Corporate Social Responsibility in Practice

Appendix 3c 2024/25 Conduct of Assessment

UNIVERSITY OF CUMBRIA ACADEMIC PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES

APPENDIX 3c

The Conduct of Assessment

Appendix 3c 2024/25 Conduct of Assessment

The Conduct of Assessment

Note: This section should be read in conjunction with Section 3b Procedures Governing

1

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

the Marking and Moderation of Assessments and On-line submission and feedback of coursework: Procedures and good practice guidelines, available from the LTE StaffHUB pages. Special arrangements for partners may apply.

Coursework

Students are normally required to submit coursework online (through the Virtual Learning Environment). Where the type of assessment means that online submission through the VLE is not possible (e.g. performances/artefacts), arrangements for presentation of the assessment and associated deadlines must be made clear in Assessment Briefs. Requirements and procedures for submission of all coursework should be set out in programme handbooks and clear information provided through Assessment Briefs made available on the Module Blackboard™ sites. Coursework should not be accepted by email.

All work submitted through a student account on Blackboard or Pebblepad should include a Module Title and Code, Student ID Number, Student Name (where not anonymous marking) and should include the following declaration of academic integrity:

“I declare that the material contained in this assessment is the result of my own work and that due acknowledgement has been given in the bibliography and references to ALL published and unpublished sources. I confirm that I have reviewed the guidance on academic integrity at Academic Malpractice | MyCumbria to ensure that I understand the requirements.”

All students are able to access Turnitin plagiarism prevention software (available through Blackboard) in advance of the submission date for all text-based assignments.

Students should retain a copy of submitted work as, in very exceptional cases, assignments may be lost or damaged.

Written assignments must be submitted in English unless the assignment is in a language other than English or specifically requested otherwise by the Institute. Where a student’s first language is British Sign Language, as a reasonable adjustment, and where recommended with the Disabled Students Allowance, students may submit in British Sign Language, to be transcribed into English by a qualified person. The student is expected within this to use the appropriate subject terminology.

No coursework or equivalent must have been previously submitted towards any credit bearing component of an award (see Academic Regulation F10.4 and Appendix 3d Procedures Governing Academic Malpractice, section 4.1).

Institutes are responsible for the internal moderation of coursework titles and briefs before publication and for establishing and maintaining a monitoring system.

Students should ensure that confidentiality is maintained and should be aware of procedures regarding breaches, including Fitness to Practise procedures.

Where there is no physical evidence for assessment (eg non text-based assignments), appropriate systems should be in place to enable internal and external moderation activity.

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2 Submission deadlines

2.1 All work must be submitted in the format specified by the date and times determined and notified to students at the start of the session/semester via the Programme Handbook and Module Blackboard site.

2.2 There should be a programme level approach to submission deadlines and submission deadlines should normally fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, with a preferred deadline time of 9am, 1pm or 4pm. These timings allow optimum access to student support in the case of network or other issues.

2.3 Submission deadlines should be considered across the whole Programme, seeking to avoid the bunching of assessment for the student experience and to help manage staff marking workloads.

2.4 Submission deadline dates should be timed to enable processing of the assessment, including marking and moderation, at the next assessment board point.

2.5 Where there is network failure and Blackboard™, PebblePad™, Turnitin™ or the University network is not accessible at the time of submission or in the 12-hour period before that time, the submission deadline will be amended to the next working day on which Blackboard, Pebblepad or Turnitin or the network becomes available.

2.6 Work submitted beyond the submission date but within 3 working days (ie excluding weekends, public holidays and periods of University closure only) will be accepted as an unauthorised late submission. The maximum mark that can be awarded will be the pass mark (40% Levels 3-6; 50% Level 7(M)). Tutorial support for the subject should not be available during this period but Learning Support will continue to be available (Academic Regulation F6.2) as will Technical Support especially in regard to facilities and health and safety.

2.7 Unauthorised late submission applies only to the first assessment of coursework, and not to authorised extensions, deferred assessment or reassessment. It also does not apply to timed assessments such as presentations, group work, exhibitions or performances, which have the status of examinations.

2.8 Work submitted beyond 3 working days (ie excluding weekends, public holidays and periods of University closure only) after the submission date will be regarded as non-submission and awarded zero (Academic Regulation F6.2).

