Teaching and Assessment

Teaching

The degree offers a knowledge base in criminology and crime control and provides a broad basis for life-long intellectual, personal and social development. The degree is taught by research active staff who use their own knowledge and research to enhance the courses and engage students in an active learning environment. The learning experience provides many opportunities to acquire a wide range of distinctive criminological and social science skills and encourages reflection on the subject. Together, these provide students with a range of academic and analytical skills, which will be valuable in a wide range of careers.

The degree schemes are taught to a very high standard and successful students will meet the standards required by the Quality Assurance Agency in their Criminology Standards. It provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding, skills and critical and reflective abilities in the discipline. This is achieved through an integrated programme of lectures, seminars (small group teaching), supervision, practical work and group work. Each student is also encouraged to undertake individual independent study.

Assessment

Assessment of knowledge and the acquisition of key skills are monitored by: seen and unseen written examinations; the assessment of group work; the completion of term-time assessments (both written and oral). Term-time assessments are very varied and include essays, critical reviews, evaluative reports, academic papers, legal problem solving, policy analysis papers, reaction papers, case studies, and research analysis papers. Each module has assessment methods tailored to its aims and objectives. Each student also has to write one longer piece of work, a dissertation and will receive individual supervision to help them through this process.

Feedback

To help students to improve their skills they have feedback about their individual performance in any assessed piece of work. Where appropriate, formative assessment and its accompanying feedback is used to ensure that we deliver assessment for learning and support students in obtaining the skills necessary for success in the degree.