Assessments and Submissions
The Portfolio Review Programme approved the following principles relating to assessments and submissions points that apply to the majority of UoR summative assessments, including coursework, in class tests, practical exercises and presentations are:
1. One assessment (as listed on the MDF) should be set up as one summative assessment in RISIS and, for an individual student, there should be one submission point in Blackboard.
2. For each assessment there should only be one due date that is applicable for an individual student and there should only be one mark awarded by the marker. Assessments should not be set up such that Programme Admin teams are required to calculate an overall mark ‘off system’. There should also not be any requirements for Programme Admin teams to apply scaling calculations based on peer marking.
3. Assessment marks that are held in Blackboard are the ‘raw’ marks, i.e. without any penalties (although they may, or may not include amendments due to moderation). Mark changes are applied in RISIS. On the basis of there being one submission point and one due date for a summative assessment, any late penalties* would be applicable to the overall mark for the assessment. Similarly, an EC request would be applicable to the whole assessment.
*Please note that, whilst it does not happen very often, it can be the case that a penalty due to academic misconduct could be applied to a specific part of an assessment.
4. Assessments should not be set up such that a late penalty could be applicable to only a portion of the mark in RISIS as this would have to be calculated ‘off system’ and transparency would be lost. Similarly, assessments should not be set up such that an EC request could be applicable to a portion of the assessment.
Approved exceptions and clarifications to the above principles are detailed below.
1 Set Exercises
1. For set exercises / questions, the questions/instructions for the assignment should be released to students in one batch and follow the principles outlined above, i.e. for each assessment, as listed on the MDF and set up in RISIS, there is only one submission point & due date in Blackboard that is applicable for an individual student and only one mark awarded by the Academic.
2. If multiple submissions (& due dates) are required for summative assessments, there must be the same number of assessments in RISIS. Schools must ensure the total number of assessments for the module remains within the permitted guidelines. Alternatively, questions that are expected to be released to students in multiple batches and & submitted on either an ad hoc or regular basis throughout the semester should be set up as formative assignments and managed by the marker(s).
2 Either / Or Assessment Types
3. For an ‘either/or’ assessment type, there should be one assessment in RISIS, but separate submission points in Blackboard, although it would still be the case that only one submission point would apply for an individual student. Please note this only applies where there is a choice of assessment ‘type’ not, for example, simply a choice of which question to write an essay on.
3 Multi Format Assessments
4. For a ‘multi format’ assessment', there should be one assessment in RISIS, one due date and either, a separate submission point for each format with one overall mark awarded by the marker (that is entered into an integrated column in BB) or, if appropriate, the multi part assessments functionality in Blackboard can be utilised with weightings assigned so that the marker enters a mark for each element and this is combined (on the system) into one mark for the student. Multi format assessments should not be set up such that Programme Admin teams are required to calculate an overall mark ‘off system’.
4 Portfolio Assessments
5. A portfolio comprises multiple pieces of work from across a period of time (typically one semester) that are collated, by the student, into one summative assessment submission.
6. Individual elements of the portfolio may be submitted as formative work over a period of time but, for the collated summative portfolio, there should only be one assessment in RISIS and only one submission point in Blackboard that is applicable to an individual student.
7. There should be one mark for the portfolio and they should not be set up such that Programme Admin teams are required to calculate an overall mark ‘off system’.
8. Any late penalties (based on the relevant due date for the summative assignment) should apply to the total mark. If an EC request is submitted this should apply to the whole portfolio assessment.
5 Split Assessments
Split assessments have been agreed only for group assignments comprising 2 elements of work that cannot be combined into one submission (e.g. there is a group product plus an individual reflection), with the proviso that they are interconnected and at least one element assesses individual contributions.
9. Each element of the split assessment should be set up as one sub-modular assessment in RISIS, so if the assessment is split into 2 elements, then there should be 2 assessments set up in RISIS and 2 submission points that apply to an individual student in Blackboard.
10. There should be a mark for each element of the assessment. If there are any late penalties or EC requests there can be a clear distinction as to which element(s) these apply to.
6 Presentations with an accompanying submission
11. For each presentation assessment in RISIS there should not be any more than one accompanying submission point & due date in Blackboard that is applicable for an individual student and one overall mark awarded by the marker.
7 Physical submissions with an accompanying online submission
12. For each assessment in RISIS that requires a physical submission there should not be any more than one accompanying online submission point & due date in Blackboard that is applicable for an individual student and one overall mark awarded by the marker.