NTU’s Academic Registrar explains more about assessing students fairly

Published: 21/01/2021

In this blog Mike Ratcliffe, Academic Registrar at NTU, explains more about assessing students' learning fairly in 2021.

Fair Assessment

We have all been affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic and the impact of the Covid-19 disease.  The progress of the disease and the various public health measures to combat it, has changed life for us all.  However profound the affects, the impact on members of the university community, especially students, differ.  Our approach to providing fair assessment for students is underpinned by the notion that the impact will differ and that blanket measures are neither effective nor fair.

Naming of parts

The English higher education sector is surprisingly diverse.  Although most undergraduate students will receive a similarly named degree, BA, BSc etc – awards with comparable standards – we actually have a very different set of ways of getting to those awards.  Some universities have terms, some semesters. Some have credit systems, some run linear degrees. The rules that underpin those structures are also very different – some universities condone a proportion of modules that are failed, some look to compensate when learning outcomes are met, some don’t allow any failure. Therefore when a university puts in place a system to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 disruption, it needs to do different things.

Even the words used in each system are different.  Last year, NTU had a ‘no detriment’ policy which included what we called a safety net grade. The English regulator – the Office for Students – uses the term ‘safety net’ in another way however; it said to universities (14/01/2021):

You should continue to consider appropriate ‘safety nets’ for individual students affected by the pandemic and recognise its impact, for example, through the implementation of your mitigating circumstances policies. With such safety nets in place, you may determine that it is no longer necessary to implement the type of ‘no detriment’ policies put in place by some providers in 2019-20 to mitigate the early disruption caused by the pandemic on students

Because the impact of the pandemic is different in this academic year 2020-21, we are using different terms because we think the measures should be different.   The overall goal remains the same – fair assessment for our students.

Principles and Practicalities

Assessment at NTU is part of learning as well as a judgement of performance. Our priority is to ensure that students can engage with assessment in this difficult year. The most important aspect of our fair assessment approach is the adaptations we have made to assessment so that it can still be undertaken safely. With the recent lockdown and the requirement that most students should not come to campus, courses are looking again at their approach to assessment. This might mean changes to timing or method, or assessment design to ensure that students can undertake them. When looking at timing, in many courses that means considering all the assessment together, to avoid bunching (too much being asked of a student at the same time), but also to ensure the correct sequencing, as some assessments work together. The effect is that some assessments will now be later in the year. We know that some students have suggested moving all assessment by a set number of days, but that does not work for all scenarios so any changes have to be tailored appropriately.

What will enable us to take account of the impact on individuals is the consideration of extenuating circumstances. The Notification of Extenuating Circumstances (NEC) process allows us to consider the effect on students in preparing for and being able to take assessments. We have returned to the broader scope of the process that we used last year. Lockdown may seriously affect students’ access to learning space, materials or IT in different ways. Our NTU schools will be asked to look at the effect of the issue, accepting that there may not be evidence. For example, it may be hard to evidence that a student’s only access to IT equipment is a family computer that may need to be used for other family members’ schooling.  As a university, we may be able to help with that situation, say by providing a loan laptop, and an extension will enable that situation to be sorted.  Depending on a student’s course, they may have a lot of assessments in January, or maybe none.  The NEC process is tailored to each individual’s situation.

Last year, lockdown came just before the main assessment season. Different forms of assessments had to be put in place, but many students had completed assessments at the level at which they were already studying – undergraduate degrees are made up of three increasing levels, broadly equating to the year of study.  In 2020-21 academic year, no student has completed an assessment at their current study level that is unaffected by the pandemic. This means the impact of the lockdown cannot be measured by comparing current work against work done at this level without COVID impact.  

Levels are important, especially on undergraduate degrees. We recognise this by capping the amount that the second year can count towards the final degree outcome to 20% – in some courses it doesn’t contribute at all. Letting the outcome from a previous level stand in place of this year would not be fair, and it would not be secure in terms of the standards of the course, or the value of the degree awarded.

The Quality Assurance Agency has noted this approach is being taken in many universities; it says (18/01/2021):

Safety net or related practices for 2020-21 are less likely to have a focus on pegging student grades against their earlier performance and more likely to take a nuanced look at specific disruption or individual students' circumstances

At NTU we recognise the disruption. We have considered requests for a safety net grade (and other suggestions such as blanket extensions or automatic retakes) but our view is that is better to amend our assessment to match the circumstances we are in and to consider the impact on individual students and adjust accordingly. Our Exam Boards will consider performance carefully at the end of the year, but it is not fair or practical to rely on the safety net approach this year. We have introduced a variety of measures to support students, to assess them fairly and to ensure their academic achievements are to the same high standards as previous cohorts.

We’ve got you – and all our NTU students - talk to us when you need and let us know how we can help.

Mike Ratcliffe

Academic Registrar, Nottingham Trent University