• In the School we will be using the following forms of alternative assessment to replace examinations:
• Alternative assignments for text-based subjects (short, written pieces)
• Problem-solving exercises for numerical subjects 

 The full list of alternative assessments by module is available here.

• Alternative UG and PGT Assessment Timetable 
• All Alternative Assessments have a window of 23 hours to be completed. All assessments will be launched at 11:00am with the deadline at 10:00am the following day.  All times will be British Summer Time (BST). 
• Alternative assessments in the School are designed to take a maximum of 3 hours. Students therefore may have assessments in successive days and multiple assessments within a week.  Much like having more than one exam in a week this is not considered to be detrimental to students’ performance.

• Students in their first year will have their on-campus examinations replaced by a set of alternative assessments.
• The kind of assessment will depend on your subject area, and the assessment formats will all be familiar from earlier in your modules.
• These assessments will be made available over the exam period which lasts from Monday 04 May to Friday 12 June, and all the work will need to be completed by Friday 12 June 2020. 
• We will be providing more information on these assessments, including the teaching, guidance and support that will be available to help you complete the portfolio.  Further information will be available by April 17th.
• Please be aware that you will also need continue to complete all outstanding coursework assignments that have been set already in Term 2 and Term 3.
• First year marks do not count towards your final degree classification, but we require that you pass this ‘portfolio’, and that you complete any outstanding assignments that have already been set.   Decisions about successful completion of Year One and progression will be made by Exam Boards on the basis of all of your marks and the successful completion of this ‘portfolio’. You will receive feedback and resit opportunities will be available.

• We have adjusted a number of coursework assessment deadlines to support students – please see below for conformation of the new deadlines:
• Term 2 & Easter Vacation Changes to Deadlines
• Term 3 Undergraduate and Postgraduate Assessment Deadlines 

• We will providing revision guidance and 'technical practice' to help students prepare for the Alternative Assessments. 
• The technical practice refers to practicing the procedural aspects of the assessment (e.g. uploading documents) and does not refer to practice assessments.

• The alternative assessment will be made available at the scheduled time (British Summer Time - BST) on the timetable. We recommend that you plan where you will work in advance, warn people around you, and switch off your mobile/other communications. If you are in a different time zone to BST, please calculate a suitable time of day in advance so you can ensure that you submit the work by the end of the assessment window.  

• All papers will be made available through Moodle on the module’s Moodle page at the time in the published timetable. Students will also be emailed the assessment via the module Moodle page.

•  Alternative Assignment: The format of the alternative assignment will be similar to an examination paper. There will be an introduction sheet at the start of the assignment which outlines how to complete and submit the assessment; please read this carefully.
• Numerical Problem-Solving Exercises: The format of the Problem-Solving Exercises will be similar to an examination paper with a number of exercises to be completed. There will be an introduction sheet at the start of the assignment which outlines how to complete and submit the assessment; please read this carefully.
• Within the School of Law and Social Sciences the only department with Numerical Problem-Solving Exercises is the Department of Economics.
• The guidance for problem-solving exercises in Law are covered under the Alternative Assignment guidance.

• We understand that some students may not have adequate access to either IT equipment or internet connections that would enable them to complete their assessments. The following support is available to help you complete this academic year successfully:
• Financial support - If you are unable to access IT equipment due to financial difficulties students can contact the Financial Wellbeing team to discuss options and an assessment for support from the Study Support Grant . A standard assessment process is used which calculates the level of support based on the difference between annual income and essential expenditure. 
• IT support - If you are having other difficulties, for example technical difficulties, please refer to the access off-campus support pages.
• Extenuating circumstances - If your difficulties with IT mean that you are not able to attempt assessments within the allocated time please see our Extensions & Extenuating Circumstances Guidance.

• The answers to the assignment should be completed electronically in a Word document.
• At the top of the first page (or in the header) of the document you submit please write (a) the course number/name and (b) your candidate number. Please do not enter your name or Student ID number to ensure your work can be marked confidentially.
• For each question you attempt, please state the question number. All answers should appear in a single document.
• Please do not cut and paste material from other documents or from the internet into your answers. (The Turnitin plagiarism checker will tell us if you have done this).
• Pictures or diagrams, where applicable, can be included by photographing a hand drawn document or inserting a picture file from another document.

