This guide will introduce you to details around what assessments mean at university, explain key terms and help you understand the different aspects of your assessments. University and academia in general has its own terms that you need to become familiar with. For example, whilst you may talk about being in your first year or second year, universities may refer to these as levels. The box below explains what each level corresponds to.
Levels at university
|
Level |
Equivalent Year |
|
3 |
Higher education access level |
|
4 |
First year of full-time undergraduate standard degree |
|
5 |
Second year of full-time undergraduate standard degree |
|
6 |
Third year of full-time undergraduate standard degree |
|
7 |
Post-graduate taught standard degree (assuming Honours degree competencies) |
Credits
The next thing to know is that each level consists of a number of credits. These are the combined total credits for your modules each year. A module may be 15, 30 or 60 credits. To pass your undergraduate degree with honours you need 360 credits. Our Academic regulations contain the total credits required to achieve all the qualifications that ARU offer. It is your responsibility to be aware of and adhere to ARU's Academic Regulations.
The next section explains what 'Learning Outcomes' are and why they matter to your assessments and course.
Learning outcomes
Every module includes learning outcomes. They act as a roadmap, guiding your academic journey and helping you set clear goals. They are how the university is accountable to you regarding what you should have learned by the end of a particular module and they provide the framework for your assessments. You can find the learning outcomes for each module by scrolling down the left hand menu on the Canvas page for that module and selecting 'Module Definition Form'. Whether by essay, presentation, exam or other format, assessments are your opportunity to demonstrate that you can meet the learning outcomes by the end of the module.
By knowing what you're expected to achieve, you can become an intentional learner, engaging deeply with the material and seeking relevant resources to meet your learning outcomes. When you begin each module or course of work, you can follow the advice later in this guide to help you understand what is required to achieve the learning outcomes and how you can plan for this. Planning how you are going to complete your assessments is essential from both a time management perspective and to ensure you do what you have been asked whilst meeting your learning outcomes. See Planning and Structure for more details on this process.
Formative Assessment
Before you hand your work in to be marked you may be asked to submit a formative piece. Formative assessment means that you could be asked to submit a plan, or section of your work for feedback. This is a valuable opportunity for you to see if you are meeting your assessment requirements in the right way and at the right level. Any feedback can then be utilised to improve your work prior to final submission.
Summative Assessment
The final piece of work you submit is known as your summative assessment. Once you have completed your assessments you need to ensure they are submitted by the correct time and date, to the right location and in the requested format. You can make this easier for yourself by ensuring you save final copies of your work and renaming with the appropriate module number and element so you can double check it is correct before you submit.
Once you have submitted this work it is marked by a lecturer from the module team. A selection of work is also marked by a second lecturer from the team to ensure consistency, this is called moderation. There are more steps in this process to ensure an open, fair and professional process as shown in this diagram: ARU flowchart of the assessment process. Your mark and feedback is available to you via canvas and all your grades are available on e-vision. E-vision has lots of abbreviations and to help you understand your results you may want to consult this guide. Occasionally something may happen and you are not able to submit your work on time. Find guidance about late submission here.
The next section will introduce the grade structure at university and also how to use your feedback to develop your academic skills.
Grades at university
Your mark at university is as a percentage which correspond to the 'Generic Assessment Criteria and Marking Standards' for your level.
Your final degree classification will be calculated automatically, from your grades at level 5 and 6. The table above shows you what classification your grade as a percentage corresponds to. These short videos from student advice explain what your grade means and how to calculate your Master's degree.
In addition to a mark you will receive feedback. There may be some in text feedback/annotations that give specific corrections for instance regarding referencing or punctuation or another error. The overall feedback document will highlight what you did well (feedback) and where you may need to improve (feedforward). Take time to work through this.
Common feedback may be:
Overall, your feedback is designed to help you develop your writing. If you are unsure what your feedback means its a good idea to try and talk to your tutor and they can explain it in more detail. Once you have a better idea, the workshops linked in the box below cover all aspects of Academic Writing and are beneficial if you want to improve your work. You can book with a Study Coach (see box below) to help you understand how to turn your feedback comments into action points or a plan to keep improving your work. If you want to work on your feedback independently, try using the reflective questions suggested on the Independent Learning page to prompt the process.
Improve your skills and increase your confidence by attending our workshops. The workshops cover a range of topics from starting assignments to finding reliable information, mastering referencing and developing your critical writing.
Our Study Coaches offer up to five one to one coaching sessions in an academic year, tailored to your specific needs. They cover academic writing and critical thinking.
We also offer specialist IT and Maths and stats guidance appointments.
Our Subject Librarians are here to enhance your research strategies and resource selection.