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1. Upcoming Deadlines and Key Dates
7th September – Durham University Overarching Board of Examiners (Summer)
18th September - Deadline: TEIs to submit Partnership Renewal Forms
28th September - Deadline: TEIs to submit New Student Programme Registration data
28th September - Deadline: TEIs to submit APL Credits and supporting documentation
5th October - TEIs to ask Common Awards students to send any feedback for the Management Board to the CAMB student representatives
12th October (approx) - TEIs to receive Banner IDs of new students
22nd October - Common Awards Management Board
23rd October - Deadline: TEIs to submit Board of Examiners Membership Lists
23rd October - Deadline: TEIs to submit Module Registration Data for quality assurance checks
Late October - TEIs asked to circulate invitation letters to students eligible to attend the Durham University Congregation ceremony in January 2027
If any TEI staff members would appreciate further information on preparing for these processes, please contact the Common Awards Team.
2. New Student Programme Registration including Study Path
TEIs are asked to submit New Student Programme Registration data by 28th September 2026.
Detailed guidance on this process is available on the Common Awards website here.
Study Path Reminder:
A student will receive a Banner ID when they register on a programme e.g. BA, along with a Study Path number (if this is their first registration with the University the Study Path number will be 1). When they complete studies, and register on the MA, they will keep the same Banner ID but a new Study Path 2 will be generated.
If there is an instance where you have a student registered on the undergraduate Diploma, completes their studies but then returns within 5 years to top up the award to the BA, their original Study Path (that was generated when the student registered on the Diploma) will be re-opened, as the credit gained towards the Diploma will count towards the BA.
3. Campus Cards
The deadline for submitting photographs and supplementary student list is 2nd November 2026. In order to ensure this process is as smooth as possible, we have produced a process guide for TEIs to follow, which is attached to the email sent introducing this September Bulletin.
4. TEI Forum
The chair of the TEI Forum will shortly be in contact with members to consider possible dates for this meeting. This meeting will be held online. Please contact the Chair directly to discuss any potential agenda items.
Each TEI Principal (or equivalent) is permitted to nominate up to four members of core staff to serve as members of the TEI Forum. An email will shortly be sent to key contacts regarding 2026-27 membership. For more information, please see our website.
5. Staff Development: Core Skills
This programme provides participants with the opportunity to work through interactive online content in their own time, to discuss their learning with colleagues across the UK and with facilitators from Durham University’s Centre for Academic Development (DCAD).
Successful completion of the Account of Professional Practice confers Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (now known as AdvanceHE) and the post-nominal letters AFHEA.
More information about the programme is available on our website.
The Common Awards Team is currently awaiting information from DCAD regarding dates for the 2026/27 programme; further details will be circulated to TEIs once available.
6. Winter Congregation 2027
Students
Students eligible for graduation (those who have successfully completed the BA, MA, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate) will be invited to attend the graduation ceremony at Durham Cathedral. We will shortly be sending student invitation letters to TEIs, and registration will be open between October and December 2026 (exact dates to be confirmed).
We will also be hosting a post-ceremony celebration event in Durham for those attending graduation; further information will follow shortly.
TEI Staff
Members of staff in TEIs are also welcome to attend the Common Awards graduation ceremonies; the staff attendance registration form will be sent to TEIs in October.
Academic Procession
Members of staff in TEIs who hold an undergraduate degree are eligible to participate in the academic procession for the Common Awards students. If you are interested in this, please indicate on the staff attendance registration form in October.
7. Board of Examiners
The first Overarching Board of Examiners meeting for 2025/26 will take place on 7th September 2026, where around 270 students will be considered for an award. Following the meeting we will send passlists to TEIs to confirm; TEIs are reminded not to share the passlists directly with students. Parchments and transcripts for students not eligible for Congregation (Graduation) will be produced within ~8 weeks. Those eligible for Congregation (Graduation) will receive their award documentation ~8 weeks after the ceremony.
The Winter Overarching Board of Examiners is due to be held on 1st December 2026.
TEIs are reminded that Boards of Examiners must ensure that the following is submitted to Durham in line with the deadlines in published guidance and the Common Awards Calendar:
Further information on the documents TEIs must submit following Board of Examiners meetings is available here.
8. TEI Attendance – Durham Board of Examiners
TEIs are reminded that they are very welcome to send a representative from their TEI Board of Examiners (normally the Chair) to observe the meetings of the overarching Board. Up to three TEI BoE representatives may attend each board. This can be a good way for TEIs to discover more about how the overarching Board works, and to see how we handle decisions about their students.
Please contact the team if a representative from your TEI Board of Examiners wishes to attend the December Board of Examiners meeting.
9. Preparation for Winter Exam Boards - Expected Lists and Chair’s Action Template
Please could TEIs provide Common Awards with a list of completing students in advance of their exam board. This will allow checks to be carried out against expected lists and any discrepancies dealt with prior to the data submission.
There is now a template for Chair’s Action, if required, which is attached to the email sent introducing this September Bulletin.
10. Conversion of Marks
TEIs are reminded to follow the policy for marking summative assessments where a standard Common Awards assessment criteria grid is not used. This includes any assessments which use quantitative marking – e.g., where the mark given is simply a count of the number of correct answers in a test – which can include for example biblical languages tests or multiple choice tests. Such marking does not directly refer to the qualitative descriptors in Common Awards assessment criteria grids.
The policy requires any TEI which marks any piece of summative assessment other than by using one of the standard Common Awards assessment criteria grids to offer a statement of how the TEI believes this would yield an appropriate overall mark – that is, how the TEI ensures that the mark ultimately given for the work will be comparable to the qualitative descriptors found in the assessment criteria grids. This statement should be shared with the Common Awards Team and would be available to the TEI’s external examiner, ensuring transparency concerning the approach being taken. Equally importantly, the need for a statement will ensure that the relevant tutors have carefully thought through the issues.
The policy also requires that when conversion is going to be applied to marks – i.e., when the quantitative marks from a test are converted into different marks that sit in the relevant qualitative bands – students should be informed about this in advance. It is important that there is transparency with students over the assessment processes that are being applied to their work.
The full details of the policy can be found here, and should be read in conjunction with the policy on converting test scores into marks.
If the policy applies to any new or existing assessments that your TEI will be offering from 2026-27, we would be grateful if you could provide the relevant statements to us as soon as possible. Thank you.
11. Student Survey – Detailed Reports
TEIs would normally receive additional analysis of student survey results over the summer. This year, as the University introduced a new institution-wide survey system, we are working with colleagues in Academic Quality Service to develop and provide this analysis. As a result, there has been a slight delay, but we expect to share the data with TEIs during September.
12. Partnership Renewal Process
Following University approval, contract negotiations are now underway to renew the Common Awards Overarching Service Contract with the Archbishops’ Council. Subject to the successful conclusion of these negotiations, the contract is expected to be renewed for a further five-year period, extending its term to 31 August 2032.
We are now in a position to begin the process of extending contracts with individual TEIs. Many colleagues will be familiar with this process, as it was last undertaken during the 2023/24 partnership renewal cycle.
Individual TEIs have been contacted with further details on the process, and the deadline for submission of the Partnership Renewal Form (18th September 2026). TEIs are encouraged to reuse the information submitted as part of the 2023/24 process as much as possible.
In the event that any changes to the Standard Validation Contract are proposed, TEIs will be consulted in due course and given the opportunity to consider and comment on the proposed amendments.
13. Further Information
The Common Awards calendar for the academic year 2026/27 is now available here.
With very best wishes for the start of the academic year,
The Common Awards Team
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