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CODE OF PRACTICE ON THE ASSESSMENT OF TAUGHT PROGRAMMES

Effective date: March 2016.

The Code of Practice on the Assessment of Taught Programmes applies to all taught
programmes which lead to an award of the University, including validated programmes.

1. General Principles

The University is committed to ensuring that:

- the principles, procedures and processes of assessment are explicit;

- the assessment methods and practices used in programmes are effective in

measuring student attainment of the range of intended learning outcomes,
with due regard to relevant subject benchmark statements, national
qualifications frameworks, and requirements of relevant professional, statutory
and/or regulatory bodies (PSRBs);

- the assessment of programmes is valid, reliable, consistent and fair;

- assessment promotes effective student learning.

2. Dissemination of information and guidance on assessment

Information for students

Information about the University’s assessment regime and appeals procedures is
included in the following publications:

Information provided centrally

Guide to Undergraduate Assessment, Guide to Assessment for Taught
Postgraduate Students and Examination arrangements: what you need to know…

The following information is included in the Guide to Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Assessment or Examination arrangements: what you need to know… or in the case of
Greenlands based programmes the relevant Programme Handbook or the Guide to
sitting exams:

- the periods within which centrally administered examinations are held;

- the University marking and grading conventions;

- procedures in relation to medical and other extenuating circumstances;

- general information on the consequences of assessment (progression/award,

re-examination) and the right of appeal (Senate Standing Committee on
Examination Results and procedures for review of irregularities in relation to
module marks);

- academic misconduct;

- dates and location of publication of results;

- re-examination arrangements.

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Examinations Office website

The following are available on the Examinations Office website
(http//www.reading.ac.uk/Exams):

- Guide to Undergraduate Assessment/ Guide to Postgraduate Assessment (Taught

Programmes)

- Examination arrangements: what you need to know…

- Code of Practice on the Assessment of Taught Programmes;

- Code of Practice on the External Examining of Taught Programmes;

- University-wide Framework for Classification and Progression for First Degrees, which

inter alia provide descriptors of student attainment in relation to degree
classifications;

- Marking Criteria and Classification Framework for Taught Postgraduate Programmes

- calendar for University examinations (with the exception of Greenlands

programmes);

- information on special arrangements in examinations;

- archive of past examination papers (with the exception of Greenlands

programmes);

- information on appeals procedures.

Student Pages

The Student Pages contain links to key information.

http://www.reading.ac.uk/student/

Module descriptions

Module descriptions provide information on the methods of assessment for
modules, and on the relative contribution of the elements of assessment to the
overall mark or grade for the module.

Programme specifications

Programme specifications provide information on the relative contribution of the
Parts to the overall classification.

Information provided by Schools/Departments

Schools/Departments are required to provide in their Programme Handbooks
information on aspects of assessment, including guidance on good academic
practice and conventions for referencing and citation.

Schools/Departments offering programmes which carry accreditation from a PSRB
are required to provide in Programme Handbooks or elsewhere clear information
about the specific requirements which must be met for progression towards the
professional qualification.

Schools/Departments are required to provide students with advance notice of the
submission dates for coursework for modules for which they are responsible. For
substantial pieces of coursework notice should normally be given at the
beginning of the Part or the Session.

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A record of the dates for submission of coursework should be held in the relevant
School/Departmental office and be made available to relevant Programme
Directors.

Information for staff

In addition to the codes of practice and the classification frameworks, information
on assessment policy and procedures is available in the University Examination and
Assessment Procedures Handbook, which is available on the Examinations Office
website. Information specific to the programme, School/Department or Faculty is
held in School/Department and/or Faculty Offices. Staff are also advised to refer to
the Examinations Office website.

Information for External Examiners

External Examiners are sent information by the Examinations Office and by the
relevant School/Department(s). The Code of Practice on the External Examining of
Taught Programmes specifies the respective responsibilities of the Examinations
Office and Schools/Departments for providing information.

Information for providers of placements, practice and periods of study abroad

Schools are required to provide sufficient information to providers of placements,
practices and periods of study abroad to enable such providers to fulfil any
responsibilities in respect of assessment.