2.9 Authorised extensions to submission may be agreed by the module or nominated tutor for valid reasons, on application by the student through Institutional procedures. An extension may normally be given for up to 2 weeks (14 days including 10 working days). Extensions beyond 2 weeks may only be given in exceptional circumstances. Deadlines for extensions must allow time for internal and external moderation before the designated Module Confirmation Board. No penalty will be applied to the mark where an extension is approved, provided the work is submitted to the re-negotiated deadline.

2.10 Where known extenuating circumstances, approved by the EC Panel, prevent the student from submitting by the due date, the University Progression and Award Board may offer to void or waive the assessment (see, Appendix 3e, 6.2.1).

3 Word limits for assignments

3.1 It is expected that suggested lengths (in numbers of words for written work, or in time periods for presentations) are designed to indicate to students what length in words or time will, for most students, be appropriate to meet the learning outcomes of the assignment. Unless there is a requirement to work to a particular length of words or time related to the module learning outcomes or regulatory requirements (see 3.2 below), these suggested lengths must be presented as guidance to

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students (not a requirement). Students who ignore this guidance may receive advice in the feedback on the effectiveness of their writing/ presentation, but there is no summative assessment penalty for not adhering to the guidance.

3.2 The assignment brief will make clear what weighting the length (words or time) element has in the assignment overall, if this is a requirement. There are two situations in which a required length of words or time will be set:

i. Some assignments may have a strictly defined lower or upper limit for a reason linked to the module learning outcomes

ii. For apprenticeship learners, the Apprenticeship standard may require certain word or time limits. In these cases, there will be a specific and explicit criterion in the assessment process relating to the required length of the written work or presentation

3.3 Where the assignment/presentation has a defined lower and/or upper limit, notification must be given to students at the outset of the module through the Assessment Brief available on the Module Blackboard site. The requirement to conform to a word/time limit must be expressed as an assessment criterion and linked explicitly to the module learning outcomes or the apprenticeship standard, as relevant. Students should be advised clearly of the consequences of breaching these specified limits, in terms of the impact on the overall mark for the assignment. Programme teams are strongly encouraged to ensure that students understand, through live and written briefings for assessment, why some assignments have defined length limits and others do not.

4. Referencing

4.1 The Harvard System is the University’s agreed referencing style for referencing and citation within academic work. All students have access to an electronic version of ‘Cite them right: the essential referencing guide’, the University’s specified guide available on the ‘Skills@Cumbria’ tab on Blackboard. By exception other referencing systems may be used (eg APA, MLA, MHRA, OSCALA and Vancouver). The referencing style to be used in each assessment must be made clear to students.

4.2 Any student may be required to submit their assignment for textual similarity review for the detection of plagiarism through the software ‘Turnitin’.

5 Examinations

5.1 An examination is defined as a formal, timed assessment of any duration that is subject to continuous invigilation (Academic Regulation F7.1).

5.2 There will be a schedule of examination periods for the academic year. Examination timetables giving dates, times and venues will be published by the Academic Registry and made available to students in good time (Academic Regulation F7.3).

5.3 Attendance at examinations is compulsory and no alternative dates can be arranged. Students are responsible for presenting for examination in accordance with the published timetable. Failure to attend without good reason is counted as a sit and attracts the mark of zero (Academic Regulation F7.4).

5.4 Attendance at examinations implies fitness to take the assessment. Students unable to attend through known extenuating circumstances or those in attendance who subsequently realise extenuating circumstances have affected their performance, should submit a claim with supporting evidence for consideration by the Extenuating Circumstances Panel (see Appendix 3e, section 5).

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5.5 Institutes are responsible for making arrangements for the issue of pre-release question papers/material where appropriate and students are responsible for the collection.

5.6 For some examinations, students are permitted to bring their own materials/resources [eg texts, notes, files, calculators] provided these accord with Institutional guidelines. Students are responsible for providing these according to the guidelines and to check with the programme/module tutor if in doubt.

5.7 The University adopts an anonymous marking policy for examination scripts. Students sit at numbered desks as determined by the attendance list. Students must bring their Cumbria Card with them into each examination and put it on the desk as proof of identity. Invigilators will make spot checks of legitimate attendance and accurate seating. Scripts will be identified by seat number/candidate number and full instructions for preserving anonymity will be given by the invigilators.

