The Assessment for the Future (AFF) project was established in 2021, recognising that assessment is integral to the student journey at the University of Manchester, however student feedback tells us there is still a way to go. Therefore, assessment and feedback are among our key operational and strategic priorities. This was a central message in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) submission, highlighting its importance in student experience.
AFF is co-chaired by Gabrielle Finn (Associate Vice President for Teaching, Learning, and Students) and Jen McBride (Academic Theme Lead for Teaching Excellence), and reports directly to the Teaching and Learning Strategy Group (TLSG).
AFF's activity centres upon the principles from the Assessment Framework, approved at Senate in 2024. The principles below provide the foundation for assessment and feedback at the University:
- Relevant assessment: constructively aligning assessment within the context of the programme material and discipline, with a mix of formative and summative opportunities. Effective assessment should be authentic and have real-world application.
- Inclusive and accessible assessment: emphasises the importance of fair and transparent assessment processes that are accessible to all students. Clear communication and evaluation approaches are essential, facilitating student understanding and eliminating potential disadvantages. A supportive and inclusive environment should be cultivated that considers wellbeing in the design and delivery of assessment.
- Trustworthy assessment: upholds academic integrity through compliance with University regulations, policies and procedures, as well as external regulation such as Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs). Enables students to demonstrate achievement of ILOs so that robust and timely decisions can be made on student attainment, progression, and outcomes.
AFF so far:
Cadmus
Cadmus, a secure online assessment platform integrated with our Central Learning Environment (currently Blackboard but transitioning to Canvas), is now available University-wide.
Since the successful roll-out, there has been an increase in the use of Cadmus. To date there have been 111 assessments released to students and overall 156 assessments which represents +39% growth compared to the same period last year.
During Semester 1 2024-25, there has been 21,234 submissions, a significant increase from 2023-24 which saw 7,741 submissions. Overall, for Semester 1, there was a 95.9% positive student experience rating.
Following the successful Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) pilot exam in May 2024 in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health with a 93% student experience score and positive feedback from unit academic staff, the central IT team is planning to trial the LockDown Browser exam functionality of Cadmus.
A student, Level 7 module in Engineering Project Management (Faculty of Science and Engineering) remarked, 'It was a positive experience that improved my confidence in the quality of my work by making the process more integrated and making the guidance more accessible.'
For more information, please visit our Cadmus page or read the full ITL Case Study.
The Cadmus team is delivering a number of training sessions on the following dates, that are now open for registration via the Training Catalogue:
- Wednesday 22/01/2025 13:00 - 14:30, Online
- Tuesday 04/02/2025 10:00 - 11:30, Online
If you are interested in using Cadmus, please request to join our Teams space or email teaching.learning@manchester.ac.uk
AI Working Groups
The AI Working Groups met in May, June, and July 2023. Recommendations from those working groups have been fed into the AFF steering group and will also feed into the Assessment Framework Review. AI Teaching Guidance was released in October 2023, and summaries of the AI Teaching Guidance for staff and students have been created.
The AFF steering group are also feeding into the new AI strategy group - Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning Strategy Subgroup (AITLSS).
Students may find the library resource on AI guidance useful.
Differential Attainment
Differential Attainment is a cross-faculty project, led by Aseih Yousefnejad Shomali (Research Associate) alongside Adam Danquah (Vice Dean for Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience, FBMH) and Gabrielle Finn (AVP for Teaching, Learning, and Students).
Differential attainment is the variation in attainment between student groups who share protected characteristics and those who do not share the same characteristic. The biggest differences are found by ethnic background. This research has been conducted to better understand how we can support the attainment, progression, and continuation of our students.
The research revealed a number of expected and unexpected areas where differential attainment has been identified. Key findings include:
- Financial Challenges
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Lack of Representation
- Disabilities and Learning Environment
- Cultural and Linguistic Barriers for International Students
- Basic Physical and Cultural Needs
What initiatives are we developing?
A new Student Voice Strategy, co-created with the Students' Union has been launched. The SVS centres on empowerment, accountability, and authentic engagement.
A representation toolkit will be developed, with a focus on race and disability. The resources will cover two types of representation: 1. Direct representation of minoritised groups within materials such as assessment questions and scenarios; 2. Representation through universal design principles in assessment methodologies. The toolkit will be embedded within our new assessment platform, Cadmus, and the University's Assessment Toolkit.
Many of the recommendations in the forthcoming report will feed into AFF activity, including Group Work Working Group, Optionality, and Rubrics Excellence Project.
Recommendations
- Financial support: Alleviate financial pressures on students by funding scholarships, bursaries, and hardship funds.
- Mental health resources: Fund mental health initiatives including counselling services, mental health awareness campaigns, and culturally specific mental health support.
- Diversity and representation initiatives: Develop initiatives that increase diversity among academic staff and within student support services.
- Improved accessibility for students with disabilities: Improve the accessibility of learning spaces and resources, ensuring that students with disabilities receive the accommodations they need.