3. Assessment regimes: approval and enhancement

The University requires that assessment regimes for programmes and modules are
fitted to their purpose, which includes promoting effective student learning and
enabling students to show the extent to which they have met the intended
learning outcomes of the modules or programmes. The University’s procedures
for programme approval include consideration of the assessment regime’s fitness

for purpose, and its effectiveness in measuring student attainment of intended
learning outcomes and in promoting student learning (Approval of a new
programme, Guide to Policy and Procedures for Teaching and Learning, Section 5c).

The University requires that assessment regimes are reviewed in the periodic
review of programmes on a six-year cycle, and are also considered in the annual
programme report process. In these processes, consideration is given to the
requirements of PSRBs, where relevant.

The periodic review of programmes incorporates student evaluation of
programmes, including assessment and feedback.

Module providers, in consultation with Boards of Studies, should give due
consideration to assessment criteria and their communication to students, and to

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deadlines for submission of major pieces of assessed coursework and for dates for
feedback.

Schools are required to ensure that staff-student liaison committees include
consideration of assessment matters in their business at least once in their annual
cycle, and that they have the opportunity to consider relevant External
Examiners’ Reports.

In those cases where an External Examiner meets informally with students to

discuss programmes, External Examiners are encouraged to discuss with them
matters of assessment and feedback.

Such arrangements as may be approved by the Faculty Board for Teaching and
Learning shall apply to the assessment of work placements or periods of study
abroad.

Information about the assessment regime is included in the relevant programme
specification and module description, as appropriate, and in the Programme
Handbook (or supplement) or the relevant website.

The University’s Centre for Quality Support and Development (CQSD) provides
access to expertise and materials which support staff in reflecting on appropriate
methods of assessment and feedback. CQSD offers sessions on assessment and
feedback, and these matters are also addressed in the development programme
for new lecturers.

Participation
Participation in class is an important part of learning, and, under the Statement of
Learner Responsibilities agreed by UBTL at its meeting of 3 May 2011, students are
required to participate appropriately in all classes.

In approving an assessment regime for a module, Boards of Studies may identify
participation as a distinct component of assessment and assign a proportion of the
module mark to this component. Any contribution to the module mark related to
participation should be specified in the module description and students should be
reminded of this at the commencement of the module. Only in exceptional
circumstances may a minimum level of participation required over the Part be
specified separately as a condition for progression.

4. Appointment of External and Internal Examiners

Heads of School are responsible for nominating at the beginning of each Session

External and Internal Examiners for degree, diploma and certificate programmes
within their School. The University requires that an External Examiner is
appointed for every programme which leads to an award of the University
(including franchised or validated programmes). An External Examiner is not
required for those Parts of a degree which do not contribute to a final award. (It
should be noted that, in the post-2002 programme structure, all Parts of the
undergraduate programme contribute to an award.) The University’s Code of
Practice on the External Examining of Taught Programmes specifies the University’s
policies on external examining.

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Any potential conflict of interest must be declared to the Head of School or Dean.

The University does not permit any member of staff who is in an intimate
relationship with a student to be directly professionally involved in assessing or
examining that student. Provisions relating to such cases are included in the
University Examination and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 5.

Guidance on procedures for nominating and approving Examiners is contained in

the University Examination and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 5.

5. Conduct of assessment

Provision of details of University Examinations and registration of students for
examinations

Examination Representatives are responsible for submitting to the Examinations
Officer details of University Examinations which they wish to be held during the
Session. In respect of modularised programmes, Examination Representatives are
responsible for confirming the registration of students for examinations for
modules offered by their School/Department. In respect of non-modularised
programmes, Examination Representatives are responsible for registering all
students on programmes within their School/Department for all their
examinations (including papers set by other Schools/Departments). Detailed
information on these procedures is included in the Examinations and Assessment
Procedures Handbook, Section 8.

Setting University examination papers

Internal Examiners are responsible for scrutinising and approving internally
papers for University Examinations. University Examination papers for an
assessment contributing to an award shall also be scrutinised and approved by the
External Examiner(s). University Examination papers for an assessment not
contributing to an award are not subject to scrutiny by the External Examiner(s).
All University Examination papers must be proof-read by at least two members of
academic staff, including the person who had primary responsibility for drafting
the paper. The format of University Examination papers shall conform with the
Guidelines for the Preparation of University Examination Papers (included in the
Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 7), with the exception of
Greenlands based programmes. The Examination Representative is responsible
for submitting by a specified date camera-ready proofs of examination papers to
the University Examinations Officer for printing.

