The academic assessor must be a registered nurse, midwife, nursing associate, or specialist community public health nurse (SCPHN). For prescribing programmes, the academic assessor can be any suitably qualified healthcare professional. Who the academic assessor will be is dependent on the student they are assigned to. Below are the standards which outline who we expect the academic assessor to be for each student.
Standards to support student supervision and assessment
Approved education institutions, together with practice learning partners, must ensure that:
6.3 nursing students are assigned to practice and academic assessors who are registered nurses with appropriate equivalent experience for the student’s field of practice
6.4 midwifery students are assigned to practice and academic assessors who are registered midwives
6.5 specialist community public health nurse (SCPHN) students are assigned to practice and academic assessors who are registered SCPHNs with appropriate equivalent experience for the student’s field of practice
6.6 students studying for an NMC approved post-registration qualification are assigned to practice and academic assessors in accordance with relevant programme standards
6.7 nursing associate students are assigned to practice and academic assessors who are either a registered nursing associate or a registered nurse
Standards for prescribing programmes:
Approved education institutions, together with practice learning partners, must:
4.6 ensure the student is assigned to an academic assessor who is a registered healthcare professional with suitable equivalent qualifications for the programme the student is undertaking
In 6.3 for nurses, when we say ‘equivalent experience for the student’s field of practice’, we mean that the academic assessor’s work based experience or qualifications must enable them to understand, and be able to assess the student in their field of practice, what the student is aiming to achieve, for the time they are assigned to them. Qualifications can include those formally recognised by regulators such as the NMC, and other qualifications. It will be up to the AEI, with their practice learning partners, to decide what ‘equivalent experience’ is needed for each student. They should be able to show that any individual assigned as an academic assessor maintains current knowledge and expertise relevant to the programme outcomes they are collating and confirming.
If a person does not meet the above standards they cannot be an academic assessor. Other people may take part in the assessment process, for example in the academic environment there will be a number of lecturers who deliver and assess the course content, but if they do not meet our standards they cannot be an ‘academic assessor’.
The role of assessing a student for progression is the responsibility of the academic and practice assessors, working together. The AEI, with its practice learning partners may appoint additional roles to support student learning and assessment across theory and practice. These roles could include those currently in use such as link lecturers or personal tutors.
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