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1. Upcoming Dates and Deadlines
1st August - TEIs to submit their updated T9: Staff CV Summary Table - please ensure you download the latest version of the form from this page.
1st August - Deadline: TEIs to submit Common Awards Management Committee membership lists and quoracy arrangements, as well as dates for upcoming CAMCs.
1st August - Deadline: TEIs to submit Common Awards policies, to include the following:
Admissions
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Academic Progress
Academic misconduct
Complaints and Appeals
Overlength work
Placements
Research Ethics (and misconduct)
22nd August - Deadline: CIS new account request closes for staff starting at the beginning of the academic year
2nd September - DU Overarching Board of Examiners (Summer)
2. Board of Examiners (Overarching)
In preparation for upcoming TEI Boards of Examiners meetings, please see below for the list of documentation/data reports required by the University following each Board:
Confirmed module marks for continuing students (Moodle report V4 January marks ALL Boards) should be returned in January 2026, following all TEI Boards.
3. TEI Attendance – Durham Board of Examiners
TEIs are reminded that they are very welcome to send a representative from their TEI Board of Examiners (normally the Chair) to observe the meetings of the overarching Board. Up to three TEI BoE representatives may attend each board. This can be a good way for TEIs to discover more about how the overarching Board works, and to see how we handle decisions about their students.
Please contact the team if a representative from your TEI Board of Examiners wishes to attend the December Board of Examiners meeting.
4. Conversion of Marks
The Common Awards Management Board recently approved a new policy for the marking of summative assessments that don’t use a standard Common Awards assessment criteria grid. This includes any assessments which use quantitative marking – e.g., where the mark given is simply a count of the number of correct answers in a test – which can include for example biblical languages tests or multiple choice tests. Such marking does not directly refer to the qualitative descriptors in Common Awards assessment criteria grids.
This policy has been developed following a request from the Common Awards External Moderator to ensure a consistency in approach to these kinds of assessment.
The new policy requires any TEI which marks any piece of summative assessment other than by using one of the standard Common Awards assessment criteria grids to offer a statement of how the TEI believes this would yield an appropriate overall mark – that is, how the TEI ensures that the mark ultimately given for the work will be comparable to the qualitative descriptors found in the assessment criteria grids. This statement should be shared with the Common Awards Team and would be available to the TEI’s external examiner, ensuring transparency concerning the approach being taken. Equally importantly, the need for a statement will ensure that the relevant tutors have carefully thought through the issues.
The new policy also requires that when conversion is going to be applied to marks – i.e., when the quantitative marks from a test are converted into different marks that sit in the relevant qualitative bands – students should be informed about this in advance. It is important that there is transparency with students over the assessment processes that are being applied to their work.
The full details of the policy can be found here, and should be read in conjunction with the policy on converting test scores into marks.
5. Durham IT accounts for new staff
Information has been sent to TEI key contacts regarding how staff new to Common Awards, or those without an account, can apply for one. New accounts will be activated from 1st September 2025 and not before this date.
Details of each TEI key contact can be found here Contact Details - Durham University
6. Communication – Common Awards/TEIs
Each TEI has a key contact(s) who is the liaison between Common Awards and TEI staff. Please could we request that, where possible/appropriate, queries are directed through key contacts to ensure that they are aware of conversations involving students.
7. Admissions/Return to Study
Please note that if a student is returning to study to top-up a previous award (eg Diploma to BA), a concession will be required if their last modules were studied in the academic year 2018/19 or before.
8. Staffing Updates
Please note that, due to staff illness and annual leave scheduled over the summer period, the Common Awards Team will be operating at reduced capacity throughout August. We will do our best to respond to any emails as quickly as possible.
9. Common Awards Student Guide 2025/26
In 2023/24 the Common Awards Team introduced a ‘Welcome to Durham University’ Student Guide, this has now been updated for 2025/26 and attached to the Bulletin email.
The guide was created in response to the Common Awards Student Survey feedback, to help improve students’ understanding of the Common Awards partnership, the relationship between their TEI and the University, the role of the University in their time as a Common Awards student, and any key information they may find useful. The guide is intended to complement induction information already shared by TEIs.
We would be grateful if you could make the Guide available to your students, this was also included in the Student Bulletin in July. Whilst it has been written as an introduction to Common Awards, it may still be useful for your continuing students as well as 2025/26 new starters.
10. 2025/26 Calendar
The Common Awards calendar for the academic year 2025/26 is now available here.
With thanks,
The Common Awards Team
