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Assessment guidelines, timeline, and grading criteria

Here you can read the defined levels that showcase the various facets of your progress and competence within your discipline. There is downloadable PDF too. Continue scrolling for detailed information about assessments and timelines.

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Be aware that the information below applies mainly to our accredited Bachelor's Degree programmes. For Foundation and Fast-Track programmes, assessment rules and timing are similar but more relaxed (your Programme Leader will explain assessment during Induction Week)

Assessment guidelines

We employ two distinct types of assessments to gauge your progress and understanding: formative assessments and summative assessments.

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Formative assessment

The ones that make your learning journey evolving. These assessments aren't about grades; they're about growth. You get valuable feedback on how you're doing, but it doesn't count towards your module grade. While we're all for you engaging with formative work, it's totally up to you – no pressure!

 

Formative assessments are like trusty stepping stones, leading and guiding you to the finals – the summative assessments. They're here to nurture your academic skills and knowledge, preparing you for the summative assessments. As we craft these assessments, we're all about considering different needs and perspectives, keeping equality and diversity in mind. It's all part of creating a space where everyone can achieve those learning goals.

 

Formative assessment

  • Happens while you're in the learning groove.

  • Lets both teachers and students change strategies on the fly.

  • Pinpoints areas where you can level up.

  • Opens doors for you to use feedback in action.

  • Helps you see where you shine and where you can grow.

  • Can come from teachers, your fellow students, or even from you through reflection.

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Summative assessment

The kind that gives you a clear picture of your learning progress. These assessments happen at the end of specific periods, like a unit, semester, or academic year. They're like the big finale, designed to see how well you've grasped the subject matter and mastered it. They're the real deal when it comes to deciding what grades you are going to get.

 

Unlike formative assessments, these ones are a must-do. The spotlight's on outcomes and overall performance here. We're talking about what you've learned and what you've achieved. To make fair calls, we've set up clear assessment criteria, perfectly aligned with the learning goals for each module. These criteria aren't secret codes – they show you exactly what we're after in what you present. They also keep our assessors on the same page, making sure everything's fair and square.

 

In a nutshell, summative assessments:

  • Tell us how well you've done and if you've met your learning goals.

  • Come around at the end of units, courses, or academic years.

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Assessment types

You'll be given two types of assessments to gauge your progress and understanding: formative assessments and summative assessments. Formative assessments serve a developmental purpose, and do not contribute to the module grade, nor they are compulsory. Summative assessments have an evaluative purpose, and serve as the assessment of students' learning at the end of a specific period, such as a unit, semester, or academic year. Summative assessments are compulsory.  

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Timeline

For all major modules within the Bachelor's Degree programmes, formative assessment can be informal (at any moment during the study term, during a class, during a class discussion, etc.), or formally organised with official meetings.  

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It's the student responsibility to take notes of informal formative assessment, to apply any constructive comment and suggestion given by the lecturers on the project they are working on, for constant improvement.

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For formally organised formative assessment, the meeting point will be communicated at the start of the course by your module leader. Once the lecturer(s) define the assessment criteria that link to the Learning Outcomes, these can be placed onto the formative assessment sheet. The assessment criteria must be shared with the students at the start of the course. When planned, students are asked to fill in the assessment sheet based on the work they have completed so far, they are encouraged to fill in digitally and share the word.doc with their lecturers. During the formative assessment meetings, lecturers will review the students work completed so far (this must be outlined and communicated to the students at the start of the course) and provide narrative feedback next to the assessment criteria to agree or disagree with the student’s justification. This is then sent back to the students, in order for them to absorb and apply the feedback to their projects. This can be referred back to in summative presentations, asking the students how they incorporated the feedback given to them to improve their work. 

Grading Criteria

First Class (70% - 100%)

  • A thorough engagement with the wider practice of your discipline beyond the university

  • A sophisticated understanding of your discipline

  • Consistently excellent intellectual or creative abilities, or both

  • An extensive capacity for sustained, critical, independent thought

  • A sophisticated grasp of technical, research, analytical and other transferable skills

  • The set learning outcomes have been achieved to a very high standard

 

Upper Second Class (60% - 69%)

  • A significant engagement with the wider practice of your discipline beyond the university

  • A very good understanding of your discipline

  • Excellent intellectual or creative abilities, or both

  • A very good capacity for critical, independent thought

  • A very good grasp of technical, research, analytical and other transferable skills

  • The set learning outcomes have been achieved to a high standard

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Lower Second Class (50% - 59%)

  • A satisfactory appreciation of the wider practice of your discipline beyond the university

  • A very good understanding of your discipline

  • Significant intellectual or creative abelites, or both

  • A good capacity of critical, independent thought

  • A sound grasp of technical, research, analytical and other transferable skills

  • The set learning outcomes have been competently achieved

 

Third Class (40% - 49%)

  • A basic understanding of your discipline

  • A basic level of intellectual or creative competence, or both

  • Basic grasp of technical, research and other transferable skills

  • The set learning outcomes have been achieved

 

Fail (0% - 39%)

  • An inadequate understanding of your discipline

  • Insufficient intellectual or creative competence, or both

  • An insufficient grasp of technical, research, analytical and other transferable skills

  • The set learning outcomes have not been achieved

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