Assessment strategies must be a combination of formative and summative assessment elements. Although the guidance below specifically refers to summative assessment planning, where the assessment of learning results in credit, the inclusion of formative assessment within modules, for developmental, monitoring and feedback purposes, is very important.
Programme Teams must be mindful of the size of assessment loading across modules, academic levels and programmes. We must ensure that assessment loading is relative to credit, and that an equivalence of credit and the extent of assessment is in place across modules and programmes.
Module learning outcomes should not be over-assessed by multiple assessment elements, and the following assessment loading guidelines should be followed for different module sizes:
15 Credits –Â 1 or 2 assessment elements
30 Credits –Â Maximum of 3 assessment elements
45 Credits –Â Maximum of 4 assessment elements
60 Credits –Â Maximum of 4 assessment elements
When developing module assessment, staff must be mindful of the types of assessment selected and the assessment loading across each academic level and across the whole programme. This will be tested at (Re)Validation, including through the production of the required Assessment Map.
It is recognised that assessment elements vary hugely in effort depending on factors such as word count, scope, length etc. When designing assessments, this should be carefully considered – for example 30 credits with a large essay should only have a smaller second component.
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