Assessment and feedback are major elements of academic workload but the problems that add to individual workloads are often hidden or are particular to the methods of assessment that a colleague chooses to use. If we are to develop effective support systems, we need to understand how academic colleagues are choosing to assess and how much variation of practice there is within specific types of assessment.

For this reason, I am asking all academic colleagues to participate in a short assessment and feedback practices survey to get a picture of the true variation of practice across the University and of the impediments colleagues are facing in conducting assessment and giving feedback. The survey, which will only take between five and ten minutes to complete, asks you to identify one type of assessment method that you use and then answer a series of questions about it. If every academic colleague completes the survey once, we will get an accurate a picture of assessment practice to inform the next stage of the Transformation project. If, however, you would like to complete the survey more than once, for the different types of assessment that you use, you are welcome to do so.

The survey is now open and the link is here: Assessment and Feedback Practices Survey

I know that this can be a busy time of year, but I would ask that you give the less than 10 minutes of your time to help make this project a success.

The survey will supplement the information we have gathered from the more than 30 workshops we have held across the University to engage with colleagues to understand how we support assessment and feedback, what works within our systems and, more importantly, what does not work well for us. We have also been looking at the approaches taken by other universities and have been trying to understand the art of the possible in terms of how technology can support us in the future.

The next stage of the project will look at how we deliver a fundamental redesign of our approach to assessment and feedback that will support all staff involved in carrying out and supporting assessment and feedback more efficiently and effectively while improving the student experience.

Many thanks,
Professor Frank Coton

First published: 7 December 2018

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