Definitions of Assessment

Robust assessment processes ensure that University qualifications are awarded to students who meet specified learning outcomes.

In this way, awards based on assessed performance provide information that allows students to apply to future courses, future employment, or a licence to practise.

Consequently, systematic quality assurance processes must be applied to assessment to ensure that standards are consistent, equitable, reliable, valid, and fair.

Assessment designs should provide a framework that guides students on various topics and themes of study, whilst developing professional competencies, soft skills and personal learning strategies.

Assessment tasks can motivate students to engage in learning and encourage them to collaborate, self-assess and to give and respond to feedback.

In this way, assessment tasks can develop reflective, self-regulation skills which help students to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning.

Performance data and student feedback gathered from formal and informal assessment tasks provides useful information for educators to shape their practice.

Where students are struggling, educators should make targeted interventions to further support learning.

Conversely, where student performance and feedback are particularly strong, successful strategies can be disseminated more widely to help shape practice in other modules or programmes.