5.8 For any student who cannot sit an examination at the relevant campus, requests may exceptionally be considered to sit the examination at another UoC approved site. Students should contact the Assessment and Awards Team within the Academic Registry to make a request to sit an examination at another UoC approved site.

6 Preparation of examination question papers

6.1 Module tutors will be responsible for preparing draft question papers and rubric and for having them approved by the External Examiner before publication. The length and type of examination paper should be set in accordance with the validated assessment scheme for the module, as set out on the Module Descriptor Form.

6.2 The Academic Registry will be responsible for final production, printing, duplication and secure storage.

6.3 The content of question papers is both restricted and confidential (ie not to be disclosed to, or discussed with, students or staff outside of the Institute.

6.4 The font should be Verdana 12 (unless an alternative has been agreed as a reasonable adjustment) and the format of the paper shall include:

i. Name of the awarding body (eg University of Cumbria),

ii. Partner institution if appropriate

iii. Module code and title

iv. Campus/site at which examination held

v. Length of the examination

vi. Date and time of the examination

vii. Rubric giving information on the number of questions to be answered

viii. Information in the case of specific arrangements eg open books, permitted materials

7 Invigilation

7.1 All members of the teaching staff are expected to contribute to invigilation activity. It is also expected that the module leader/tutor is available to invigilate or at least be present at the start of the examination for which they have responsibility.

7.2 It is the responsibility of the Director/Dean of Institute to ensure that all examinations have appropriate levels of invigilation.

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7.3 There will be no less than 3 members of staff in the room unless the group size is less than 20 students. The recommended ratio of examinees to invigilators (including the chief invigilator) is as follows:

No of examinees: No of invigilators:

1 1 2-20 2 21-70 3 71-120 4 121-160 5 161-200 6

7.4 The chief invigilator has responsibility for the operation and management of the examination, for giving appropriate instructions at the beginning and end of the exams and reporting any procedural irregularity affecting students or incidence of suspected malpractice to the Assessment and Awards Team.

7.5 Duties of invigilators will include:

i. To arrive 25 minutes before the scheduled start of the exam session and to be available for the WHOLE examination session to ensure adequate invigilation cover (not just for duration of paper).

ii. To set out the question papers (usually each tutor sets out the paper for their own group of examinees) and to make a last minute check on the question paper/attendance lists/provision of necessary equipment (where appropriate for own paper).

iii. To assist with the admission of students to the exam room no later than five minutes before the start-time of the exam, ensuring that students are silent; bags, mobile devices and coats are left at the back of the exam room and students do not bring in food or drinks, except in case of medical condition eg diabetes.

iv. To identify absentees and to ensure the Academic Registry is aware of all such at the commencement of the exam; to note absentees and any late arrivals on the attendance list.

v. During the examination to spot check Cumbria cards against the exam room attendance list – to ensure legitimate attendance and accurate seating. To ensure anonymous marking can be seen to be operating it is advisable for tutors to check groups other than their own programme group.

vi. To attend to requests for extra paper, water, comfort breaks and to watch for malpractice.

vii. To supervise and assist students who have additional needs, as appropriate, being prepared to stay to cover extra time if necessary.

viii. To check the scripts of students leaving before the end of the exam. The script should be left on the desk and collected at the end of the exam to avoid any confusion.

ix. To ensure that all scripts are accounted for and enveloped correctly at the end of the examination and to complete and sign all necessary documentation. Any scripts not collected from the examination room by the appropriate tutor will be returned to the Academic Registry for secure keeping.

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8 Student conduct in the examination room.

8.1 Students will be admitted to the examination room 5 minutes before the start time indicated on the published timetable.

8.2 Students sit at numbered desks as determined by the attendance list. Students must display their library card on the desk.

8.3 No student may leave the examination room within the first half hour or in the last 20 minutes.

8.4 Students will not normally be admitted to an examination after the first half hour. If for some exceptional reason the chief invigilator uses discretion to allow a student to enter an examination after the first half hour has passed, it will be at the discretion of the Assessment Board to decide whether to take this into account and mark the script.

8.5 Students should bring their own pens, pencils, rubber, rulers and, where permitted any other materials prescribed for the examination. Handbags, books, papers, coats and other articles brought into the room must be deposited with the invigilators.

8.6 No mobile devices (including smartwatches) may be used in examinations unless expressly and formally agreed in advance by the Academic Institute. Al alarms/alerts on mobile and other devices must be switched to silent.