•  As with an exam, you are not expected to include long quotations or include a bibliography. The assignment should be written in your own words, except for quotations. Identify quotations using quotation marks, and give the source (e.g. Martina Fredrick).   Base answers on your knowledge and revision of materials from the course. I.e. do not research new literature as you would for a coursework essay. 
• Every paper will be run through plagiarism software (Turnitin). The software will also compare your work against all other students’ submitted work. Any unattributed collaboration among students will be treated as collusion, a serious assessment offence.

• Each assessment will have a word limit. In the School, as a general rule, word limits will be set at 1,000 words per essay question. The purpose of a word limit is to give all students a clear indication of the maximum length of a piece of assessed written work and the amount of work expected.   The word limits are designed to allow you to complete the assessment within the time indicated that you should spend on the assessment.  You will not be penalised for longer answers, but work above the word count will not be marked. Remember that shorter, succinct and well-structured answers tend to receive better marks than longer rambling ones.

•  Problem-Solving exercises specifically refer to problem-solving exercises for numerical subjects. Within the School of Law and Social Sciences the only department which has numerical problem-solving assignments as part of the alternative assessments is the Department of Economics. 
• These problem-solving exercises do not include problem-solving on the LLB Law. The guidance for those is covered under 'alternative assignments' guidance.
• Answers should be written by hand on plain or lined paper.
• Once complete please scan or photograph your work and put these photos/scans into a Word document for submission.
• At the top of the Word document please write (a) the course number/name and (b) your candidate number.  Please do not enter your name or Student ID number to ensure your work can be marked confidentially.
• For each question you attempt, please state the question number. All answers should appear in a single document.

•  Students will be required to submit alternative assignments and problem-solving exercises through Turnitin using the submission links in the module page.
• If you are submitting a document with photos or diagrams you can reduce the size of the document by converting this to a PDF document - this will make the upload process quicker and easier.
• If you encounter technical problems in uploading the assessment to the Moodle page for this module please contact us via email – LSS-School@rhul.ac.uk

• Wherever possible, you should try to submit work in the format outlined. However, if you are having problems producing the format requested please let us know by email – LSS-School@rhul.ac.uk and tell us why. We will then advise you on how to complete and submit the work in a format that you are able to access.

• Helpsheet - Submitting a Document to Turnitin 
• Helpsheet - Submitting a Video Assignment in RePlay 

Extensions:

• You may be able to request an extension for coursework assessments (but not alternative assessments) if you are unable to submit on time. Extensions will be considered in line with the current extensions policy, which has had adjustments made in light of the covid-19 situation. Not all assessments are eligible for extensions, if you aren’t sure, please contact the school office – LSS-School@rhul.ac.uk
• Extensions should be applied for via the extensions system in Campus Connect.Please note you will not be able to apply for an additional extension until two weeks before the new deadline.
• For further information please see the Extensions & Extenuating Circumstances pages.

Late Submissions:

Alternative Assessments

• If you are having difficulty in submitting your Alternative Assessment on time, for example due to technological difficulties, then you should e-mail the school office – LSS-School@rhul.ac.uk as soon as you can and as close to the submission deadline as possible, letting us know the reason why so we can advise you on what to do. We are here to help you and will treat all situations sympathetically.
• These Alternative Assessments are being offered to replace formal examinations and therefore late submissions may be classed as a non-submission. If this situation were to happen you would automatically be offered another attempt at the assessment as a First Sit without needing to submit ECs. Please see the Results & Progression page for further details.

• If you submit your coursework late, even after you have applied for an extension, then it will be subject to the usual late penalties as outlined in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Regulations.
• Where you are not in a position to submit coursework for submission deadlines that fall between 1 March and 30 June 2020 then you will automatically be offered another attempt at the assessment without needing to submit ECs. Please see the Results & Progression page for further details.

When assessing the alternative assessments and capstone portfolios we in the School of Law and Social Sciences expect all students to adhere to the college's regulations on academic misconduct.

The work of any student reported for suspected plagiarism, or any other form of academic misconduct, will be investigated through the academic misconduct procedures outlined in the college's Regulations on Academic Misconduct.

Due to the pandemic all academic misconduct panels will be held via telephone/video call on MS Teams.