Interprofessional Learning Assessment Strategy

This section describes the assessment principles and processes that will apply to the Inter-professional Learning Units. IPL Unit teams will develop the unit and it's assessment profile within the framework provided by the unit's learning outcomes, the academic level and the focus of assessment for each unit (this is the relationship of each unit to the New Generation Project Aims). Details of assessment activities, descriptors and criteria will be included in Unit Study Guides and Facilitator Handbooks.

1. Principles
   
   
   1. All Inter-professional Learning Units will be assessed.
      
   2. All IPL Units will be credit-rated.
      
   3. There will be a standard assessment, with the capacity to assess learning outcomes at different levels, for each unit.
      
   4. Students will be assessed individually
      
   5. To be awarded a pass in a unit the student must attain a mark of at least 40%.
      
   6. Responsibility for assessment lies with the Higher Education Institutions.
      
      
2. Process
   
   
   1. Summative assessment of a unit will be by the submission of an individual portfolio of evidence of achievement of the unit's learning outcomes.
      
      
   2. Summative assessment of portfolios will be normally conducted by teaching staff. Schools will be responsible for providing assessors in proportion to the number of their students in the year group. Assessors will be allocated student work by inter-professional group.
      
      
   3. The total assessment load for a 10 credit unit will not exceed 3,000 words.
      
      
   4. Assessment for IPL Units 2, 3 and 4 will include a proportion of marks allocated through peer assessment. The exact proportion of the marks for each unit to be allocated to peer assessment will be identified in consultation with the Student Reference Group.
      
      
   5. Students will be expected to provide a summary detailing how the evidence presented demonstrates the achievement of the learning outcomes for the unit.
      
      
   6. Individual portfolios will be normally submitted four weeks after the completion of the IPL study block. Submission dates and the names of the people to whom portfolios must be submitted will be included in Unit Study Guides.
      
      
   7. Late submission, without prior negotiation of a fixed term extension, will result in the award of the minimum pass mark. Extensions will only be granted where there are extenuating circumstances. Written confirmation of the extension must be submitted with the portfolio.
      
      
   8. A sample of portfolios will be moderated (moderation refers to second marking, not blind double marking). This sample will include all first class work and failures and a random selection of normally 25-30 portfolios representing the remaining quality range.
      
      
   9. One, or more, External Examiner(s) will be appointed for Common Learning.
      
      
   10. IPL Unit results will be finalised by the Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board. A Unit Co-ordinator will chair this Board, the term of office being normally three years. Membership will comprise representatives from the IPL unit teams, a sample of assessors and the Common Learning External Examiner. Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board meetings will be scheduled to ensure the finalised unit results are available for the earliest meeting of any School's Examination/Progression Board.
       
       
   11. An application for mitigating circumstances must be made to the school with which the student is registered. The decision to defer, refer or void the assessment made by a school is final and may not be over-ruled by the Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board. The school is responsible for notifying the Chair of the Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board of decisions affecting IPL units.
       
       
   12. Unit pass lists will be produced, signed by the Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board Chair and the External Examiner and forwarded to the Examinations Officer in each School. Progression matters will be dealt with through the normal procedures of the school with which the student is registered. Examination/Progression Boards will not be able to change the marks awarded for IPL Units.
       
       
   13. Where appropriate and possible the marking of student work and the recording of marks will be automated.
       
       
   14. Student feedback will be normally provided within six weeks of the submission date. A feedback pro-forma incorporating the assessment criteria will be used to provide feedback. The extent to which this process might be automated will be explored.
       
       
   15. The Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board may normally allow a candidate failing to achieve the minimum pass standard in a unit to be referred once only for re-assessment. The Common Learning Assessment Sub-Board will specify the referral assessment.
       
       
   16. Referral assessments normally will take place during the summer period. If the candidate is successful in a referred assessment the minimum pass mark will be recorded.
       
       
   17. Students are normally expected to have attended the study blocks associated with IPL units.
       
       
3. Academic Level
   
   
   • Assessments will be appropriate to the number of credits and the level of the award.
     
     
   • Learning outcomes have been set to reflect a number of academic levels in order to meet the requirements of future programmes.
     
     
   • IPL Unit 1 is worth 10 credits and will be assessed at Level 1.
     
     
   • IPL Unit 2 is worth 10 credits and will be assessed at Level 2.
     
     
   • IPL Unit 3 is worth 10 credits and will be assessed at Level 3 for all students except those studying for a Diploma in Nursing who will be assessed at Level 2.
     
     
   • IPL Unit 4 is worth 10 credits and will be assessed at Level 3 for all students, except those studying for a Diploma in Nursing who will be assessed at Level 2, and those studying for an M Pharm who will be assessed at Level 4.
     
     
4. Focus of Assessment
   
   The focus of summative assessment reflects the New Generation outcomes that the unit addresses.
   
   Please note the units identified below are not the only times in students' curricula when learning relevant to the 'New Generation' outcomes will occur, but they represent the points at which this learning is assessed summatively.
   
   

   Unit	Focus of Assessment In the context of the IPL Units the 'inter-professional team' refers to the students' IP learning group.
   Assessment activities will need to authenticate the extent to which students have:
   1A	Gained an understanding of team roles and strategies for team working. Learned from others in the team. Gained an awareness of the roles played by other professions in health and social care.
   1B	Shared information and contributed to the learning done by the team. Gained an awareness, through reading the research literature, of the contribution made by a range of professions to a health and social care problem.
   2	Gained an understanding of what it means to be an equal member of a multi-professional team Collaborated with others in the team to achieve the group task.
   3	Understood the changing nature of health and social care roles and boundaries. Collaborated with others in the team and professionals in practice to achieve the group task.
   4	Gained a critical awareness of the contribution of others which is demonstrated through the respect, understanding and support shown for other professionals involved in health and social care. Explored complexity and uncertainty in health and social care practice.