Different parties provide valuable information

In the assessment of work placements, different parties are often involved: Ghent University, the workplace, the trainee and possibly fellow students (in the case of co-work placements). All of these parties can provide information, each from their own perspective, which can be very valuable for the final assessment: 

• Observation reports from work placement mentors can be an important addition to the work placement visits from the work placement supervisor. These reports contain specific and factual information about the functioning of the student in relation to those competences the student should acquire. They can also provide insight into the way in which the trainee has functioned over a longer period of time. 
• Self-assessments and placement reports from the trainee, in turn, provide very relevant information about the student’s self-reflection abilities.  

 

In any case, it is important to value different views and opinions from all people involved. 

The lecturer-in-charge motivates the final mark

The lecturer-in-charge has the final responsibility when it comes to determining the final mark. The lecturer-in-charge should always be able to motivate this final mark, even though the work placement supervisors may have followed the work placement more closely and are the first to assess the students. Lecturers-in-charge have the most insight into the competencies that students should acquire during the work placement, the assessment criteria and the different information sources. Moreover, they can also compare students. 

The marks from work placements mentors, fellow students or even the trainee should not necessarily be included directly into the final assessment. The lecturer-in-charge can use them in a merely informative manner. The lecturer-in-charge can also choose to use a correction key or specific weights to include these marks into the final mark.