Deadline Stacking Update

Last year I told you I was running focus groups on the issue of deadline-stacking. In the new year the proposed recommendations have now been written!

Context

As part of the Priority 8, I have been working to reduce deadline stacking. For this priority, I ran paid in-person focus groups in mid-November to gain insight into the student experience around deadline stacking. Students across a variety of year groups, departments and from different Royal Holloway communities participated. Based on the experience of these students and what they shared with us, the Students’ Union has created a set of recommendations.

The recommendations should help students better understand and manage their deadlines, while I continue to advocate for more breaks between pieces of assessments and different exams. I’ll take these recommendations to the University in Term Two to further work on this priority with an aim to expand these recommendations and actions further.

RECCOMENDATIONS

Communication 

1. The University should update the ‘Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances’ tab on the Royal Holloway Student Intranet and remove the 2024/25 date because students might not read this information as it appears out of date.  
2. The University should consider creating a student-friendly guide with the Students’ Union which explains the Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances Policy and can be regularly shared via email and on University social media accounts throughout the academic year to support students with managing deadline stacking. This guide should have a permanent place on the Royal Holloway Students’ Intranet and the Students’ Union website. 
3. Departments and Faculties should email students across all year groups online communications which explain the Extension and Extenuating Circumstances Policy, and the ways extensions can be used to reduce deadline stacking throughout the academic year. This should be done after the Welcome Period in Term One and Term Two with an aim to introduce students to the policy before coursework and assessment deadlines. 
4. Academic staff within departments should communicate more regularly about coursework deadlines and examination dates to avoid deadline stacking and timetable clashes from occurring. 
5. Departments with a high intake of joint honours students should communicate more regularly about coursework deadlines and examination dates to avoid deadline stacking from occurring.

Workloads and Assessment 

1. Administration teams within departments and Faculties should generate an annual report that scrutinises assessment hand-in dates to ensure clashes and deadline stacking is avoided for each year group when creating timetables for the next academic year. 
2. Departments should look to include provisional assessment deadlines and the type of assessment in the module selection process where this does not already exist. Including this information would help students map their deadlines and assessment types when choosing modules for the next academic year and reduce deadline stacking where possible.  

Personal Tutors 

1. The University should create a Personal Tutor heading underneath the ‘Study’ tab on the Royal Holloway Student Intranet. Having a clear, signposted landing page which explains the purpose and role of a Personal Tutor would help students better understand ways this member of staff can help them in their academic journey at Royal Holloway.   
2. The University should create a student-friendly guide with the Students’ Union which explains the purpose of a Personal Tutor. This guide should have a permanent place on the Royal Holloway Student Intranet and the Students’ Union website. 
3. The University should provide Joint Honours students with Personal Tutors in all departments they are studying in so they have the same access to support and guidance as Single Honours students in that department.