Preparation and Submission of Assessments

Schedule of work

Approximate deadlines are given below. Please note actual dates for submission may vary- please check the individual list for your year group.

(Preparation and Submission of Assessments) 

Please note that only one ACP (single case or service evaluation) should be submitted for any one deadline.

The Programme may alter any of the individual deadlines provided trainees are given sufficient (i.e. 4 weeks) notice beforehand. 

Deadlines for ACP- Single Case Experimental Design Study

Trainees are strongly recommended to attempt to collect their single case data during clinical placements 1 or 2, even if they do not actually submit the clinical work conducted. We do not recommend that you attempt to collect data for both ACPs in a single placement since this might squeeze out routine clinical work and deciding too early on your service evaluation methodology might constrain the methods available to you for your research thesis (see Procedure section for ACP-Service Evaluation Project).

Deadline for the Research process are provided separately and will be available on Blackboard.

Preparation of assessments

All coursework must be word processed (A4, double-spaced, font Times New Roman, Arial or Helvetica, 12pt, 2cm margins all round).

Avoiding plagiarism

All submitted work must be the trainee's own individual work. Plagiarism will automatically result in failure (see Appendix 9 regarding advice to students for avoiding plagiarism, entitled 'Use of Unfair Means in the Assessment Process'). Please note, as the DClinPsy is a postgraduate training programme, use of unfair means is likely to result in Fitness to Practice procedures being applied in addition to implications for the marking of the work.

All written assignments submitted to Turnitin are checked against a database for their similarity to external and internal pieces of work and sources. While it is acceptable to discuss coursework with your peers, we strongly advise that trainees do not hand out their work to other trainees or read the work of current/past trainees when preparing for a piece of course assessment. If any content of a trainee's assignment matches to the content of an assignment submitted by a current or past trainee, it will be flagged in the Originality Report. This function identifies the individual trainees who authored the work- both original and matched- and appropriate action will be taken. 

High similarity matches from Turnitin reports will be discussed at the board of examiners meeting and a decision regarding appropriate action will be made on a case by case basis. The board may require a formal meeting with the trainee as an initial stage and action may be taken under the Discipline Regulations.

Generative AI Guidance

There is a developing debate about the use of generative AI (Gen AI) in University assessments. The University is aware this is a fast-moving area and guidance will require constant revision. The University recognises that there are times when the use of such technology does not compromise academic integrity, and for these situations has provided general advice about acknowledging, describing, and evidencing the use of Gen AI in assessments.

However, the DClinPsy programme DOES NOT allow the use of Gen AI in any of the assessments. The reasons for this are twofold. First, there are potential misuses of personal and confidential material, specifically when client or service materials are being reported. Second, competencies, such as critical thinking, theory-practice links, and clinical work are required of the DClinPsy trainees, making the use of Gen AI inappropriate and impractical.

The use of Gen AI in preparing assessment is therefore NOT allowed. If you do not follow the above guidance, you may be found to be using unfair means through plagiarism, fabrication, or collusion.

The following link provides the University guidance on the use of Gen AI: link

Confidentiality issues

The protection of clients' rights to confidentiality and access to individual records or identities are important issues within the NHS. Trainees should respect clients' confidentiality at all times and a failure to do so can constitute a breach of HCPC Guidance on conduct and ethics for students and the British Psychological Society's Code of Professional Conduct. Similarly, trainees should also be aware of their obligations with respect to the General Data Protection Regulations (2018). The Programme, therefore, considers breaches of confidentiality either within clinical work or in the production of academic work as a serious breach of professional behaviour.

Coursework assignments obviously involve working with particular clients and in specific services. Nothing that would enable identification of the persons or services concerned should appear in any coursework assignment or their appendices. In addition to obliteration (do not use Tippex) of names and addresses of clients, it is essential that names of hospitals, clinics and staff (including your own name and the name of your supervisor) are removed, although it may be helpful to retain a statement of the type of service/setting involved and the status of collaborating professionals. It is required that either arbitrary initials or a pseudonym are used and that this is clearly stated within a footnote in the report. Trainees should consider routinely informing clients that they may have their work written up as a Clinical Practice Report at the commencement of therapy and gain consent. It is good practice to remove the names and addresses of all people who have been contacted in relation to a piece of coursework, even if this is not in connection with clinical work. Trainees are also reminded that asking someone outside of the NHS and University to read coursework could be in breach of their contract of employment. The demonstration of appropriate professional practice standards is integral to all assessment processes within the Programme. 

Inclusion of a client family name or significant aspects of their address will automatically lead to a borderline fail grade. Other breaches of anonymity will receive a conditional mark.

In order to ensure that your coursework remains completely confidential, you should not use the black highlighter function on Microsoft Word/Adobe or other similar word processing software to 'blank out' words. You should instead remove the identifiable information and replace it with X's. Work that has not been produced using word processing (e.g. client tests) should be anonymised by covering the information completely (using marker pen, correction fluid or with paper) and photocopying/scanning it to ensure that information cannot still be seen.

Coursework or thesis work may involve recording of clients or research participants (with appropriate consents). Audio or visual recordings must not be stored on digital media without appropriate encryption. All such media must be stored in conjunction with Caldicott guidelines for confidential information. (Eight_Caldicott_Principles_08.12.20.pdf ). Trainees must also operate within individual Trust requirements on this matter. In many cases trainees will complete their own transcription. Transcribers of tapes are required to sign a confidentiality agreement and follow the attached guidelines for transcribers (Declaration Form) before proceeding with the work. Trainees also must give consideration to the potential personal impact for transcribers of listening to material taped.

Ensuring anonymity when submitting coursework electronically

All details that would enable the identification of persons or services must be removed by hand, as outlined above, not through a computer programme. This includes all appendices. The coursework (with the exception of SAQs which should be submitted via Google Drive) should then be sent as a PDF.

