Designing short course assessments

Embedding assessment methods appropriate for achievement of learning outcomes and to the specific short course context

Short courses do not represent a UCL qualification, but they may be recognised by a UCL Certificate of Participation or lead to the award of UCL academic credit. In some instances, short courses may also provide hours or points of verifiable CPD. For this reason short courses will, depending on their context, feature different kinds of assessments.

Short courses and assessment

Short course assessments should address their context and target development of new knowledge, competencies, and skills in the course subject matter, just as its aims and learning outcomes do. This might mean that you design authentic assessments with relevance to real world or professional practice. They might ask learners to solve problems or ethical dilemmas, communicate complex ideas to different audiences, or work together with others.

Non-credit-bearing short courses typically do not involve any formal summative assessment. They may, however, be recognised by a UCL Certificate of Participation or provide hours or points of verifiable CPD. Achievement of a certificate may be quantified via course attendance, informal assessment activities, or a combination of the two.

Credit-bearing short courses involve summative assessment which, if successfully completed, may lead to the award of UCL academic credit. This academic credit may then, depending on the activity being undertaken, be used to apply for advanced entry to a UCL programme leading to a UCL qualification such as a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma, or a full Master’s degree.

Formative and summative assessments: what’s the difference?

Formative assessments, or ‘assessments for learning’, are generally ungraded. Their main purpose is to provide students with opportunities to receive specific and timely feedback throughout the duration of the course. Relevant feedback can be provided by the tutor, peers, or automatically generated by a specific activity, but what is important is that the feedback directs the learner to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and to focus on future improvement. This type of assessment is particularly important for the non-credit-bearing short course context because it is unlikely that any formal assessment methods will be used.

Where they are employed, summative assessments, or ‘assessments of learning’, are traditionally used to measure attainment at a given point in time or at the end of a course. A summative assessment is usually graded and takes the form of a series of quizzes, an essay, or a project. Feedback should also be provided. Summative assessments must be used in the credit-bearing short course context, but it’s also advisable to incorporate formative assessment activities throughout the course.

Designing assessments for your short course

As mentioned in the Designing learning activities article, all learning activities and assessments should be aligned to the stated learning outcomes for the course. Assessments typically sit within the practice and production learning types.

Practice activities enable knowledge to be applied in context, giving learners the opportunity to try out something they have learned and receive feedback on, whether via self-reflection, from peers, their tutor, or from tools and activity outcomes. A task here might include a practice-based project, simulation, or online quizzes embedded to test application or understanding. It is essential that formative feedback is embedded as part of these kinds of activities.

Production focuses on how a teacher motivates learners to consolidate what they have learned by articulating their current conceptual understanding and reflecting upon how they used it in practice. Production can be associated with both formative and summative assessment, and might include an essay, presentation, or project.

For support from a Learning Designer on how to properly align the design of your course to its learning outcomes, or on how to utilise the six learning types and offer aligned assessments, please contact the Online Learning team to book an ABC Learning Design workshop.

Example of a short course assessment

Here is an example assessment from a course about research supervision. To access this, use the password ‘Bloomsbury’.

Quiz: Supervisory Responsibilities

This concluding quiz asks you about some of the key elements of being a UCL supervisor.

You must respond to all questions in the quiz to successfully complete the course.

Now that you're familiar with the lifecycle of a doctorate, your role as supervisor and some of the key policies and procedures that will help you with your supervisory practice, you can take this quiz to check your familiarity with the regulations and complete the online course.

Although learners must take the quiz in order to complete the course, it is ungraded and therefore classed as a formative, rather than summative, assessment. The quiz allows users to “check [their] familiarity with the regulations” and identify any remaining gaps in their knowledge. Implicit feedback is provided, signposting material from which the correct answers can be derived, and learners can take the quiz multiple times.

Further information

Full information about ABC learning design, including videos and self-directed resources, can be found on its website.

Short courses and the life learning framework in the UCL academic manual.