8.7 No food or drink should be brought into the exam room except in case of medical condition eg diabetes. Water is available on request.

8.8 Students who, for any reason, wish to leave the examination room temporarily may do so only if accompanied by an invigilator or by another authorised person. Students may not leave the room to smoke.

8.9 Silence must be maintained at all times except in oral/aural examinations.

8.10 Students are strictly forbidden to copy from one another or to communicate with one another or with any person[s] other than the invigilators. Likewise, students may not introduce any written or printed material into the examination room [unless this is permitted]. This includes dictionaries. Students must not attempt to gain access to unauthorised material during or before an examination. (See Appendix 3d – Procedures Governing Academic Malpractice 2.1).

8.11 At the end of the examination students will be told to stop writing, shown how to fasten their scripts [and rough work] together and how to preserve anonymity. Students may not leave the room until scripts have been collected by the invigilator. This also applies to students who wish to leave the examination room before the end of the examination. A student wishing to leave before the last 20 minutes must raise their hand to attract the invigilator’s attention so that s/he may have their script checked and given approval to leave.

8.12 No examination stationery, scripts, coversheets or answer sheets may be removed from the examination room.

8.13 On entering or leaving the examination room, students must be quiet to give due regard to other candidates who may have started earlier or be finishing later.

8.14 In the event of fire, students must not attempt to collect bags, coats etc and on the invigilator’s instruction should leave by the nearest exit where they should assemble outside and wait for further instructions. If permitted to return, additional time will be allowed.

8.15 Students should not bring valuables to the examination and if they do the property is left at their own risk.

Appendix 3c 2024/25 Conduct of Assessment

9 Viva-voce examinations/oral tests

9.1 Viva voce examinations may be included as a compulsory element within the assessment strategy for a module as determined at validation.

9.2 Where there is no physical evidence for assessment (eg non text-based assignments), appropriate systems should be in place to enable internal and external moderation activity. This could be through joint observation of performance or presentation, or capturing of performance or presentation by audio or visual recording mechanisms. In these cases, the sample size should be as set out in Appendix 3b, 2.4.

9.3 The examiners (internal and/or external) have the discretion as agreed by the assessment board to hold oral tests at any time during the programme, designed either to check the authenticity of evidence derived from written course work or to help fill gaps on a student’s assessment record caused by eg illness. In this case, the Programme Leader will notify the student of the arrangements, why they are being called for such an examination and the extent of the material to be covered.

10. Examinations for students on collaborative and distance learning programmes

10.1 Partner institutions/study centres will make appropriate arrangements for candidates studying on collaborative or distance learning programmes to take examinations according to the University examination procedures which apply to all programmes.

10.2 Any time differences from the UK will be taken into account so that examinations take place simultaneously (or as near as possible).

10.3 Distance learning students must seek approval from the University for their examination arrangements. The student must arrange a suitable venue and appropriate invigilation which is acceptable to the University. Any costs for invigilation, room hire or related administration must be borne by the student.

11 Re-sit examination arrangements

11.1 The University will accommodate reassessment students in practical subjects for which they require availability of specialist facilities and will ensure conformity with Health and Safety Legislation (e.g. use of hazardous substances, Technician availability).

11.2 Students who studied at the University in the UK but who are domiciled overseas will be offered the opportunity to sit any reassessments at British Council Offices in their home country (see 10.3 above). Time differences from the UK will be taken into account so that examinations take place simultaneously (or as near as possible).

12 Students requiring additional examination arrangements.

12.1 A range of additional facilities can be made available to students on the basis of reasonable adjustment for a particular need under Equality legislation [eg extra- time, large print papers, computers, amanuenses etc]. An application by the student to Student Services must be made in good time and supported by appropriate evidence (eg educational psychologist report or medical assessment). Standard adjustments may be approved by the Academic Registry and shall be reported to the Module Confirmation Board. In the case of non-standard requests,

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the matter will be referred to the Chair of the Module Confirmation Board for joint approval with the External Examiner. Requests for special arrangements may be refused where insufficient notice is given (Academic Regulations F9.4).

12.2 Special arrangements may also be made for students on grounds of religious observance.

13 Confidentiality

13.1 Confidentiality relates to the maintenance of anonymity of individuals and privileged information about the activities of organisations and workplaces gained through working and/or studying within them.

