'No Detriment' Policy: Joint Statement

Thursday 30-04-2020 - 16:13
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Over the last few days we have been working closely with the University in further developing the University's safety net measures and ensuring the development of a 'no detriment' policy.

 

Please see our joint statement and email below that all students should have recieved on Thrusday 30th April. As always if you have any comments or feedback please do not hesitate to get in contact with your elected Officers. 

 

 

 

Further to our communication on Friday 24 April on ‘Assessment ‘Safety Net’ during COVID-19 Outbreak – the University’s approach to ‘no detriment’ we are jointly writing to you, as your Vice-Chancellor and Students’ Union Officers, to provide a further update on our No Detriment policy. 

 

The University’s Academic Board met on Tuesday 28 April and discussed the best ways to continue supporting our students in these very challenging times. Academic Board is the University’s main group for discussing general issues relating to teaching and research. Our MDXSU Student Officers, who are represented at the Board, reported that students would be particularly reassured by an explicit No Detriment policy. Academic Board is clear that Middlesex is committed to a No Detriment policy, which will be holistic, and carefully grounded in the University’s specific context.  

 

Our aim is that no student should do worse than they would have done if COVID-19 had not happened. We will put this into operation using three key principles of assurance:

 

  1. We will use robust evidence using pre-covid-19 performance for deciding individual baseline grades
  2. As disciplines differ in the nature of their assessments, the detailed processes of setting baselines will be worked through at faculty level with the involvement of MDXSU Student Officers
  3. Assessment Boards will take into account performance prior to Covid-19 and from previous years to ensure fairness of award outcomes

 

We will continue to be mindful of the challenges faced by our students in these difficult times. Please contact us if you have any questions about these important arrangements, which provide support for you in these unprecedented circumstances whilst also assuring you that we will safeguard the value and integrity of your degree. We would also urge you to consult the FAQs page on UniHub for further guidance on the arrangements and the support the University has put in place to mitigate the impact of COVID19 on your studies, particularly around assessments.

 

Best wishes

 

Professor Nic Beech – Vice-Chancellor

Anas Badar – MDXSU President

Lucy Holland – MDXSU Vice President Arts & Creative Industries

Tahmina Choudhery – MDXSU Vice President Professional & Social Sciences

Khalid Abumaye – MDXSU Vice President Science & Technology

 

 

Update - 15th June 2020

 

All final year undergraduate students should have recieved the below email W/C 8th June. This email outlined how the above No Detriment Policy would work. If you have any questions regarding how this will work for you please do contact your programme team for more information. 


"I wrote to you in partnership with your elected Students’ Union officers on 30th April about our commitment to a No Detriment policy and a range of other measures that we have put in place to support you. We are committed to ensuring that you are supported during these challenging times. Fairness, equity and inclusion in assessments are at the heart of our approach during this unprecedented and difficult situation. For those of you who are due to graduate this year, we have undertaken more work to ensure that the difficulties you may have faced during this pandemic are considered as part of your final degree classification. I am pleased to tell you that Academic Board has agreed to base your degree classification on the best 120 credits you have achieved during years two and three (i.e. levels 5 and 6) of your degree, provided you have passed 240 credits across both levels.This will ensure that you will not be wholly reliant on assessment undertaken during the lockdown period. Although, if you have performed well in your final year, this approach will still allow that achievement to be recognised.   In agreeing to this provision, Academic Board members were mindful of balancing our commitment to you during this unprecedented time with the requirement to safeguard and uphold the quality of our degrees. This approach will be applied this year only, and the impact will be evaluated to inform any further action which may be necessary to ensure consistency between cohorts.I would like to thank all of you for the proactive way you have approached your assignments and assessments this year. I am very proud of the way our whole #TeamMDX community has responded in these challenges times.
Professor Nic BeechVice-Chancellor"

 

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