The current UAL Assessment Criteria are over nine years old.  Following consultation, research and analysis of feedback from our staff and students, we are now updating the criteria to ensure they are fit for purpose. This is part of our project to enhance assessment to support student learning and attainment.

Why are the Assessment Criteria changing?

• To put student learning first
  The new criteria will reinforce the University’s commitment to putting student learning at the centre of assessment. They will also be more streamlined, making it easier to focus on formative assessment, and communicate what we expect from our students in a more transparent way.
• To better reflect our creative environment
  The new criteria will reflect the ways that assessment practices are delivered within our creative institution across our diverse disciplines, and have been written so they are easier to align to learning outcomes. They will go further to recognise and celebrate active engagement in learning.
• To support the degree classification
  This work supports the changes to the degree classification, with the second year now being included in the classification algorithm. Criteria descriptors will be added to each of the three undergraduate levels (4 – 6), which will help to support students’ progress within Higher Education.
• To support diversity and attainment
  The changes will ensure that assessment practices support work in diversity and attainment. This as an opportunity to support the University’s ambition to reduce our attainment differentials and support inclusive practices.

What will be different?

• Fewer criteria
  We will be moving from eight to five different criteria.
• Simplified language
  The language used to describe each criteria will be stripped back, making it simpler to grade each level in a way that relates to the learning outcomes.
• New criteria descriptors for each undergraduate level
  There will be separate criteria descriptors for each undergraduate level (4 – 6) and for postgraduate level 7.
• Easier to map criteria to learning outcomes
  The criteria will be flexible enough to map onto different subject disciplines, and grading will be contextualized within the various courses at UAL. This new approach acknowledges and respects the disciplinary expertise of our tutors.

What happens next?

The revised Assessment Criteria are being presented to Academic Board for endorsement and they will then be shared with course teams, ready for staff to contextualise their course.

Briefings and supporting resources, including an example of how to map the old criteria to the new, will be provided to course teams, as a helpful starting point.

A series of staff development sessions will then take place at the end of the summer term to support lecturers in using the new criteria, and to discuss the benefits in terms of diversity of attainment and formative assessment.

Student work will be marked against the new assessment criteria from the beginning of the 2019/2020 academic year (excluding a small number of courses where students are enrolled on courses / units that commenced in 2018/19).

Questions?

Contact your College Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching, or email Prof Susan Orr, Dean of Learning, Teaching and Enhancement.

CoLAB Group photo (courtesy Clermont Auvergne University)

coLAB is a European Union and Council of Europe funded collaboration to promote inclusive practices in European academic institutions and to enhance understanding and respect towards refugees. At London College of Communication (LCC) coLAB offers teaching opportunities to refugees with expertise in Broadcasting, PR, Research and Journalism: seven participants are taking part this year.

In mid-January 2019 Siobhan Clay, Educational Developer in the Exchange, and Sophie Williams-Brown, International Development Officer at LCC, visited Clermont Auvergne University (UCA)  to represent LCC in a coLAB project meeting.

The meeting was hosted by Cecilia Brassier, Director of the Department of Information and Communication and lead coordinator for UCA, with representatives from the Council of Europe, an educational consultant and the three other university co-ordinating partners: LUMSA in Rome, IHECS Brussels, and LCC.  Vivienne Francis, Senior Lecturer BA Journalism, is the lead co-ordinator for UAL.

The team heard progress updates and focussed on exploring future funding streams and collaborations to ensure coLAB develops and has a sustainable legacy. It was also an opportunity to discuss the Toolkit/Good practice Guide which will support other HEIs to implement a similar scheme in their universities.

Siobhan Clay’s involvement has been to support the seven LCC participants into learning and teaching practice and theory, through the two day Thinking Teaching  course, delivered with Vikki Hill and Lucy Panesar. She has also mentored four of the seven colleagues, supporting lesson preparation, reflecting on teaching and developing practical strategies and material to teach and interviewed students and staff taking part.