- Support for international students: Fund language development programmes, academic tutoring tailored to international students, and cultural integration initiatives.
- Culturally relevant services: Support the expansion of campus services to meet the diverse needs of students from different ethnic backgrounds.
Multimedia content
Multimedia content relating to this project can be accessed here. This includes videos of student panels discussing DA, and animations of student case studies.
You can also listen to voiced poems on the lived experiences of students with disabilities:
EAR 1.0
The Enhancing Assessment Review (EAR) 1.0 was a small-scale proof-of-concept pilot which ran in the School of Biological Sciences in Spring of 2024. This pilot project took a holistic view of assessment in Semester 1 of Year 2 across two undergraduate programmes, and made recommendations to improve assessments to the programme teams. These revisions were implemented in time for the 2024-25 academic year. Evaluations of the project are ongoing, have been well-received by students and colleagues so far, and has been scaled-up and rolled out (EAR 2.0) across Years 2 and 3 of all undergraduate programmes in the School of Biological Sciences this academic year.
Assessment Showcase (Student Comms)
The Assessment and Feedback Change Project is a multi-year project led by the Students' Union, aimed at transforming assessment and feedback practices across the University. The project started in October 2023 and is a collaborative effort between the University and the Students' Union elected Officers to address key student concerns and enhance the overall assessment experience.
The Assessment and Feedback Change Project was initiated based on consistent feedback from students that assessment and feedback were major areas requiring reform. The project outlines a series of recommendations to be implemented over the next few years.
Recommendations are informed by extensive data from sources like the National Student Survey (NSS), the 'BuildYourMCR' (BYMCR) survey, focus groups with School Representatives, and the new 'EducateMCR' survey.
This is a collaborative, student-focused initiative. The Students' Union is welcoming feedback and involvement from students, staff, and faculty throughout the process.
Their vision is to create a fair, timely, and effective assessment and feedback system that supports student success and enhances the overall educational experience at the University of Manchester.
Their 'What Matters: Assessment and Feedback' paper is now complete and available to read.
If you would like to contact the project team for further information, please email your query to the SU Officers:
- humsofficer.su@manchester.ac.uk
- fbmhofficer.su@manchester.ac.uk
- fseofficer.su@manchester.ac.uk
What's now and next?
Group Work
The Group Work Working Group was established in response to a report delivered by the Students' Union (What Matters: Assessment and Feedback Change Project), which identified group work as a source of anxiety and inequity for students. Given the importance of group work, the GWWG was established to investigate how group work can be enhanced and made to be more effective, as well as how colleagues can communicate the value of group work to students.
The main output of the GWWG will be the development of materials to support colleagues in the design, delivery, and assessment of group work projects. This will be housed in the Assessment Toolkit and is on schedule to be delivered ready for the academic year 2025/26.
Working with Cadmus' product development team, the GWWG is also developing and piloting a number of solutions to group work problem statements. This includes; offering both quick and randomised allocation; a self-enrolment option in group creation; the development of a group charter and a task management board; production of a tool for collaborative editing with comments; group insights and analytics, including individual and teacher views; the creation of flexible marking schema with moderation; enhanced integrity assurance; in built peer and self-evaluation modules.
EAR 2.0
Following the well-received EAR 1.0 pilot, the Enhancing Assessment Review (EAR) process has now been scaled-up and rolled out across Years 2 and 3 of all undergraduate programmes in the School of Biological Sciences (EAR2.0). The project team is taking a holistic view of assessment and making recommendations to improve assessment and feedback in time for the 2025-26 academic year.
Through engagement with Programme Directors, the School Deputy Director for Inclusive Education, and Student Reps via student voice meetings and focus groups, EAR 2.0 has reviewed and made recommendations to enhance assessments across 70+ lecture-based units across SBS UG Year 2 and 3. These recommendations are being finalised through discussions with Programme Directors and unit co-ordinators, to be implemented in the academic year 2025-26.
Rubrics Excellence Project (REP)
The Rubrics Excellence Project (REP) has been created to address the commonly encountered issues with the use of rubrics in assessment. Early conversations identified inconsistent use of rubrics and issues around a lack of student-friendly mark schemes and personalised feedback. Students report not understanding the language and descriptors used within many rubrics.
The Students' Union are preparing a briefing which will identify key values and priorities. The SU noted that students value consistency and a tailored approach to feedback. The REP group will produce a UoM specific definition of rubrics to demystify the role of rubrics in assessment. Resources for students and staff on the importance, use, and accessibility of rubrics including an overview of the relevant supporting literature will be co-created with students to capture student voice.
There will be work to capture the reality and the ideal: what do we want the rubric to do and what is it actually doing? How do colleagues want it to be used instead of how is it actually being used?
Suggested outputs include content for the Assessment Toolkit, a literature review, guidance documents, staff workshops, as well as a database with templates that can be adopted and adapted.
Contact
For further information or if you are interested in finding out more about a specific project, please contact Monique (monique.sung@manchester.ac.uk) or Cara (cara.banerji-parker@manchester.ac.uk).