Who is leading this work?
The UCT Assessment Project Team is leading the work on the revision of UCT’s Assessment Policy. This team is being led by Sukaina Walji who took over the role from Professor Alan Cliff in April 2022. They report to the Assessment Framework Working Group. The revised UCT Assessment Policy is not meant to be a detailed guide for assessment practices and procedures. However, it will have an accompanying implementation guide to support its implementation and will reference associated and existing procedures and practice guides.
How is feedback being collected?
A previous draft of the UCT Assessment Policy was submitted to the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee on the 24th of March 2022 for consideration. Feedback on this draft was also submitted from each faculty as well as various units and committees at UCT during 2022 and is being used to support ongoing revision. The Project Team will be hosting a small series of engagement sessions in July and August of 2023 as a means to gather the final round of feedback on the draft UCT Assessment Policy. The final draft will be submitted for approval to the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee in September.
Can I contribute or participate?
Academic staff, PASS staff and students are invited to provide input into the drafting of the Assessment Policy by attending engagement sessions which are being hosted by the UCT Assessment Project Team. The engagement sessions will encourage discussion and debate around assessment systems and good examples of existing assessment practices to emulate. If you are interested in attending, please register for one of the following sessions:
- Session 1: July 28th from 14:00-17:00 in Teams (please register on or before 27th July)
- Session 2: July 31st from 11:00-14:00 in Bremner Mafeje Room (Middle Campus) (please register on or before Thur 27th July)
- Session 3: August 1st from 14:00-17:00 in Bremner Mafeje Room (Middle Campus) (please register on or before Thur 27th July)
What happens to the feedback?
The feedback and comments received will be shared via this site. You can read this report which summarises the feedback that was submitted by each faculty as well as the various units and committees at UCT during 2022. All the feedback given on the draft revised policy will be incorporated as best as possible into the further amendments made to the Policy before it is formally adopted by UCT. All feedback will be managed by the UCT Assessment Project Team.
Background to UCT’s Assessment Policy Revision
The UCT Assessment Policy was last updated in 2015. Since then, understanding of assessment practice and the learning effects of assessment has advanced considerably. The experience of remote teaching during COVID-19, in particular, highlighted the dependence of a large number of courses on traditional invigilated examinations. At the same time, it foregrounded the possibilities of alternative modes of assessment. In light of the changing landscape, the Assessment Framework Working Group has been working on revising UCT’s Assessment policy so that it aligns with and is relevant to the new context. Specifically, UCT’s Assessment Policy is being revised in the context of:
- a new direction within the University’s strategic plan. UCT’s Vision 2030 outlines excellence, transformation and sustainability as the three core pillars of the academic project.
- a shift in understanding in the nature and purpose of assessment. The Curriculum Change Framework (2018) highlights the need to re-conceptualise assessment as a social practice in order to make apparent the challenges with assessment. It also foregrounds the need to understand success in holistic ways and to encourage practices that promote assessment for learning.
- shifts and changes in pedagogies brought about by online and blended learning that have - in some cases, fundamentally - changed the purpose and needs of assessment.