Siobhan says of the trip to Clermont-Ferrand: “It was such a fantastic opportunity to meet colleagues from the collaborating universities who are establishing this positive and necessary work, and to hear about the differing contexts in each country. The team are passionate about coLAB and I would say sector leading in their efforts to establish European universities as welcoming and supportive places for refugee experts in their home countries, to have the opportunity to teach in European HEIs. Support from the LCC International office, Deans and PVC has been integral to the work at LCC, it would be wonderful to explore developing this now across UAL.“

“During the Thinking Teaching course I really enjoyed working with the group, there was a very high level of intellectual engagement and enthusiasm from everyone. It felt like a dynamic and respectful space to hear people with different professional & academic backgrounds and experiences, articulating their work and approaches to teaching and learning with confidence, professionalism and humour. I learned and was very humbled by, the breadth of experience in the room and the strong communication skills of each participant. I was thoroughly invigorated by the 2 days and felt privileged to be involved in the project.”

More information on coLAB:

• Contact the UAL Project Lead Vivienne Francis at LCC
• Contact Siobhan Clay
• www.colab-disco.com
• Article on Project initiation and aims (summer 2018)
• coLAB at London College of Communication (summer 2018)

The Teaching and Learning Exchange will be welcoming a number of new colleagues over the coming months to support various key projects that align with our institutional objectives.

Within Arts Education, Dr Rachel Marsden and Neil Currant have joined the academic programmes team, respectively as Lecturers in Practice-based Research and Thinking Teaching. We have created a new Attainment team, where Dr Clare Warner and Vikki Hill will be working together to lead and coordinate our work to eliminate our attainment differentials at UAL. They will be supported by our new Digital Resource Developer, Gemma Riggs. Last but not least, Alexandra Pitt will join as a new Educational Developer with a focus on our reward and recognition programmes.

Joining Digital Learning are Peter Beare as Digital Learning Coordinator and Darren Gash as Digital Learning Manager, supported by Hannah Hyde as Digital Learning Engagement Support.

And finally, we welcome Dr Emily Salines to UAL. Emily will join the AEM team and will be the LCC AEM Lead.

We’d also like to say a huge thank you and good luck to Dr Nick Addison, who retires at the end of January. We are very sorry to see Nick go, whose excellent teaching has touched many at UAL. We’ll miss his vast knowledge of arts education and warm, subversive presence, but we’re not sad because he’s off to enjoy painting and reading by the sea.

We look forward to introducing our new colleagues to you over the coming months. Please join us in making them all feel welcome at UAL.

New team Member Biographies

Dr Rachel Marsden – Lecturer in Practice-based Research
Rachel has joined the Academic Practice course team (replacing Nick Addison). Rachel is a lecturer, curator and arts writer, researching transcultural studies, cultural translation and curatorial practices in China and the Asia-Pacific. She is also focused on the development of practice-led/based (arts and curatorial) curricula towards “pedagogies of practice” and emerging cultural leadership.

Neil Currant – Lecturer, Thinking Teaching
Neil will be delivering the Thinking Teaching short course across UAL (replacing Vikki Hill). Neil is an extremely experienced educational developer who joins us from Oxford Brookes University, having previously worked at Salford and Bradford Universities. He is currently writing up his EdD, on Black and Minority Ethic student experiences of belonging, a study that he has developed through storytelling and critical race theory.

Dr Clare Warner – Educational Developer (Curriculum and Assessment)
Clare will be joining the UAL Attainment Team in March, from Westminster College where she is Coordinator and Lecturer in Teaching Training. Her courses recruit a diverse community of students who want to become teachers in FE and she is proud that the course she leads does not have an attainment gap. Clare has recently completed a PhD at Goldsmiths University. Her PhD thesis explores the experiences of African-Caribbean education practitioners/grassroots organisations applying to open Free schools in London. Clare has led a range of projects addressing attainment differentials across all areas of education from primary to university level. This work has been shared widely.