13.2 Student work in the context of this policy includes, but is not limited to, the

production of assignments, written work, communications and when interacting online.

13.3 Unless permission has been given, it is essential that confidentiality is

maintained in all students’ work. This principle is in keeping with professional ethics and the Caldicott Report 1997, 2012.

13.4 Permission must be received in writing from an authorised representative of the

relevant organisation that information may be used. 13.5 The University strictly and equitably imposes penalties for confidentiality

breaches, to protect the above principle. Any allegations that a student has breached confidentiality will be considered when marking of assessment is undertaken.

13.6 If there is suspicion that there has been a deliberate attempt by a student to

gain an unfair advantage in the assessment by breaching confidentiality or other means the issue will be progressed through the University’s Malpractice Procedures.

13.7 Examples of breaches of confidentiality include:

i. Any inclusion of names or material in student work (including both the body of the work and supplementary material such as appendices) that would allow any individual to be identified would be considered a breach of confidentiality.

ii. Any identification of an organisation in relation to individuals or other activities that are not already publicly available.

iii. The inclusion of material, original or photocopied, on identifiable stationery that can be linked to the privileged information e.g. letterhead of an organisation that identifies that organisation.

iv. Providing information that could lead to the identification of an individual or organisation e.g. dates of birth, hospital numbers, addresses, children’s names etc or the inclusion of any unusual circumstances that could allow the reader to identify individuals or organisations.

13.8 If it is necessary to name individuals in an assignment, their anonymity must be

preserved by changing their names to fictitious ones. The assignment must be prefixed with a statement stating that this is the case. If it is necessary to link the name of an organisation with privileged (non-public) information (as in (ii) above) the name of the organisation must also be changed to a fictitious one.

13.9 Examples that would not be breaches of confidentiality include:

i. The signature of staff who sign the students’ official documentation. ii. The acknowledgement of individuals who have supported students in their

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work provided that their names only are included and not their designation/job title or workplace;

iii. Any naming of individuals or organisations where the information cited has now entered the public domain eg the name of renowned cases such as Victoria Climbié and the Bristol Heart Scandal would no longer be confidential;

iv. Any naming of organisations that is not subsequently linked in the student’s work to privileged information eg simply discussing the existence and function of an organisation or service; discussing publicly available published information relating to an organisation. To support the fact that information is now in the public domain, the burden of proof lies with the student. A citation in the text and corresponding reference on the reference list would be necessary to demonstrate that the information was indeed in the public domain;

v. Abuse reporting in line with the student and staff guidelines relating to this and statutory requirements

vi. Instances where permission has been expressly given (eg. by an NHS Trust, school, company), clearly stating the inclusion of their details in the work is approved. This permission must be in writing and included as a preface to the work;

vii. Inclusion of materials eg. ‘welcome packs’ provided that individuals, patients and organisations (as appropriate) are anonymised;

viii. Information that is publicly available eg. information leaflets provided that they are not subsequently linked in the student’s work to privileged information

13.10 If a student is in any doubt about the inclusion of any documentation or

written information in his/her work, s/he should seek the advice of his/her tutor.

14 Disclosure of marks and results to students

14.1 In releasing results to students, strict confidentiality in accordance with the Data Protection Act must be followed.

14.2 Internally moderated marks can be released to students to provide feedback on performance on the understanding that these are provisional until confirmed by the Assessment Boards and the external moderation process.

14.3 Provisional marks are normally made published to students through Grade Centre on the Virtual Learning Environment. Alternative arrangements may apply, exceptionally. Under no circumstances should marks be emailed to students.

14.4 End of semester/session statements of results are issued for continuing students together with any reassessment requirements as confirmed by the University Assessment Boards.

14.5 Final transcripts, Diploma Supplements and award parchments are issued by the Academic Registry on confirmation of results by the awarding University Progression and Award Board. (See Appendix 3g).

14.6 Certificates, formal transcripts and Diploma Supplements (along with the Award) will be withheld where a student is in academic debt to the University (Academic Regulation H1.4)

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15. Retention of Examination Scripts

15.1 Examination scripts will be retained by the University in accordance with the University’s Retention Schedule, and in line with external requirements laid down by Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies. Examination scripts may not be returned to students therefore alternative arrangements must be made to provide appropriate feedback to students on their performance.

16. Review of the procedures

16.1 The University will review these procedures described periodically.