Assessment Boards and Assessment Regulations Board Terms of Reference Secretary’s role

Appointment of Secretary Heads of Faculty / Campus SAS (or nominee) will ensure that Secretaries are –appointed to Assessment Boards –trained in assessment processes and the University Regulations

Appointment of Board Chairs Deans of Faculty (or equivalent) will nominate Chairs of Assessment Boards, who will be senior academics of the University Deans will ensure that Chairs of Assessment Boards are trained to undertake the role

Membership – Unit Boards The Chair, a senior member of academic staff (Head of Department or Principal Lecturer), nominated by the Dean The Subject External Examiner(s) for each programme / course owned by the Unit Assessment Board The Programme/ Course Leader(s) for programme / course owned by the Board as representatives of all the units owned by the programme / course

Terms of Reference – Unit Boards To confirm that student assessment has been conducted in accordance with the University’s Assessment Regulations and criteria published to students in unit guides To confirm that moderation processes have been employed in the setting and marking of assessment To approve unit assessment results for all students enrolled and registered for units belonging to the Board To ensure that reassessment arrangements are determined for students who need to redeem failure To provide a summary of unit performance based on statistics generated from the SRS Assessment Module in order to allow the comparison of performance of units and for use in the Continuous Monitoring process Where appropriate, to nominate students for prizes and to report to the relevant Progression and Awards Board To ensure summary accounts are made of the business of the Boards

Responsibilities at Unit Boards All members shall prepare for and attend scheduled meetings and undertake any actions required of them by the Board The Chair of the Board shall follow up any actions deemed necessary by the Board prior to the Progression and Awards Board The Programme/Course Leader shall work with Unit Coordinators and F/C staff to ensure the completeness and accuracy of all marks prior to the meeting of the Unit Results Board. S/he will monitor progress with marks entry, ensuring SRS Assessment Module is updated as soon as work is marked, and will follow up any missing marks The Secretary shall ensure the necessary updates to the SRS Assessment Module records for marks/grades identified at the Board and shall provide a record of the business of the Board. S/he shall assist the Chair to finalise any actions and updates necessary before the Progression and Awards Board and forward any nominations for prizes to the Progression and Awards Board

Documentation required by Unit Boards Documentary requirements include –a record of Chair’s actions since the last meeting –a copy of the University Regulations for Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate Programmes of Study –the Unit Results Board Reports for all units owned by the Board –the data sets for each unit provided by the SRS Assessment Module including median and interquartile range

Membership Progression & Award Boards The Chair, a senior member of academic staff (normally a Head of Department), nominated by the Dean The Award External Examiner for each set of programmes / courses owned by the Progression and Award Board Programme / Course Leader for programmes / courses owned by the Board Examination or Assessment Officers where appropriate

Terms of Reference Progression and Award Boards General: To confirm that University and Programme/Course regulations have been applied consistently and fairly for all students undertaking study on programmes/courses belonging to the Board To agree condonement for students who meet the conditions To provide opportunities for the monitoring of quality and standards through the consideration of data in relation to progression and achievement To apply decisions made by the relevant Exceptional Factor Panel(s) To apply decisions made by the relevant Assessment Disciplinary Committee

Terms of Reference Progression and Award Boards Progression : To confirm resit prescriptions for students unable to proceed, taking into account any condonements To confirm a student’s right to progress on the programme / course for which s/he is enrolled To consider progression and condonement statistics for programmes / courses belonging to the Board and recommend future strategy, where appropriate To review performance trends

Terms of Reference Progression and Award Boards Award: To confirm each student’s award and classification To consider student achievement using classification statistics To agree the recommendation of an interim award for students unable to achieve their award aim under the University / Programme / Course Regulations To confirm recipients of prizes

Responsibilities of Progression and Award Boards All members shall prepare for and attend scheduled meetings, shall be proficient in the course and University Assessment Regulations for students whose profiles will be examined and shall undertake any actions required of them by the Board The Secretary shall provide a record of actions agreed by the Board and make changes to the SRS Assessment Module records as required by the Board The Senior F/C SAS Officer shall ensure the formal endorsement of decisions shall be obtained from the External Examiner of the Progression and Award Board (Tier 2) The Chair shall report to the Head of Faculty and Campus SAS the names of recipients of Faculty or Department prizes

Documentation required by Progression and Award Boards Documentary requirements include –a record of Chair’s actions since the last meeting –a copy of the University Regulations for Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate Programmes of Study –profiles of the performance for all students gaining awards or progressing on courses owned by the Board

Role of Secretary Key responsibilities: To establish the dates of meetings in advance at the start of each academic year, arrange the meetings and inform the members To make all administrative arrangements for the Board including liaison with the External Examiner To circulate standard agendas to all members prior to the Board To check the completeness of profiles for students before the Board meets To prepare and provide all Board documentation including: –To provide all Board members with a Board Report of unit marks –To retain a version of the Board Report detailing all unit and element marks available to the Board for consultation where necessary To produce a record of actions agreed by the Board and make changes to the SRS Assessment Module records as required by the Board To record the conditions of re-assessment To prepare results letters

