Assessment Briefs & Assessment Naming Conventions in Moodle

Audience

This guidance applies to:

• Teaching and Learning Leads

• Programme Leads

• Module Leads

• PASS Administrators

Suggested Requirements

To ensure consistency and clarity, the following practices are suggested for adoption:

• Use assessment information from SITS/e:Vision consistently to create:

  • Assessment briefs uploaded to Moodle

  • Naming conventions for assessment submission points (drop boxes) in Moodle

• Avoid overly prescriptive language in assessment briefs, particularly regarding required software, unless essential.

• Carefully review the ‘Method of submission’ field in the assessment brief to ensure it aligns appropriately with the assessment type.

Rationale

These changes are required to address the following issues:

• Inconsistencies between assessment names and details across e:Vision, assessment briefs, and Moodle submission points.

• Lack of a standard naming convention for summative and formative assessments in Moodle, which reduces clarity across modules and programmes.

Assessment names stored in e:Vision vary in length and may require concise adaptation when creating Moodle submission points (e.g. Essay (2000 words); Portfolio – cross-platform website with interactive elements).

• Overly restrictive guidance on software use may limit student creativity and introduce unnecessary barriers.

• Misalignment between stated submission methods and assessment types can create confusion. Once published in Moodle, tutors may be reluctant to amend errors in the assessment brief.

Intended Benefits

These recommendations aim to:

• Improve the overall student experience

• Enhance operational efficiency and consistency

• Support accessibility and inclusivity

• Help students, markers, and external examiners identify the correct assessment

• Reduce incorrect submissions and missed deadlines

Examples

Example 1 – Best Practice (Aligned Naming)

Assessment names are consistent across e:Vision, the assessment brief, and Moodle.

• e:Vision: Individual Report

• Assessment Brief: Individual Report

• Moodle Submission Point: Individual Report

Note:
The assessment format (name) in the assessment brief is derived from e:Vision (Module Information → Assessments and Components).

Refinement:
Moodle assessment naming can be further standardised using the suggested naming convention (see below).

Example 2 – Inconsistent Practice

• e:Vision: Essay

• Assessment Brief: Written Work

• Moodle Submission Point: Submit Assessment Here

Issue: Inconsistent naming creates confusion.
Best Practice: Use the same assessment name consistently across all platforms.

Example 3 – Overly Prescriptive Software Requirements

• e:Vision: Narrated individual presentation

• Assessment Brief: Narrated PowerPoint and script

Issue: Specifying PowerPoint discourages the use of alternative tools (e.g. Adobe).

Best Practice:
Use neutral, outcome-focused language such as:

• Narrated presentation video (.mp4)

• Additionally, provide guidance on acceptable file formats in the Assignment Description rather than mandating specific software.

Example 4 – Misaligned Submission Method

• e:Vision: Individual presentation (10 minutes)

• Assessment Brief: Recorded PowerPoint presentation (with audio)

• Submission Method: Turnitin

Issues:

• Tutors must download files to view narrated presentations if submitted via Turnitin.

• Naming inconsistency

Best Practice:

• Use a Moodle video assignment for .mp4 submissions

• Enables inline playback for tutors

• Optionally combine with a Moodle Assignment (with plagiarism plugin) for additional file uploads (e.g. .pptx or PDF) to check originality.

Recommended Assessment Naming Convention (Moodle)

The Golden Formula

[ID] [Name] ([Weight]) - [Timeline] - Due [DD MMM, HH:MM]

Example:

001 Report (60%) - Standard - Due 12 Dec, 12:00
F01 Report (Formative) - Standard - Due 02 Dec, 12:00

Components:

• ID – Assessment number (001,002 or F01, F02 (for formative)

• Name – Assessment title

• Weight – Percentage weighting, (or ‘Formative’ if no weight)

• Timeline – Standard, extension (1-Week, 3-Week), resit, etc.

• Date & Time – Submission deadline

Examples by Assessment Type

Example Moodle Assignments set up with the naming convention: -

Open

Example Turnitin Assignments set up with the naming convention: -

Open

Summary

Adopting consistent naming conventions and aligning assessment information across e:Vision, assessment briefs, and Moodle will improve clarity, accessibility, and the overall student and staff experience. Flexibility in software use and appropriate submission methods further support inclusivity and effective assessment management.