Assessment
Through evaluation, the quality of education is maintained and the appreciation and acceptance of working life for education is guaranteed. Assessment tells the student, teacher and employer what the student knows after completing the studies.
The Metropolia Degree Regulations provide guidance:
- Assessment, renewal and grading
- Request and claim for rectification
The author of the assessment decision (teacher) may correct his / her assessment on his / her own initiative or at the request of the student. If a student is dissatisfied with the response to his or her request for correction, he or she may request correction in writing from the Metropolia Examination Board.
The guidelines for course assessment present the principles of assessment and assessment practices at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. These guidelines apply both to education leading to a degree (education leading to a polytechnic degree and a master's degree) and to other education organized by Metropolia.
The principles and practices of this guide are also applied in the assessment of previously acquired competence. Teachers in charge of degree programs and courses must ensure that assessment guidelines are followed in the assessment of academic performance.
Guidelines for course assessment
The rules to be followed in the assessment of courses are contained in Sections 23 and 24 of the Degree Regulations of Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. These guidelines present the assessment principles and practices in accordance with Metropolia's Learning Track policies. These guidelines concern all studies provided by Metropolia. The principles and practices outlined in these guidelines shall also apply to the recognition of prior learning.
The value of assessment
Assessing student learning and competence is an important part of the training and learning process and the Learning Track at Metropolia. Assessment is closely tied to the planning of the degree programmes' teaching content and the implementation of teaching and learning. It also promotes students' professional growth and their progress in their Learning Tracks.
Assessment also helps to measure and maintain a high level of training and ensures that the training provided by Metropolia is valued and accepted by working life. The course learning outcomes and assessment of how well they were achieved indicate to students, lecturers and employers what each student knows, understands and can do having completed all the courses in a degree programme and graduated.
Aim and purpose of assessment
The aim of assessment is to support students' learning and competence development in their personal Learning Tracks. The purpose of assessment is to · indicate that the students have reached the learning outcomes determined for the studies · motivate the students by giving them a chance to assess and verify what they have learned · inform the students of their strengths and weaknesses, with the purpose of increasing their level of information, understanding and skills from the viewpoint of professional growth.
Assessment principles
Assessment and its methods concern the learning outcomes of a degree and course and the areas of assessment derived from them. Assessment must be
- fair, that is, understandable and equal
- justified, that is, the assessment methods ensure that the learning results can be compared with set learning outcomes
- reliable, that is, assessment decisions are based on verifiable performance and unambiguous assessment criteria
- feasible, that is, the assessment does not excessively burden either student or lecturer.
Communication of assessment
As students progress in their Learning Tracks, they must be informed of the following: · learning outcomes of each course or module and the areas that will be assessed in them
- purpose, methods and timetables of tests, assignments and other performance to be assessed
- assessment criteria, including a description of an approved result (threshold for passing the course) and higher levels of performance; these tell the students what is expected of them to pass the course and obtain a certain grade
- various factors affecting the final grade and what their weightings are.
Feedback as part of assessment
Students must receive regular feedback on their performance and progress in their Metropolia Learning Track. The feedback combines learning outcomes, results and assessment criteria. Guiding feedback may encourage students to improve and obtain better results. Students' performance may improve thanks to feedback if they
- are aware of the areas and criteria of assessment or these are explained to them
- can prepare for assessment, for example, by obtaining a clear and comprehensive explanation of what is required of them, how to produce a good course performance for assessment and what the lecturer is looking for in a good performance
- receive immediate feedback in a manner that encourages thinking and discussion
- are given a chance to discuss the assessment with their lecturer or student group.
Assessment as part of Metropolia's standard operations
Assessment is a key part of planning a degree programme and the studies included in it – there is a clear correlation between the courses assessed and the learning outcomes of the degree programme. The assessors must have the necessary instructions and training to carry out the assessment.
The timetables of courses to be assessed must not cause any undue or irregular burden to the student or lecturer. Assessment decisions must be made on the basis of clear and consistent assessment criteria, grade descriptions and assessment plans and guidelines.
Metropolia's best practices related to assessment are open, transparent and interactive. The best practices include
- definition and communication of assessment criteria for an approved grade and what is required to achieve a certain grade; this information must be communicated in writing in the course and implementation description as well as orally at the start of each course
- certainty of the fairness and reliability of assessment processes and decisions
- giving students immediate and regular feedback on their progress, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and providing instructions on how performance and learning can be improved
- giving students a chance to discuss their progress with their lecturer.
Assessment during the Learning Track
Metropolia develops its assessment process in line with the Learning Track policy. The assessment process involves the following:
- Collaboration and students taking responsibility for their learning: In collaborative teaching, a team of lecturers plans, implements and assesses a course and jointly agrees on the distribution of work. The students take responsibility for developing their competence and participating in the collaborative learning. They will also receive feedback from the lecturers and set learning targets for themselves, and they may participate in the assessment process using such methods as self-assessment or peer or group assessment.