Vikki Hill – Educational Developer (Attainment – Identity and Cultural Experience)
Vikki joined UAL in 2016 as the lead for the OFS Catalyst funded Changing Mindsets Project. Deploying a range of diverse and creative approaches Vikki has ensured that this project has secured very strong student and staff engagement from across UAL. The website she developed (http://ualcreativemindsets.myblog.arts.ac.uk/) to share this work is a testament to the ways that she deploys research informed creative approaches to address attainment differentials. Vikki has particular expertise in the area of supporting student and staff understanding of growth mindsets, implicit bias and stereotype threat, and has shared her work at a range of conferences and staff development events. Vikki is a practising artist and before working at UAL Vikki was programme team lead in art and design at Newham Sixth Form College.

Gemma Riggs – Digital Resource Developer: Attainment
Gemma will be working with colleagues in the Teaching and Learning Exchange to ensure that attainment enhancement resources are shared in a range of high quality and engaging digital formats. Gemma is currently a Visiting Lecturer at RCA and her creative portfolio displays a wide range of digital media and communication work including work created while she was working at LCF in her role as Network Research Facilitator. Gemma is a freelance film maker and has managed large scale international film projects.

Alexandra Pitt – Educational Developer (Reward and Recognition)
Alexandra will be joining the Arts Education team in April as an Educational Developer with a special focus on promoting reward and recognition for teaching staff. Key to her role will be developing UAL’s current HEA accredited CPD scheme to support more staff to attain Fellowship. Alexandra will be joining UAL from Middlesex University, where she is currently a Senior Lecturer. She has been teaching in higher education for twenty years and brings a wealth of experience to her role. Her educational background spans English Language Teaching and Linguistics, Art History and Creative Writing, and she has plenty of ideas about using a variety of writing techniques to reflect on professional practice.

Peter Beare – Digital Learning Coordinator
Peter joins us from London Met University where he has been supporting the use of their Digital Learning platforms, including Moodle. He has a background in media production which includes lecturing in the subject. Peter will be working on defining and supporting effective practice in Digital Learning as well as contributing to staff development.

Darren Gash – Digital Learning Manager
Darren joins us from Surrey University where he has been leading on the development of staff digital competencies and pedagogical insight across the institution. He has a background in TEL and in leading creative media degrees. Darren will be focusing on expanding our Digital Learning staff development offer and the strategic development of Digital Learning practices.

Hannah Hyde – Digital Learning Engagement Support
Hannah joins us from the commercial sector where she works in PR and marketing. She will be focusing on engaging UAL staff with our Digital Learning offer, keeping our online presence fresh and supporting events and workshops.

Dr Emily Salines – Academic Enhancement Model (AEM) Project – LCC Lead
Emily joins us from Greenwich University where she was a Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching. Emily has been leading on a range of cross university enhancement projects. For example, she has been leading an assessment enhancement project at Greenwich as well as offering cross university support in the area of curriculum design. This work links to the work that Greenwich are doing as part of their Catalyst funded OFS funded Attainment Project. Emily is a Senior Fellow of the HEA and her PhD is in French and Comparative Literature.

Image courtesy of UAL

The Exchange is delighted to announce the projects which have been successful in this year’s funding round. We had a range of excellent applications, covering topics as diverse as teaching ethics, virtual reality in the classroom, how to sew, and social media and marketing for Fine Art professionals. The outcomes will also vary, from classroom and workshop projects to online resources and podcasts.  All the chosen projects will make significant and innovative contributions to teaching and learning at UAL.

We had to make some tough decisions, but are very pleased that £50,000 has been awarded across 17 selected projects.  Thanks to everyone who submitted an application. Congratulations to all those chosen, and we look forward to hearing about your work over the next year.

Dr Stewart will bring her expertise in digital scholarship and online education to the university via the Teaching and Learning Exchange. Based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, Bonnie will lead open seminars and expert consultation as part of her fellowship.

Dr Stewart recently helped to design and run the ‘Engagement in a Time of Polarisation’ MOOC (Massively Open Online Course) in the ‘edX’ platform founded by Harvard University. She is well known internationally for her work on open and equitable teaching practice online, and for exploring the intersections of Twitter and scholarship.

