Written assignments and assessed work

Generic guidance for written assessments

Before we move into outlining the core components of the programme we will take you through the main considerations that we use in assessing the written work that you produce for us.

In the sections following this, we outline the core components of the programme, the assessment requirements for each and we provide a suggested broad structure for each assignment - do bear in mind this is only a suggested structure.

All 5000-word assignments will be assessed using criteria from the following Doctoral assessment criteria. The exact criteria are noted in the assessment sections related to the units:

Capacity to pursue research and scholarship
Produce an original contribution and substantial addition to knowledge
Demonstrate the professional location and relevance of the research topic and outcomes
Demonstrate rigorous and critical thinking in regard to the literature and theory
Demonstrate how the topic of the research paper/ thesis is related to a wider field of knowledge and research
Demonstrate an understanding of the design and conduct of empirical research
Demonstrate appropriate therapeutic knowledge, understanding and skills
Demonstrate the capacity to self-reflect in a way appropriate to the work of a Counselling Psychologist
Demonstrate the awareness of philosophical, ethical, legal and professional issues
Demonstrate therapeutic sensitivity within their work as a Counselling Psychologist

In particular, as generic guidance we look for the following when assessing your work:

your work should be well structured, guiding the reader through the material that you include
you should clearly articulate to the reader the parameters of your work, justifying why you have chosen to approach the assignment in the way that you have
you should not make unsubstantiated claims in your work and should support the points that you make with up to date research evidence
try always to be critical in your use of research material
research material included in your work should be as up to date as possible. Although we appreciate that you will also need to include seminal texts, these should be reflected upon in terms of current research thinking
you will be asked to utilise different writing ‘voices’ whilst on this course: practitioner, researcher and personal, these will be emphasised in different aspects of the programme. However, in each piece of written work that you submit you need to ensure that there is an appropriate academic nature to the piece in terms of it being embedded in counselling psychology literature and it fits with the Doctoral assessment criteria
all work should be appropriately and accurately referenced

Submission of assessed work

You must submit an electronic copy of all work to be assessed. In almost all cases this is submitted by uploading on the deadline date to the document store in e-prog. Where the submission involves only uploading a document to e-prog, the deadline time is 11.59pm on the deadline date. The programme administrator should then be informed via email. All original submission scripts are retained by the University. No paper copies of assignments are required.
Exceptions to submitted via upload to e-prog are the annual submission of the full documentary evidence portfolio and the submission of the audio/video recordings for the process reports in both year 1 and 2). These need to be physically handed into the programme administrator on the encrypted programme memory sticks. This deadline time is 4pm on the date of the deadline (as it is a physical submission). With the process report submissions, we also ask that you upload an encrypted copy of the word document to e-prog.
You are also required to submit copies of all of your assignments on your encrypted programme memory stick, which will be issued at the start of the course, and returned when you finish at the end of year 3. This memory stick should only be used for transferring files and any sensitive material must be stored on a GDPR compliant storage device throughout the programme. There is a standard file structure to be followed for the final submission – please review this so that necessary material is not lost. Passwords will be kept by the course staff in encrypted files. If you change your password at any time you are required to inform course staff. Should there be any problems as a result of programme staff having been given an incorrect password, responsibility will lie with the student (see below).
Please also ensure that your files are kept safe and that all files are kept in line with data protection law and the programme encryption policy. The encrypted programme memory sticks will immediately wipe all documents from it should the incorrect password be entered a number of times. Therefore securely retaining master copies of your files proves extremely important, and if you do change your password on the memory stick for any reason whilst on the programme you are required to tell your course tutor.
Please include your name, student number and word count at the start of each submission.
All submissions must be entirely complete in all required sections. Incomplete assignments will not be assessed and be treated as an automatic fail. If a resubmission is allowed (see assessment section below), formative oral feedback may be provided on the assignment by the lead tutor for the unit. This will take the form of a 30-minute tutorial arranged by the unit leader. In the instance that previous class-based guidance does not appear to have been heeded, a meeting will not be offered.
The word count for each assignment is clearly stated in the unit descriptions. You can go 10% below the stated word count on each submission. Word counts must be clearly stated on the front of the submission. When submitting corrections to an assignment you are able to go 10% over the original word limit. Should you go over the word count, or under by more than 10%, the assignment will not be assessed and be treated as an automatic fail. If a resubmission is allowed (see assessment section below), formative oral feedback may be provided on the assignment by the lead tutor for the unit. This will take the form of a 30-minute tutorial arranged by the unit leader. Word counts include all elements of the paper with the exception of the reference list and any appendices.
An extension request form can be obtained from your programme administrator and should be returned, two weeks before the due date of the assignment (where possible). The form needs to be completed and returned to the programme administrator, it will then be sent to the relevant tutor(s) for authorisation. The extension is only formally approved when you receive written confirmation of your new deadline from the programme administrator. Extensions will only be granted for reasons considered valid by course staff – for example having had too much work to complete and therefore not having enough time will not be a sufficient reason for granting an extension. Although we recognise that trainees often have competing demands on their time (e.g. placements, multiple assignments) we expect trainees to manage their time appropriately in order to meet the deadlines set by the course team. Only in very exceptional circumstances could an extension be granted more than one year after the original submission date.
Feedback on assessed work is provided by the tutors (‘internal examiners’) using the report forms noted in this handbook. The marking period for an assignment is 4 weeks.
Resubmission of assessed work: Because each assessed piece of work targets several learning outcomes at doctoral level, it is not unusual for a resubmission of the assessed work to be required. With each re-submitted piece must be a separate page entitled Resubmission Cover Note which details how each previously unmet learning outcome has been re-addressed within the revised work, including a reference to the relevant page number and line numbers within the re-submitted piece. Resubmissions must be received within the period stated in a statement accompanying the assignment. Tutor feedback upon any resubmission will be provided within four weeks of receipt. If a cover sheet is not submitted with a resubmitted assignment, the work will not be assessed until one is provided.
Trainees are only able to have two attempts at each assignment. Should they receive a C grade on two separate occasions for the same academic paper, they will fail this assignment. This will mean that they will be unable to progress further with the Doctorate award and will need to consider the exit award with their supervisors (see details of progression and the exit award below).
Students’ results are confirmed each year at the Board of Examiners’ meeting in September which is attended by the programme’s external examiners, presently Dr Edith Steffen and Dr Maggie Robson.
Should you wish to make any appeal regarding assessed work, procedures for this are outlined in the Postgraduate Research Handbook.