- Student-driven approach: The aim of studies is to develop students' competence and professional skills. Feedback and assessment guide students towards deeper learning and a knowledge of how to apply their competence in practice. Prior learning and various ways of demonstrating and assessing competence are also flexibly taken into consideration in the assessment.
- Large thematic competence modules: Competence and learning are compiled into large modules, the assessment of which focuses on comprehensive competence and assessment methods; this means that grades are not formed automatically as an average of completed components
- Cooperation with the labour market: Studies take place in authentic working life situations, learning environments and project learning. The assessment models are based on working life practices (including self-assessment and peer, project and group assessment).
- Lifelong learning: Students gain an ability to assess their own learning, competence and professional development during and after their studies.
Assessment process and related information systems
Assessment is based on the definition of core competence and learning outcomes, which is carried out for all courses in a degree programme through the teaching planning and lecturers' services system (Peppi).
The areas of assessment are selected so as to cover the learning outcomes, and are given assessment criteria for the various grades, which are:
- fail (0)
- satisfactory (1–2)
- good (3–4) and
- excellent (5),
- or pass/fail.
The assessment criteria may be prepared using the joint assessment framework for all the courses in the degree programme, the joint framework for studies completed by all Metropolia students (e.g. final project) or a tailored framework for the course or module. The level of competence required for achieving a certain grade in different assessment areas should be recorded in the assessment framework.
Each degree programme may prepare its assessment framework in a way that also supports the aims and assessment of annual themes and professional growth in the Learning Track and its various studies:
- for example, there can be three different frameworks that apply to all courses during a study year: 1st year of study (beginner), 2nd and 3rd year (advanced learner) and 4th year (expert)
- different grades have different criteria and competence description classifications
- professional growth as part of the learning outcome and assessment descriptions.
Before a course starts, the lecturer shall prepare a course implementation and assessment plan in Peppi's Implementations section, which will automatically show the course's core content, learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the grades (satisfactory (1–2), good (3–4) and excellent (5), or pass/fail) as recorded in the curriculum.
In the assessment plan (Teaching and assessment template in Peppi), the lecturer enters in the Assessment methods and criteria, Exam schedule and Completion alternatives sections the grounds for the assessment (learning assignments and their weightings in the final grade), the assessment methods and the dates of tests and other assessment assignments in Finnish and in English (Peppi user instructions: Toteutusosio (Opett palv) > Toteutusten muokkaus (Opett palv) > Toteutussuunnitelma > Toteutussuunnitelman sisältö ECTS). Metropolia's Student Administration System (Winha) is an information system used for recording/registering and communicating assessments.
Each course's workspaces can also be used for communicating continuous assessment and feedback between lecturers and students. Lecturers can give instructions and feedback in the course's workspace about performance in individual assignments or projects or other activities for the students. However, individual students' confidential assessment information (such as students' personal grades from tests or assignments) will not be entered into the open workspace. The condition for assessing a student's performance in a course is that the student has registered on the course through the Student Administration System's student interface (WinhaWille) and the lecturer has accepted the student for the course through the Student Administration System's lecturer interface (WinhaWiivi).
Based on the assessment, the lecturer enters the grade in WinhaWiivi no later than four weeks after the course was finished and the performance included in it has been completed – in any case, well before the next possible retake. Separate guidelines exist for the assessment and recording of integrated language studies: The guidelines for the assessment of compulsory language and communications studies and competence are found in the Learning Tracks' integrated courses. At the end of each course, the students provide feedback on how the course was organised and taught, in addition to a self-assessment of their studies and learning, through the Course feedback system.
Assessment models
Studies may be assessed in various ways, and different types of assessments can be used within the same course:
- diagnostic assessment: predicts and determines the student's aptitude or strengths (e.g. level tests) at the beginning of a course
- formative (continuous, developing) assessment: gives the students and lecturers feedback on learning progress during a course/studies and has an impact on learning and teaching
- summative assessment: assessment of achieved competence, provides a final assessment decision (grade) for a course.
We recommend that a number of different methods be used, such as:
- Negotiation with the students about assessment criteria and ways of demonstrating competence: this often leads to the same assessment criteria that the lecturer would use in any case, but gives the students the opportunity to understand them better and to commit to them.
- Self-assessment: the students assess their own performance and learning results against the assessment criteria and learning outcomes.
- Peer assessment: can be used as a part of formative assessment – it develops students' perception of good learning, competence and study performance.
- Group assessment: suitable for the assessment of, for example, project studies and projects; the lecturers, the students in the group and any working life parties participate in the feedback and assessment discussion
Metropolia's policy of increasing collaborative learning and joint lecturing means that assessment models will be revised. The lecturers of an individual course or module plan its implementation and assessment together, and share the assessment information with each other. Student assessments are conducted interactively through negotiations among the lecturers, based on careful consideration of each student's competence in different areas of assessment instead of set formulas or computer software. Collaborative learning may also include peer and group assessment discussions held by the students, as well as student participation in defining outcomes and selection of assessment methods and ways of demonstrating competence.