Quality Handbook supplement AP3: Integrated end point assessment policy

2.1 Each course team will be responsible for identifying and nominating the appropriate number of assessors and ensuring that this is managed throughout the life of the apprenticeship. Assessors must be independent of the course and appointed to all apprenticeships where the University is the End Point Assessment Organisation.

Where appropriate, this process of nomination and appointment mirrors that for the appointment of external examiners.  
Nominations will be considered by the Apprenticeship Portfolio Sub-Committee (ApSC).

2.2 The ApSC will be responsible for the approval of all assessors, whether existing University employees or new (external) appointments.

2.3 Course teams, School Apprenticeship Sub-Committee, Apprenticeship Team and ApSC are guided by the criteria set out in 2.6 when considering assessor nominations. If required, ApSC may consult the Apprenticeships team on matters of assessor appointment.

2.4 Assessors are nominated by course leaders using the AA1 form, available from CADQ. Their nomination is considered by School Apprenticeship Sub-Committee and forwarded to the ApSC for approval. Nominations will be considered by ApSC prior to the commencement of the appointment.

2.5 School-approved assessor nomination forms, signed by the Chair of School Apprenticeship Sub-Committee, are forwarded to CADQ. The correct nomination form must be used. It should be noted that the nominee is not an assessor until they receive an appointment letter and have undertaken a satisfactory right to work process with the relevant University HR team.

2.6 The University will seek to recruit assessors who meet the requirements set out below. These requirements will apply unless superseded by the apprenticeship standard for which assessors are being appointed to:

• Be independent of the course, the apprentice and their employer;
• Be experienced in carrying out training and assessment in a workplace or academic environment;
• Hold recent and relevant industry experience, normally within the last five years;
• Hold a degree in a related subject area to the apprenticeship they are appointed to;
• Meet any other requirements stipulated in the apprenticeship standard End Point Assessment plan for the apprenticeship for which they are appointed.

2.7 Independent End Point Assessment teams should not comprise of assessors from the same organisation, unless they are existing NTU staff.

2.8 The course team, with the support of the Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance Team, should ensure that the potential assessor is provided with sufficient information to enable them to identify whether they can carry out their responsibilities effectively and meet the appointment criteria before commencing the nomination process. In the interests of impartiality, assessors will not be appointed where this will establish a reciprocal arrangement with another End Point Assessment Organisation.

2.9 Independent End Point Assessors should be reviewed after three years to satisfy ApSC that the assessor remains fit for purpose.

2.10 Assessor contracts can only be renewed once unless there are exceptional circumstances in which recruitment is difficult. In this instance, course leaders must fully outline the reasons for additional renewals.

2.11 To ensure consistency of approach and in-depth understanding of the Apprenticeship Standards and Assessment Plan, all assessors are required to undertake training to prepare them for the assessor role, including an induction.

2.12 At induction, the University ensures that all assessors are informed about relevant institutional procedures, practices and academic regulations, about their role and about the apprenticeships and modules to which they are appointed.

2.13 Ongoing training will be provided jointly by Schools and the Apprenticeships team to ensure that all requirements are met, to ensure that all assessments conducted are valid, fair and reliable and in line with the relevant end-point assessment plan.

2.14 All assessors are expected to attend an annual standardisation event. The purpose of these events is to ensure the fair, consistent and reliable grading of all assessments. They also allow the course team to update the assessors on any changes to the apprenticeship or standard. Course teams will be expected to communicate with assessors during the year and provide updates as appropriate.

Further information

• Each apprenticeship will have a minimum of two assessors.  
  Cohort size will need to be considered when agreeing on the number of assessors on a case-by-case basis.
• Where a nominee has previously held an external examiner position at NTU, they will not normally be considered for an independent assessor role where they have had direct external examining duties connected with the same cohort of learners being entered for EPA.
• Schools are advised to discuss the nomination process with the nominee, including the timeframes/steps involved. Schools can seek additional advice from the Apprenticeships Quality and Compliance Team.
• School Apprenticeship Sub-Committees maintain a list of assessor appointments held by NTU staff, which Schools are required to formally update once each academic year.
• Exceptions to the appointment criteria will only be approved by the ApSC where there are compelling reasons set out in the nomination form.
• Additional guidance will be provided on the assessor nomination form (AA1).
• Assessors should complete induction before the Gateway.

3.1 Grounds for the termination of appointment include:

• Failure to carry out properly the duties and responsibilities of an independent end-point assessor.
• Failure to engage with annual training.
  Conduct contrary to that required and expected of an independent end-point assessor of the University.
• Notification of a conflict of interest.

