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Dear Jon We are in the process of devising a method of assessment for our BA Latin American Studies students who will have the option to undertake a one semester placement in a Latin American country. This is, as you can imagine, quite difficult and we have not yet finalised arrangements, never mind tested them. But this is as far as we have got: 1. The year abroad is compulsory but students can choose either to spend two semesters at a Latin American university taking courses or do one semester of study and spend the second half of the year on a work placement. Not all students will be allowed to do a placement - selection will be at the discretion of the Director of the Latin American Studies Centre and the local placement organiser. 2. The placement will be assessed in two parts: (a) Work Diary and Skills Assessment Report and (b) a 4-5,000 word Placement Report. The work will be marked by academic staff of the University's Latin American Studies Centre, and each part will be given a mark out of 100 that will carry the same weight as a full course in the overall degree classification calculation. The reports and diary will be available for the External Examiner to moderate in the event of a borderline degree classification, just as for other coursework. 2. The year abroad carries a 120 credit - students graduating with this degree have earned 480 credits instead of the normal 360 for a three year degree. Sheila Chan (Ms) Assistant Registrar Areas Office Academic Section University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester CO4 3SQ. Tel: 01206 872245 Fax: 01206 873598 email: [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 4:57 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Credit rating and assessment of placements Colleagues, The University of Brighton is to consider best practice in the credit rating and assessment of placements of all sorts (teacher training; clinical practice; business placement; year abroad for language students). The purpose is to attempt to develop a clear and coherent policy on the approach to be taken to these types of learning activity, in particular where outcomes may not always be clearly defined. I should be grateful if any colleagues with experience in this area were able to answer the questions below (I am aware that there will be some which have more than one answer, depending on course!). I should be happy to distribute my findings to the list in due course. Thanks in advance Jon ______________________________ Jon Renyard Regulations Officer University of Brighton email: [log in to unmask] tel: (+44) (0)1273 643907 1) Do you assess formally work carried out as part of a placement or similar activity? 2) If YES, how is this done? (eg through casework notes? an essay or case study? observation?) 3) If YES, is it marked pass/fail, or given a grade? 4) Is this period of study credit-rated? 5) If NO, how does it fit into the overall programme requirements - how many additional hours does it represent? 6) If YES, at what level is it rated? 7) If YES, does this result in students achieving more than the standard 360 credits for an honours degree? (and if so, how is this resolved - do students drop their worst marks, and are they allowed to drop the placement mark?) 8) Do you have courses which offer both sandwich and non-sandwich routes? 9) Are students advised which route would be best for them? 10) Do the learning outcomes of the University-based award remain the same for both versions of the programme? If so, what is the benefit of the placement? Cheers