Working Together to Support Assessment
In the School of GeoSciences, I work closely with our Digital Education team. We meet regularly, keep in close contact online, and catch up in person when diaries allow. Working in a hybrid environment means we’ve had to be intentional about how we stay connected. But that’s also brought benefits – it’s easier to pick up smaller issues quickly, share ideas as they arise, and make decisions in real time. These conversations help us align our work, avoid duplication, and identify opportunities to improve how we support assessment across our courses, especially through utilising Learn and other associated tools.
For example, we’re currently working together on streamlining the setup of assessments in Learn, ensuring consistency for students and clarity for markers. Using the Digital Education team’s knowledge of Learn, and the Teaching Organisation’s experience supporting assessments, we’ve developed a guidance document to help each course utilise the best setup available. We plan to deliver training for the Teaching Organisation over summer so that my team are empowered to make suggestions to Course Organisers on the best tool to support each assessment when setting up courses for the next academic year. We’ve also collaborated on reviewing assessment calendars to spot pinch points, helping us better support students at high-pressure times in the semester. These sorts of improvements are only possible when teams are in regular contact and understand each other’s needs.
At College level, I attend the Teaching and Support Managers Forum, which brings together colleagues from across the Schools in CSE. It’s a valuable space for surfacing shared issues, exchanging good practice, and supporting each other through challenges that are often wider than any one team. It’s also a key route for identifying where central support or policy guidance could be clearer or more consistent. In a University where the pace of change is fast and ongoing, it’s essential to stay informed – and just as importantly, to keep others in the loop.
Being involved in the LOUISA project by being part of the Professional Services User Group provides further opportunity to contribute to effective assessment support and collaborate with colleagues across Schools, Colleges and Units. The project builds on insights from across the University about common pain points in assessment and feedback within Learn. The goal is to enhance the overall experience for both students and staff, making processes clearer, smoother and more consistent. My role gives me the chance to feed in a Teaching Office perspective—highlighting how assessment is managed day to day, and how regulations are applied in practice.
What makes LOUISA so promising is the collaboration behind it. Because I have close working relationships with our Digital Education team, Student Experience Manager, Director of Teaching, and other TO Managers, we’re able to surface relevant insights, ask the right questions early on, and feed updates back into our own processes. We’re looking forward to our participation in the Early Adopters Programme, which will allow us to test improvements first-hand and continue shaping effective support for assessment. That kind of two-way communication makes the work more relevant, more responsive, and more likely to lead to sustainable change.
These connections also mean we’re not starting from scratch every time something new comes along. Whether it’s implementing new policy, improving assessment setup, or helping students navigate changes, we’re drawing on shared knowledge and strong communication channels.
Ultimately, it’s these everyday conversations and trusted working relationships that allow us to adapt, share insight, and keep assessment support effective and student-focused.
This blog post was authored by:
Kirsty Mooney
Teaching Organisation Manager (Deputy Head of Student Services). School of GeoSciences
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