Feedback to Students

The University has established a framework for the return of feedback to students on their work, which supplements the Institutional Principles for Assessment and Feedback. The framework was approved by Senate in February 2017.

See also:

• University Policy within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes
• University Guidance on approaches to delivering formative feedback
• Policy on Exam Script Access (PDF, 320kB)

The National Union of Students has produced ten principles for good feedback practice which the University of Bristol endorses. 

Feedback:

1. Should be for learning, not just of learning
   Feedback should be primarily used as a learning tool and therefore positioned for learning rather than as a measure of learning.
2. Should be a continuous process
   Rather than a one-off event after assessment, feedback should be part of continuous guided learning and an integral part of the learning experience.
3. Should be timely 
   Feedback should be provided in a timely manner, allowing students to apply it to future learning and assessments. This timeframe needs to be communicated to students.
4. Should relate to clear criteria
   Objectives for assessment and grade criteria need to be clearly communicated to, and fully understood by, students. Subsequent feedback should be provided primarily in relation to this.
5. Should be constructive
   If feedback is to be constructive it needs to be concise, focused and meaningful to feed-forward, highlighting what is going well and what can be improved.
6. Should be legible and clear
   Feedback should be written in plain language so it can be easily understood by all students, enabling them to engage with it and support future learning.
7. Should be provided on exams
   Exams make up a high proportion of assessment and students should receive feedback on how well they did and how they could improve for the next time.
8. Should include self-assessment and peer-to-peer feedback
   Feedback from peers and self-assessment practices can play a powerful role in learning by encouraging reassessment of personal beliefs and interpretations.
9. Should be accessible to all students
   Not all students are full-time, campus based and so universities should utilise different technologies to ensure all students have easy access to their feedback.
10. Should be flexible and suited to students’ needs
    Students learn in different ways and therefore feedback is not ‘one size fits all’. Within reason students should be able to request feedback in various formats depending on their needs‌