Who is the external body for assessing University Assignments?

TFleming

TFleming

TFleming

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Hi guys,

Having a lot of trouble at Uni with a module. There's only about 30-40 of us on it and the assignment is a disgrace. The module leader is new to teaching this year and has wrote the assignment and case study. He's foreign and a lot of it makes little sense and the questions are very ambiguous and open to interpretation. I spend more time questioning what we are meant to do rather than actually writing the assignment.

My seminar tutor absolutely slated it and said he had rejected it twice, as had the professor, yet we still have it, unchanged, with the deadline on 10th Jan. Does anyone know who would be responsible externally for passing it? I'm tearing my hair out here and I'm about to hit the roof.

Thanks. :mad:
 
Doesn't look like there is, unless your university has signed upto one.

How do I complain about a university or college?

You first need to take up your complaint locally. The university or college can tell you how to do that. You can ask them for a leaflet that will have the details. Most complaints can be resolved quickly in this way.

If you are not satisfied after that, some universities and colleges will allow someone outside the organisation to look at the case. You can get details from the university or college.

If your complaint is about misleading information in a prospectus, you can appeal to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education*at www.qaa.ac.uk
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Why not ask the university.
 
I wasn't aware that there is one. There should be an external examiner, but there isn't a board/body.
All assessments at the university will have to be approved by a body within your university, I'm sure you can find their details on your uni's website. They'll be the best place to contact, as well as the head of year for your course.
 
RomanNose said:
Why not speak to someone higher up such as the head of department?
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Have tried, they're all auto responce e-mails. Out of office until 9th Jan. We had an open Q&A on Friday, where i hoped my questions would be clared up, but his answers were as open to interpretation as the assignment. It's impossible to get a straight answer from the guy. Half the time he doesn't even understand what we are asking and talks about something completely different.
 
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What's the course?

Many of my assignments include very open questions that can be answered in a multitude of ways. Perhaps the question is fine, you're just confused about how you're meant to answer it?
Remember, there often isn't a correct answer - It's all about how you put across your view/argument and how you answer the question.
If you're doing mathematics, then ignore this.
 
Ahleckz said:
What's the course?

Many of my assignments include very open questions that can be answered in a multitude of ways. Perhaps the question is fine, you're just confused about how you're meant to answer it?
Remember, there often isn't a correct answer - It's all about how you put across your view/argument and how you answer the question.
If you're doing mathematics, then ignore this.
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No, it's nothing like that. It's the poor English that is the problem. The way it is written, it could be asking various things. One of them for example reads, 'Describe that what are the strategies that improve supply chain from the goals'.
 
Have you tried phoning reception, head of department, HR or basically any number. They should know who to put you through to, or find out for you.
 
Glaucus said:
Have you tried phoning reception, head of department, HR or basically any number. They should know who to put you through to, or find out for you.
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Going to do this tomorrow. I was just wondering if there was an external body that regulates the quality standards as I can't see how it has been allowed to go through, even after being rejected by the proffessor.
 
I wouldn't be messing about with emails this close to Christmas. Get up to campus and start knocking on doors. There might be some of the faculty still knocking about although you're cutting it fine. At least make it known that you feel there's issues with the assignment so you have some ground for an appeal if it comes to that. You really should have nailed it during the Q&A. If I was unable to work on an assignment solely because the requirements hadn't been made clear then I wouldn't have left the room until he made it clear.
 
sniffy said:
I wouldn't be messing about with emails this close to Christmas. Get up to campus and start knocking on doors. There might be some of the faculty still knocking about although you're cutting it fine. At least make it known that you feel there's issues with the assignment so you have some ground for an appeal if it comes to that. You really should have nailed it during the Q&A. If I was unable to work on an assignment solely because the requirements hadn't been made clear then I wouldn't have left the room until he made it clear.
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I asked several times, everytime he failed to answer me. This is why I'm trying to find someone higher to answer me.
 
It'll be done internally. By the University. However, lodge complaints to the head of the department, and if that doesn't work, complain through the Student Union - who so long as you have a decent union should be able to sort it out....

kd
 
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