Enhancing communication between academic staff and students to undergraduate degree level with a particular focus on assessment requirements

Thomas, A; Nixon, MB

Abstract

The way that academic staff make their requirements known to students is varied -
for students of Art and Design this is usually a written brief, supplemented with a
verbal briefing. All assessment in Art and Design is by course work in a variety of
formats: written, visual, electronic and spoken. There is a tension between
encouraging original and creative responses and being over prescriptive when
stipulating assessable work requirements. The criteria on which visual work is
assessed are often not clear to students and are sometimes perceived as being
subjective. Ideas about what constitutes quality in visual work can also be confused
leading to a lack of transparency in the assessment process. Additionally, poor
communication between staff and students may lead to procedural problems about
submission of work, deadlines and so on. This is especially the case when student
numbers are high. In addition, as funding models alter the traditional staff - student
relationship moving it closer to a provider - customer relationship, it becomes
imperative that expectations and obligations are made clear for all parties. Large
quantities of information have to be made available in an accessible and user-friendly
way. Initial information gathering from students indicates that electronic
communication including e-mail and text messaging would be both popular and
appropriate for some types of communication.

Citation

Thomas, A., & Nixon, M. Enhancing communication between academic staff and students to undergraduate degree level with a particular focus on assessment requirements

• Report Type: Project Report
• Deposit Date: Jun 15, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 15, 2009
• Additional Information: Funders : Teaching and Learning Quality Improvement Scheme