Curriculum Reimagined is a wholescale review of our curriculum and the structures and processes that enable it. As we move forward to deliver the 2035 Strategy, curriculum reimagined will support our work to enhance the student experience, close awarding gaps, and improve graduate outcomes.

Sussex Academic Framework: assessment approach and principles approved

The Curriculum Reimagined project has been developing the Sussex Academic Framework. Our revised Sussex Academic Framework provides guiding principles for: learning, teaching and assessment design, review/quality assurance, and enhancement, each aligned with both the university’s academic regulations and the external regulatory landscape.

The framework enables the high-level strategic priorities (Sussex 2035) and the ‘how’ we implement our approach and our own regulations, along with the Exam and Assessment Regulations and other related policies the academic requirements implementation across the institution.

Professor Claire Smith, DPVC Education, has led an Assessment Task and Finish group and worked with students to develop a set of assessment principles and approaches that will be included in the Sussex Academic Framework. These were approved by the Education and Students Regulations Sub Committee in November. Full details on the principles can be found in the committee minutes here.

The principles of assessments are:

 1.  Assessment is designed across the course and clearly mapped for students and staff.

 2.  Assessment guidance and administration better support inclusive and authentic assessment approaches, including  student choice in assessment format where appropriate.

 3.  Assessment magnitude should be appropriate to ensure that students are not being over assessed. 

 4.  Assessments are scheduled to reduce assessment deadline bunching.

 5.  There should be consistency in the feedback that students receive to ensure that this feedback enables students to feed this forward into their future assessments. 

 6.  Assessments are inclusive by design.

Implementation planning work will begin in the new year, through faculty level meetings and working closely with professional services teams.

We encourage course and module conveners to start to think about the above and please get in touch with Curriculum Reimagined or with your Academic Developer to understand more.

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