr Liz Partington, Dr Linda Allin & Alex Radu

QUESTION TIME DURING LAST ACADEMIC YEAR Did you have to give out extensions on assessments? Did you have to answer student questions about assessments? Did you involve the students in the assessment process? When it comes to assessments are you confident that you understand your students’ needs?

Assessment Panel Division of Sport Sciences has an assessment panel made up of representatives from the different subject disciplines. The remit of the panel is to ensure that the assessments created within the division adhere to the University Guidelines for Good Assessment Practice. Assessment load- staff v. conscious of this Although we check & try to manage ‘submission bottle necks’ we still had comments about this from the students (Course com & NSS).

Perception gap? Appears to be a mismatch between staff and student perceptions of assessment bottle necks A new idea was suggested INVOLVE the STUDENTS in the assessment process

The steps Invite student reps to take part in a mini assessment panel Take action with changes to assessments Meetings with staff teams about their views on assessment Analyse their comments Focus groups with undergraduate students about their views on assessment

Intended Outcomes Create a transparent learner centred process which will: Open a dialogue between staff and students Create a better learning experience for students Enhance student performance and skills