Depending on the period which the practice assessor is assigned to the student, it may be necessary for them to ‘hand over’ assessment responsibility for the student to the next practice assessor. For example, if they are assigned to a student for one placement within the practice year, or for a series of placements within the first or second year in a three year programme.
There must be a proper handover between practice assessors and any other people involved in the education of the student. This includes ensuring that all relevant documentation is up to date, and any particular issues with the student’s performance have been recorded or communicated with the next practice assessor and all relevant people. Good record keeping and handover or data sharing policies set locally are an enabler for this.
In addition, they should engage with the student and provide them with feedback as part of this process, letting them know where and how they need to improve.
Handing over to the next academic assessor (when relevant)
Our standards state that an academic assessor will be assigned to a student for a part of the programme. Following this period, they will have to ‘handover’ the responsibility for the student to the next academic assessor. AEIs will define what a ‘part’ means depending on the length of the programme and how the progression points are structured.
It is the academic assessor’s responsibility to ensure that the handover is done appropriately with proper record keeping of their recommendations, including any particular issues or points to consider for the next academic assessor, and all relevant people.
Feedback should be provided to the student as part of this process, letting them know where they need to improve and how they may be able to do this.
We do not specify how the ‘handover’ must take place, only that it must ensure all relevant information is recorded and made available to the next assessor. Many practice learning environments, and AEIs, may have well established hand over processes which academic assessors can follow.
