Retaining Assessed Work

Common Awards (Theology, Ministry and Mission)

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

The University's Learning and Teaching Handbook, and in particular the Assessment Policies.
Our glossary, which provides an explanation of many of the key terms below.

The additional information below provides further clarification in the context of the Common Awards programmes.

Overview

1. The Office for Students (OfS) introduced revised conditions of registration B4 and B5 in May 2022. The guidance that accompanies these conditions sets out an expectation that a provider should retain ‘appropriate records’ of assessed students’ work, including for students who are no longer registered on a course, for a period of five years after a student’s end date. This is because students’ assessed work is likely to be relevant evidence in making judgements about compliance with elements of these conditions.

2. As Durham University is responsible for granting the awards under the Common Awards Scheme, this regulatory requirement has therefore been reflected in the Standard Validation Contract between the University and TEIs – specifically in Annex 3 Allocation of Core Administrative Responsibilities.

TEIs must retain student work as follows:

3. To ensure compliance with this regulatory requirement, TEIs are required to retain the following for 5 years beyond a student’s completion of their programme. This is applicable for all students registered on a programme, as well as students who are no longer registered on a programme:

- Completed assessments;
- Assessment records (e.g. assessment briefs);
- Feedback; and
- Student outcomes (marks achieved).

4. Typically, assessment types fall into the following categories:

Assessment	Examples of what is submitted or assessed?	Examples of records relating to the assessment process	What should be retained?	How long should it be retained for?
Written work or any written elements of assessment	Exams, essays, dissertations, multiple choice questions, posters, content of presentations, personal journals	Mark and feedback	Assessment brief Record of assessment All physical or digital written work. If in a physical form it could be digitised	A period of five years after a student's completion
Any type of work that is assessed through observation	Presentations, sermons	Mark and feedback A photo A video* A sound recording * It is normally expected that work assessed through observation is recorded and that the video recording is retained by the TEI.	Assessment brief Record of assessment/ assessor observations	A period of five years after a student's completion
Continuous assessment, including continuous assessment placements	Any written or digital media elements	Mark and feedback Relevant documentation - e.g. employer reports	Assessment brief Record of assessment along with any written or digital media elements	A period of five years after a student's completion
Group work	Any written or digital media elements	Mark and feedback Relevant documentation - e.g. peer feedback	Assessment brief Record of assessment along with any written or digital media elements	A period of five years after a student's completion

5. TEIs are advised to review their records retention policies / schedules to ensure that they are compliant with the above requirement, and ensure that the information is reflected in relevant student handbooks.

Retention of work in online plagiarism detection systems:

6. Retention of work in online plagiarism detection systems. Any student work may be uploaded to an online plagiarism detection system (such as Turnitin), at the discretion of individual TEIs. Work must remain in the plagiarism detection system for five years after submission, after which it should be removed from the system and destroyed.