Role of Chair (1) The Chair should be a senior member of academic staff with excellent knowledge of the regulations and assessment policy Key responsibilities: To ensure all members of the Board are properly briefed To liaise closely with Secretary to ensure that the marks presented are full and correct To ensure that the External Examiner has seen an appropriate sample of the assessed work of the students To ensure discussion takes place about the performance on units and awards, taking into account the views of the External Examiner To guide the Board towards clear recommendations / decisions To consider and initiate such actions as s/he thinks necessary on advice given by the External Examiners

Role of Chair (2) Key responsibilities: In close collaboration with Secretary, ensure that marks and award recommendations as confirmed by the Board are prepared and checked Following the Board to check and approve the reports as a true record of the proceedings To ensure that the students receive appropriate notification of the results To raise any points of procedure with the Senior Faculty and Campus SAS

Chair’s Action Very exceptionally, there may be a need for the Unit Results Board or a Progression and Awards Board to take action to amend or confirm a decision after the Board meets In such circumstances the Chair may act on behalf of the Board to ensure that requisite University documentation is completed A summary of actions taken in this way should be reported to the next meeting of the Board The circumstances when Chair’s Action may be taken are detailed within the ‘Guidelines for the Operation of Chair’s Action in Assessment Boards’ The procedures and reporting conventions to be followed for Chair’s Action are also outlined in this document

UG Regulations* commonly clarified Assessment Regulation: B4 Progression Regulations: B6, B9 & B10 Reassessment Regulations: B12, B13, B16, B17& B18 Section C: Award and Classification –Bachelor’s degrees with Hons –Awards other than the Bachelor’s degree with Hons *Level 3 & Level 4 (except BA (Hons) Architecture) of UG Programmes Study and Level 5 of BA (Hons) Public Services

UG Regulations* commonly clarified Section E.1, paragraph 1.2 Section E.2, paragraphs 2.5, 2.8 & 2.11 Section E.3, paragraphs 3.1, 3.3, 3.6, 3.12 & 3.13 Section F.1, paragraphs 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 & 1.7 Section F.2, paragraphs 2.2, 2.4, 2.5 & 2.6 *Level 4 of BA (Hons) Architecture and Level 5 (except BA (Hons) Public Services) and Level 6 of UG Programmes of Study

Tier 1 Board documentation Board Report R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\1.Faculty Tier 1 Board Report For 454Z% F Train 1112.pdf Unit Performance Report –noted at the end of the Board to highlight issues that might need further discussion at Programme Committees and should feed into the Continuous Monitoring process R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\2.Faculty Tier 1 Unit Performance Report F_454Z%_2011_12.pdf Board can only make recommendations not decisions

Tier 2 Board documentation (1) Progression Report for each level of each course (EQAL & non-EQAL) –PP (Pass & Proceed) & REF1 (Referred 1 st Resit, Aug/Sept) R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\6.Faculty Tier 2 Progression Report PP REF F 1011.pdf –Decision Required R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\7.Faculty Tier 2 Progression Report Decision Required F 1011.pdf

Tier 2 Board documentation (2) Course Progression Performance Report (EQAL & non-EQAL) –noted at the end of the Board to highlight issues that might need further discussion at Programme Committees and should feed into the Continuous Monitoring process R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\8.Faculty Tier 2 Progression Performance Report F 1011_Train[1].pdf Classification Report 1 and Report 2 R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\9.Faculty Tier 2 Classification Report F 1011.pdf R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\10.Faculty Tier 2 Classification Report F 1011.pdf Award Performance Report –noted at the end of the Board to highlight issues that might need further discussion at Programme Committees and should feed into the Continuous Monitoring process R:\SAS\Faculty&CampusSAS\ASSC\SMT\Assessment Boards\Mock Board documents\11.Faculty Tier 2 Award Performance Report F 1011 _Train[1].pdf

Unit Boards: notes & explanations Unit Board Report: –at the end of each Unit the elements of assessment & weighting are detailed –at the end of the Board Report is an explanation of each column heading, the shading (if any) and the values for column R Unit Grade: –P = Pass, F = Fail, A = Absent –CG = Condonable Grade (Has the student met the Unit Learning Outcomes? Is the Unit condonable?)

Progression & Award Boards: notes & explanations Progression Report (PP & REF1): –at the end of the Board Report is an explanation of Provisional Decision codes & a list of Units Progression Report (Decision Required) –at the end of the Report is an explanation of each column heading, the shading (if any) and the values for column R A list detailing the title & weighting of each element of assessment

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