3.2 ApSC will consider the recommendation and the evidence provided by the School on these grounds. Termination of the contract will not be considered where the recommendation is based on a difference of opinion about how the apprenticeship should be run, on any perception that an independent end-point assessor is unreasonable in their professional opinions, or where the independent end-point assessor has been thought to be overly critical of the apprenticeship or the delivery team.

3.3 Where ApSC approves the recommendation, the independent end-point assessor will be provided with the opportunity to address the School’s concerns within 10 working days. ApSC will consider the independent end-point assessor’s response, but if this response fails to satisfy the committee, it will recommend to ASQC that the independent end-point assessor’s contract be terminated.

3.4 An unresolvable conflict of interest may arise during the independent end-point assessor’s contracted period. In this case, normal practice would be for the independent end-point assessor to resign, but as a last resort, the University can terminate the appointment in line with the processes outlined above.

3.5 Other than exceptional circumstances (e.g., serious illness), an independent end-point assessor is required to let the course team know as soon as possible if they intend to resign in order to protect apprentices on the course and the quality assurance arrangements associated with it.

Further information

A resignation should normally take effect at the end of the ‘apprenticeship year’.

4.1 A minimum of two end-point assessors will be appointed to each apprenticeship to ensure independence in moderation. Each assessor will have responsibility for marking and moderation. Moderation of assessment decisions will be undertaken in line with NTU’s marking and moderation policy practice, as set out in Quality Handbook Section 15: Assessment.

4.2 Re-sits and re-takes will be undertaken in line with standard NTU practice, except where the Apprenticeship Assessment plan sets out specific procedures, in which case the assessment plan will take precedence.

4.3 Results will be confirmed to the apprentice following ratification by the Board of Examiners, which will operate in accordance with NTU Board of Examiners requirements (see Quality Handbook Supplement 15B).

4.4 The Apprenticeships team is responsible for claiming the apprenticeship certificate from the Apprenticeship Assessment Service.

4.5 Apprentices will be issued with a transcript of their performance in line with standard NTU procedures for undergraduate and postgraduate degree awards.

Further information

Moderation includes all aspects of end-point assessment, including written work, professional discussions and presentations. Moderation of assessments, such as a professional discussion or presentation, can be carried out either through ‘live’ observation of the assessment, where the moderator observes the assessment as it is happening, or after the assessment via a recording. The moderation procedure must be agreed in advance by each End Point Assessor and the course team.

5.1 Each apprenticeship End Point Assessment Plan will normally stipulate the procedures to be followed where an apprentice fails the End Point Assessment. Where this is not the case, the regulations set out in this policy will apply.

5.2 For on-programme assessment, NTU Common Assessment Regulations will apply. The regulations below apply to failure and reassessment decisions relating to end-point assessment only:

• Following a failure of end-point assessment, an apprentice has the right to be reassessed on one further occasion.
• Where there is more than one element to the End Point Assessment, the apprentice will only be reassessed in the failed element.
• In all circumstances of reassessment, where a student has passed other elements, the grades associated with these elements should go forward and the student should not be reassessed in them.
• The maximum grade for reassessment where no elements have already achieved above a pass is a low 3rd or pass.
• When an apprentice has already passed at the first attempt one or more of the elements within the End Point Assessment, the apprentice retains their grade(s) for that (those) elements. In these circumstances, the apprentice may achieve a maximum overall End Point Assessment grade which is higher than a low 3rd or pass.
• Apprentices will not be offered the opportunity to be reassessed for the end-point assessment until the exam board has confirmed the decision.

5.3 When an apprentice has approved extenuating circumstances and has been given an extension to complete the end-point assessment, the delayed assessment submission is graded as normal and no further compensatory measures are required.

5.4 When the extenuating circumstances have resulted in the offer of a first attempt at the assessment at the next available opportunity, the outcome of this attempt will be decided in the same way as if there had been no extenuating circumstances.

5.5 Suspected breaches of academic integrity relating to end-point assessment are managed in line with NTU’s Academic Integrity policy.

6.1 End Point Assessment will be considered as part of standard quality monitoring processes, as set out in Quality Handbook Section 6.

6.2 Moderation of assessment decisions will be in line with NTU policy, as set out in Quality Handbook Section 15.

6.3 Where individual assessment plans require deviation from University policy, this will be noted at approval.

6.4 Schools are responsible for organising an annual standardisation event in line with the relevant apprenticeship standard to ensure the comparability and consistency of assessment decisions.