Our approach to programme design and assessment
We design our programmes to ensure students learn effectively, achieve their potential, and graduate with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.
How we structure our programmes
The University’s Framework for Taught Programmes sets out key requirements for our programmes, such as credit size, minimum contact hours, and numbers of core and optional modules. This helps promote positive outcomes, ensures a consistent learning experience for all students, and aligns programmes with sector-recognised standards.
Every programme provides opportunities for students to develop knowledge and skills relevant to their subject area, including many of the Sheffield Graduate Attributes. These attributes are some of the employability skills most valued by employers and support student academic success, personal development and future employability.
All of our programmes are designed to support student development in the following areas:
- Employability and career awareness
- Sustainable development: equipping our students with the knowledge, skills and awareness to help create a sustainable future
- Digital skills including the use of Generative AI, in line with our principles for GenAI in learning and teaching
Student employability is enhanced by embedded skills reflection and development opportunities, and opportunities for work-related learning within their programmes, directly linking academic learning to workplace projects and challenges.
The University has a series of processes in place to ensure programmes are of a high quality and remain up-to-date to meet the needs of our students and wider society. These processes also support the University's responsibilities in terms of consumer law and the Office for Students (OfS) regulatory framework.
Each programme has a programme lead who is responsible for oversight and ensures students have an effective and consistent learning experience in line with the University's expectations.
Assessment
Students demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes of their programme through a series of assessment tasks. Some tasks are designed to give students practice in an assessment task (formative assessment), while others count towards the final degree classification (summative assessment).
The amount of assessment on each programme is managed so that students are able to demonstrate the learning outcomes without having an excessive workload.
All programmes at the University have an approved set of marking criteria which are used to mark student work. These are aligned to sector recognised standards and are published in student handbooks and on the VLE.
Students are told how their work is marked as part of introductory programme information. They also have opportunities as part of classroom activities to become familiar with individual assessment tasks and the associated marking criteria.
Teaching staff complete standardisation activities prior to marking periods to ensure consistency in applying the marking criteria.
Feedback to students references the marking criteria, helping students learn so they can develop and improve their performance in future assessments.
Further information
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- Marking criteria student guidance
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