Please see the section below on Examinations and in-class tests held in
Schools/Departments for further details relating to the setting and conduct of in-class
tests.

Conduct of University Examinations

The Chief Invigilator for an examination centre shall be responsible for the
conduct of examinations held in the centre. The Chief Invigilator’s
responsibilities include ensuring that examination rooms are properly prepared in
advance of examinations, that examinations start and finish at the appointed
times, that examinations are properly invigilated, that correct procedures are
followed in cases of suspected misconduct, that scripts are collected at the end of

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the examination and dispatched to the nominated recipient. The Chief Invigilator
is responsible for providing with the script relevant information if the
examination was held under abnormal conditions or was subject to special
provisions.

University examinations shall normally be invigilated either by members of
academic staff or by external invigilators, approved by the Examinations Officer.
All invigilators shall be issued with guidelines/instructions.

Schools/Departments are required to ensure that a nominated member of
academic staff with responsibility for the paper can be contacted by phone for the
first hour of an examination. Contact details should be provided to the
Examinations Officer in cases where the member of staff cannot be readily
contacted through the School/Departmental office.

No candidate shall be permitted to enter the examination room more than half an
hour after the beginning of the examination, and no candidate shall be permitted
to leave the examination room until after the expiration of half an hour from the
beginning or in the last half hour of an examination.

Candidates are required to place their campus card or University access card on
the desk in written examinations for inspection by the Invigilator.

The Chief Operating Officer (or his representative) and the Chief Invigilator shall
have the power to exclude from the examination room any candidate using unfair
means in an examination and any candidate failing to conduct himself or herself
with propriety in the examination room.

Language of assessment

In respect of taught programmes, the language of assessment will be English
(except in the case of programmes involving modern languages or British Sign
Language, where teaching and assessment may be conducted in either English or
the relevant modern language/British Sign Language at the discretion of the
School). Any proposed variation from this convention requires the explicit
approval of the University Board for Teaching and Learning.

Use of dictionaries and calculators in University examinations

Dictionaries

Candidates may only take a dictionary into a University examination where
written permission has been given by the School/Department responsible for the
paper. Information on procedures to be followed in such cases is included in the

Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 11, and in Examination
arrangements: what you need to know.

Calculators

As a general university policy and subject to such exceptions as
Schools/Departments may specify, non-programmable scientific calculators are
normally permitted in examinations, but programmable permanent-memory
calculators are not normally permitted in examinations. Detailed information on

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these provisions is included in the Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook,
Section 11, and in Examination arrangements: what you need to know.

Special arrangements in University examinations

Provision for students with specific learning difficulties

Students who have been assessed as having specific learning difficulties may
apply for special arrangements in examinations. Such arrangements include
extra time in examinations and special consideration in marking (for example, no
penalties given for poor spelling, grammar or punctuation in written
examinations; or sympathetic consideration given to poor organisation and
structure in written examinations). Students who believe that they may have
specific learning difficulties should consult their Personal Tutor or the Disability
Advisory Service in the first instance. Details of procedures in respect of
examinations for students with specific learning difficulties are provided in the
Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 12 and on the
Examinations Office website.

Special arrangements for examinations in respect of illness, disability and other circumstances

Special arrangements may be made for students who are ill at the time of their
examinations, who have a disability, or who, for good reason, are unable to sit an
examination at the specified time. Details of such arrangements are included in
the Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 12 and on the
Examinations Office website.

Examinations and in-class tests held in Schools/Departments

Where examinations or in-class tests (for summative assessment) are held in a
School/Department, the School/Department is required to ensure that the
examinations or in-class tests are held under conditions which are closely
comparable to those of University examinations. Guidance on examinations and
in-class tests held in Schools/Departments is included in the Examinations and
Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 13.

External Examiners are required to monitor the questions and tasks set in respect
of in-class tests in order to ensure the reliability and validity of the assessment.
Responsibility for support and administration associated with in-class tests lies
with the School/Department and not with the Examinations Office.

Examinations held overseas

Examinations may not be sat overseas except in the most exceptional
circumstances (for example, in cases of serious illness or bereavement in respect
of an immediate family member). Permission for an examination to be held
overseas may be requested only by the School Director of Teaching and Learning
responsible for the programme, in consultation with the University’s
Examinations Officer, and may only be granted by the relevant Teaching and
Learning Dean. Students wishing to sit a University Examination overseas are
required to apply to the School Director of Teaching and Learning or the
University Examinations Officer. The University’s distance-learning programmes
and certain part-time Masters programmes are excluded from this proscription.
See Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 14.

