1) The Open University in the UK had to quickly change its assessment processes and policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support over 100,000 students. This included moving exams online, cancelling final assessments, extending deadlines, and assuming special circumstances for all students from March onwards. 2) An emergency management group was formed to make decisions and ensure consistency. Key principles were maintaining standards while prioritizing student success with a "no detriment" policy. Over 100,000 student results were ratified by July. 3) Communication approaches improved over time to be more proactive. Staff workloads increased but the university maintained operations with at least 75% staffing. Lessons were learned and pandemic

1. Delivering assessment during Covid-19 at
scale at the Open University, UK
Klaus-Dieter Rossade
Associate Dean Curriculum. Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies
Director Assessment Programme, OU
EADTU workshop 21 September 2020

2. CONTENTS
2
01 Where it all began
02 Assessment at the Open University, UK
03 The Challenge
What we were up against, the context, the process and the
decisions we took
04 Communication
05 Impact
06 People
Joys and pains of working through a pandemic
2 metres ?

3. 3
Where it all began
Open University Campus in Milton Keynes

4. 4
Assessment at the OU
Assessment includes formative and summative components …
100,000+ directly registered students
50,000 students in partner institutions
8525 honours degrees in 2018/19
• Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA)
• Exams
• End of Module assessment (EMA)
• End of Module Tutor Marked
Assignment (emTMA)
• Designated compulsory events
• Day Schools
• Practical Tests
• Residential Schools

5. Key Players in the OU Assessment timeline
Faculty academics design assessment strategies, write assignments, mark and
recommend results
Assessment, Credit and Qualifications (ACQ) oversee assessment policy and
standards, and process all stages of the assessment life cycle
Student Support in Academic Services manages information, guidance and advice
Assessment Programme ensures assessment at the OU remains innovative and off a
standard suitable for a university that considers itself a world leader in distance part-
time education
Module Result Panels (MRPs), Cluster Exams and Award Boards (CEABs), the Module
Result Awards and Qualification Classification Panel (MRAQCP) ratify results
External Examiners (EE) and External Advisers (EA) validate assessment standards
and integrity at all stages.
Markers and Students
5

6. 6
• 300+ modules in presentation,
• 305,000 assessments expected to be submitted electronically
• 30,000 cancelled exams
• 2,900 paper submissions
• Support for students with disabilities and students in secure environments
The Challenge
OU March and June
UK context
16 March Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced all unnecessary social contact ‘should’ cease
20 March Schools go into lockdown
mid March Education Secretary Gavin Williamson cancels A-Levels and GCSE exams
23 March PM Boris Johnson, people ‘must stay at home and certain business must close’
8 April A-level and GCSE cancelled.

7. 7
Office for Students
(OfS)
Higher Education
Funding Council for
Wales (HEFCW)
Scottish Funding
Council (SFC)
Quality Assurance
Agency (QAA)
UK Quality Code
for Higher
Education
1. Students should, wherever it is possible and is in the student's
interest, be enabled to finish their intended studies for the current
academic year. (QAA)
2. Awarding bodies remain responsible for the academic standards of
their awards, including those delivered with or by partners (QAA)
3. Institutions should determine which components of assessment are
necessary to determine the award of credit and should actively
consider whether it can award credit where students have not
completed all planned assessments. (OfS)
4. A policy of “no detriment” is likely to be appropriate, provided the
institution maintains standards. (OfS)
5. Institutions must make sound judgments about the award of credit or
qualification and the classification of awards, recording the approach it
has taken, the factors considered and reasons for decision taken.
(OfS)
Regulatory and Quality Standards Context
OU as a four nations university

8. 8
• First meeting 31 March, chaired by
Deputy Vice Chancellor
• 11 members initially, to double over
time by becoming more inclusive
(Student reps, Associate Lecturer
reps, Comms,
• Brief position papers, produced at
speed
• Quick turnaround from discussion
to decision to communication
Process
Emergency Management Team Academic Implications Group (EMT-AIG)
EMT-AIG aims
• ratify and sense check ideas and decisions from task and finish groups.
• organise any follow up and decide what is escalated to higher decision level
• document key decisions and rationale and log these

9. Commitment
• Deliver results for all students with assessments between March and June.
• Maintain academic standards to safeguard currency of module and qualification awards
• Ensure staff can deliver the pandemic decisions
• Support students to succeed and continue with their studies
9

10. Principles to meet the challenge
1. A core purpose of student success
2. An institutional approach to ensure consistency and fairness
3. A principle of ‘no detriment’ to students
4. Maintaining academic standards
5. A pragmatic approach to governance approval through Chairs Action
6. Using current policy and process wherever possible to keep communication and delivery
simple
7. Consideration of operational delivery in terms of capacity and capability
8. Consistency in content of communication across all modes.
10

11. Decisions - Policy, Processes and Practice
1. All exams to turn into remote exams (24 hours or 7 days)
2. Final assessed task to be cancelled where possible (up to 30th June)
3. Submission deadlines for all assignments extended
4. Postponements/deferral deadlines extended
5. Marking deadlines extended
6. Resits and resubmissions uncapped
7. Special Circumstances assumed for all students from 1 March
8. Submission of Special Circumstance without evidence
9. Viva policies extended to include Covid19
10. Greater discretionary powers for Module Result Panels and Chairs Action
11

12. Communication
1. Iterative action learning process
a. from reactive to proactive
b. from lagging behind reality to anticipating upcoming needs
c. from messages to stakeholders to one-stop updated publication structure
2. Information cascade structures developed
3. Pandemic online briefings for academic and academic related staff
4. Monitor and manage social media impact
5. Meet regulatory, policy and commercial requirements
6. Maintain academic quality standards
12

13. Impact
• Ratification of over 103,000 student module results 17th July and 31st July
• Impact of cancellation, standardisation and statistical adjustments acceptable
• Support and praise from External Examiner/Assessor for handling of pandemic
• Strong support from students and staff
• Decisions from March to June still winding through our systems and processes
• Pandemic and short to medium term decision making continues
• Staffing levels never lower than 75%
• Lessons learned and pandemic response plan
13

14. People
Pains
1. Relentless workloads
2. Difficult decisions
3. Dealing with technical
4. Social isolation across
all stakeholders
14
Joys and Pains of working through a pandemic
Joys
1. Online working expertise
2. Purpose to support
students
3. Purpose to support staff
4. Coming together

15. THANK YOU
Klaus-Dieter.Rossade@open.ac.uk