There will be opportunities to hear Dr Stewart speak with plenty of Q&A time as part of an online seminar series on Digital Learning and Digital Culture. Dr Stewart will also be advising on the development of Open Practice Teaching principles as UAL continues to explore taking creative teaching and making online.

Welcoming the appointment, UAL Head of Digital Learning David White said: “I’m delighted that we have appointed Dr Bonnie Stewart as our first online Visiting Fellow. She will help UAL to develop its open and inclusive educational practices as we continue to extend our teaching and learning into online spaces.”

Plans are still in the early stages but if you are interested in connecting with Dr Stewart then please get in touch with David White.

Image courtesy of UAL 

The role of the course leader

Elizabeth Staddon of the Teaching and Learning Exchange is currently engaged in a cross-institutional study focussing on the role of the course leader.

Recognising the significance of this role to institutions and their students, the research team will be exploring and making recommendations about how the course leader role is allocated and defined by universities, the range of activities course leaders do and should undertake, and associated professional development needs and support.

Call for participants

We are looking for participants who lead undergraduate degree programmes at UAL to take part in one or more of the following:

• Focus group interviews with other course leaders at UAL
• Periodic short online surveys to capture your role-related activities and any developmental needs as experienced, and/or
• (Brief) one-to-one telephone interviews

Update 25/9/18:

Thank you to everyone who has applied to take part so far, it is very much appreciated.

Please do continue to get in touch if you would like to get involved: we are particularly interested in hearing from new or recently appointed Course Leaders.

Get involved!

Please contact Annika Coughlin at UCL, Institute of Education, London: a.coughlin.14@ucl.ac.uk  if you are interested in taking part in any aspect of this study.

You will have an opportunity to ask questions about the research, confidentiality, anonymity and your right to withdraw from the study.

Thank you in advance for your contributions, and do stay tuned: we will of course share the results of this research with all of you in due course.

Diverse Student Voices in Creative Learning in Practice

We are, once again, inviting Course Directors to nominate students for the University’s Tell us about it project. This project is funded by the Dean of Students and is one of the key interventions agreed to support staff across the University to develop inclusive practices in relation to UAL’s key strategic priorities, which include addressing the attainment gap for specific student groups. It focuses on students of colour who are completing their course and who have achieved to a high level.

Mentoring and £200 Student bursary available

We want students to record or present their experiences, in their chosen form, to add to our collection of case studies and or artefacts, which inform learning and teaching across UAL. We will provide students with mentoring to produce their story and a bursary of £200.

Nomination form and process

Course Directors can nominate one student per course.
Please complete the nomination form and return electronically to Terry Finnigan, Head of Student Attainment, London College of Fashion (t.finnigan@fashion.arts.c.uk).
We are keen to have nominations from HE courses from across the University.

Closing date for nominations is 13 July 2018

Previous examples of work

If you would like to look at some of the artefacts that have already been created by earlier students they can be found on the Shades of Noir Digital Artefact webpage.

The UAL assessment criteria working group is evaluating UAL’s current assessment matrices in order to develop new criteria that will be launched in Autumn 2019. This work is part of wider developments to enhance students’ experience of learning, assessment and feedback.

The assessment criteria that UAL launches in 2019 will meet the needs of the emergent classification approach that counts elements of credit at level 5 in degree classification calculations.

UAL will be introducing assessment matrices for each level of undergraduate study as well as one for postgraduate study. This will help us support students’ transition to HE and lead improvements in attainment by carefully differentiating expectations from level 4 to level 7.

Early consultation feedback suggests that some colleagues want unit learning outcomes to be recorded on OAT to support students’ understanding of the learning outcomes relationship to assessment criteria.  The group are currently scoping how we might do this.

The group is exploring the extent to which our assessment criteria can reflect the behaviours, values, knowledges and practices we seek to inculcate and as a consequence we will align the assessment criteria to our Creative Attributes Framework.

We are currently developing a prototype set of matrices to pilot in the autumn term so we can get feedback from staff and students.  If you would like to be part of this pilot then email me and I can send further information.

Susan Orr (s.orr@arts.ac.uk)
Chair of Assessment Matrix Task and Finish Group