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Procedures for submission of coursework

Students, when submitting a major piece of coursework, are required to append to
their work a signed statement confirming that the work is their own. The
minimum information to be included in the statement of original authorship is
specified in the Examinations and Assessment Procedures Handbook, Section 15.

Schools/Departments are required to include the definition of plagiarism in
Programme Handbooks and it is particularly recommended that they remind
students of the definition of plagiarism and its consequences at those times when
students are preparing major pieces of coursework.

It is recommended that Schools/Departments normally issue the form for the
statement of original authorship, at the latest, when the piece of work is set
(rather than when it is submitted) in order that students might be reminded of
good academic practice and the meaning and consequences of plagiarism before
they embark on a piece of work.

Schools/Departments are normally required to issue to students, through
School/Departmental offices, a signed, dated, and (where appropriate) timed
receipt slip in acknowledgement of the submission of dissertations and major
pieces of coursework. Schools/Departments are strongly encouraged to issue
similar receipts for other pieces of coursework.

Editorial and proof-reading services

The University’s policy in relation to students’ use of editorial and proof-reading
services is available in the Guide to Undergraduate Assessment, the Guide to Assessment

for Taught Postgraduate Students, and the Examinations and Assessment Procedures
Handbook, Section 15.

6. Extensions to deadlines for submission of assessed coursework and the

penalties for late submission of assessed coursework

Work for formative assessment (i.e. work which does not contribute to a result)

Work for formative assessment is submitted so that the student can benefit from
feedback. Submitting such work late is discourteous and disrupts the plans staff
will have made in allocating time to provide the feedback. The penalty for late
submission, therefore, is forfeiting any right to feedback. Students may approach
the member of staff who would normally read and comment on the work in
order to apologise, present excuses and request feedback. It is entirely up to the
member of staff to agree or not, and, if agreeable, to determine the time when
such feedback will be given.

Work for summative assessment

(a) Extensions and remission

Students may request extensions in advance in accordance with the University’s
extenuating circumstances procedures (see Examinations and Assessment Handbook,
section 18). If a student wishes to request an extension, he or she must do so in
advance of the deadline for submission of the relevant work. If an extension is

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granted and the work submitted by the revised deadline no penalty will be
applied. Extensions will only be granted for good reason.

Through the extenuating circumstances procedures, students may request
removal of a penalty imposed for late submission of work. Such a penalty will
only be removed for very good reason.

Requests for extension or removal of a penalty for late submission should be
made on the University’s Extenuating Circumstances Form, which should be
submitted to the School Office of the School which ‘owns’ the student’s
programme. The Extenuating Circumstances Form is available on the web at

http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/exams/student/exa-circumstances.aspx.

While it is stressed that an extension will only be granted (or a penalty for late
submission removed) for good reason, it is also recognised that where a proper
reason exists an extension or request for removal of a penalty will not be refused
unreasonably.

Decisions on extensions and removal of penalties for late submission, as with
decisions on other extenuating circumstances procedures, will be made by the
Senior Tutor of the School which ‘owns’ the student’s programme, or a person
nominated by the Senior Tutor. In the case of requests for extensions in respect
of modules which are ‘owned’ by another School, the Senior Tutor of the School
‘owning’ the student’s programme remains responsible for the decision, but
should consult the Senior Tutor of the School ‘owning’ the module prior to a
decision.

Extensions and removal of penalties for late submission should be recorded by
the School responsible for the student’s programme, which must inform the
School owning the module in respect of which the extension has been granted.
Any student requiring more than two extensions and/or remissions in one year
should be seen by the Senior Tutor and appropriate advice given or suitable
action taken.

(b) Penalties for late submission

The Module Convener will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any

formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available
for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day
(or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;

• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the

original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of
zero will be recorded.

Details of variants from the standard penalty, special provisions relating to
submission of coursework for exhibitions in the Department of Fine Art and the
Department of Typography and Graphic Communication, and additional guidance
for staff and students are available in the Guide to Policies and Procedures for
Teaching and Learning (section 6l).