4. Guiding Principles
Feedback should be provided on all assessed work and all students should have a positive experience of feedback, whatever their course.

Good feedback is:
• integrated;
• timely;
• clear and focused;
• supportive and inclusive.

5. Protocols
Feedback on assessment must be:

Integrated
• explicitly integrated into curriculum design and review (module and course processes), both formatively and summatively;
• constructively aligned with learning outcomes and assessment criteria;
• given for all assessed work, both examinations and coursework;
• consistent in terms of the of the student's experience of their course.

Timely
• normally given within three working weeks (excluding student vacation periods) of the submission deadline for the assessment;
• given in time to inform subsequent and related assessments and exams.

Clear and Focused
• communicated through assessment criteria which is made available at the start of teaching and discussed with students;
• discussed with students at the start of teaching so that they are aware of the range of feedback opportunities available to them and how they can access this feedback;
• scheduled so that feedback on assessment is returned according to agreed expectations;
• given using plain English so that it is comprehensible and useful;
• indicate the level of the student's achievement in assessments in relation to required standards;
• identify goals for further development and give advice about the steps needed to reach these;
• presented in the context of the student's original work so that the link between the feedback and the work is clear (e.g. the return of annotated scripts);
• discussed by students and tutors for clarification as necessary.

Supportive and Inclusive
• given in ways that are appropriate to the assessment;
• given in ways that are appropriate to the level and needs of the student;
• given in ways that recognise student diversity;
• used to identify achievements as well as areas for improvement;
• enabling and encouraging in order to foster confidence and motivation;
• useful to each student even when generic feedback is given;
• given so that it makes effective use of technology as appropriate.

6. Expectations of students
Students should
• collect, retain and refer back to their feedback to inform subsequent work;
• critically reflect on their feedback and seek to improve their performance;
• engage with feedback opportunities during their course;
• seek clarification of feedback when necessary.

Approved by Academic Board on 1 May 2012