Retention of Information

While continuing on the programme trainees must retrain access to all relevant process/supervision information and any relevant questionnaire or other data until coursework is formally passed. This must be carried out within specific trust guidance. It is the trainee's responsibility to ensure the process for this.

Support for submission of assignments

Academic and clinical tutors are available to facilitate trainees' academic and clinical development. Academic Support Sessions are timetabled as opportunities for discussion and feedback with Academic Tutors. Clinical Tutors are able to provide general comments on a single draft of the first Clinical Practice Report (CPR1) prior to its submission. Further feedback on drafts will not be provided. Any trainee can access support with respect to structure from 301 Academic Skills Centre, www.sheffield.ac.uk/academic-skills. This feedback is to provide general guidance and further facilitate the trainee's development of the work; it should not be considered as 'pre-marking'. It is crucial that a minimum of 14 days is allocated by the trainee for this process of receiving feedback, and additional time before the deadline allowed in order to make use of feedback. It is the trainee's responsibility to check the availability of the relevant staff member prior to the process. Provision of feedback on the CPR1 is entirely at the discretion of the staff member prior to the process.  Provision of feedback on the CPR1 is entirely at the discretion of the staff member and may depend on their availability; it is a resource for trainees not an entitlement. In terms of consultations, please ensure that you approach your academic and clinical tutors with regard to your coursework in general (academic tutor for SAQs and ACPs, and clinical tutor for CPRs). 

In particular, where a piece of work received a Borderline Fail grading, trainees are strongly advised to discuss the feedback with the first marker to ensure their understanding of the deficits and changes required. It is the trainee's responsibility to ensure this meeting takes place. Staff are unable to comment on drafts of coursework to be re-submitted.

Failure to obtain or receive feedback before a deadline cannot be used as grounds for appeal against failure of coursework.

Guidance on preparing coursework in APA format

All academic clinical projects, clinical practice reports, and the thesis are required to be presented in accordance with the style of the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual (APA), except that English rather than US English spelling should be used. This will enable you to write in an international accepted style commensurate with the requirements of most psychological journals. There are copies of the latest edition (7th) of the APA manual in the resource library.

We would urge you to look at the manual so that you can become familiar with what is expected with regards to not only submission of coursework but also dissemination of psychological knowledge.

Failure to comply with the required style will result in a conditional mark being awarded for coursework and resubmission. This results in further administration burden for staff as well as for trainees. Style deviations within the thesis will require correction and produces additional work for all involved. Therefore, please familiarise yourself with the APA format. In addition to the manual itself, you may find the following useful:

To help you the library has links to a range of referencing styles at: Referencing | Library | The University of Sheffield 

Specific information on APA style can be found at the association's website at: APA Style 

Also guidance on general format is available at: APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University 

Wikipedia as the following entry of interest: APA style - Wikipedia 

Submitting Assessments

Coursework must be submitted by 2pm at the latest on the given deadline, or earlier if completed. All coursework should be submitted electronically to Google Forms. Prior to submission you will be sent specific instructions on how to do this. All coursework excepting SAQs must include the anonymity checklist as the second page. Word count should be indicated on the front sheet of the piece of work. 

Checks for word counts and plagiarism checks will be carried out. You should indicate your awareness of the University Guidance on Unfair Means (see Appendix 9) by ticking the relevant box on the coursework cover sheets. All forms relevant to submission are available on Blackboard. 

Assignments exceeding the word count will be classed as fail by non-submission and trainees forgo the opportunity to receive formal feedback on this assignment, instead trainees can obtain informal feedback from their tutors on a draft plan prior to re/submission.

You should keep everything contained in one document, i.e. the front cover sheet and anonymity checklist inserted at the front of the piece of work all in one document.

All Clinical Practice Reports and Service Evaluation must be accompanied by one copy of the supervisor's sign off form. The Programme will require submission of all SAQs via the relevant Turnitin assignment on Blackboard. SAQs should then be uploaded to Google Forms for submission.

Supervisor's Signing Off of Coursework

Trainees must submit a Supervisor Sign-off Form (available on Blackboard) for each Clinical Practice Report and Single Case Experimental Design Study (ACP-SCED) submitted from a placement, which includes patient involvement and/or reflection of client facing work. All Supervisor Sign-off Forms submitted must include an original or electronic signature; a typed submission will not be accepted. If a signature cannot be obtained, the form must be sent by the supervisor directly to the programme administrator to confirm that the assessment submitted accurately reflects a genuine piece of client work and is the trainees' own original work.

Failure to submit the supervisor sign-off form may result in assessments not being marked by the given deadline and may be discussed at and Exam Board.

It is a trainee's responsibility (not the supervisors) to ensure the supervisor sign off form is completed and submitted within 2 weeks of the submission deadline. 

Accessible Sticker Scheme

All trainees with a declared disability as with all registered students have the option to use the Accessible Sticker Scheme which allows them to identify work as submitted by a trainee with a disability. See Yellow stickers | Disability and dyslexia | Student hub  for more details. Please note the use of stickers is only to enable markers to frame their feedback and standards remain unchanged. Trainees should note that choosing to use stickers might compromise their anonymity in blind marking.

If submitting work via Turnitin or to Google Forms, trainees should write 'yellow sticker' as a prefix to the title of the assignment in the Submission Title Field.

Deadlines

The deadlines should be strictly adhered to and it is the trainee's responsibility to ensure that work is submitted in time and that they present themselves for Observed Clinical Skills Assessments as required. Coursework that is submitted late will normally be failed (by "non-submission") unless the trainee has been formally granted an extension. A trainee who does not present themselves for an Observed Clinical Skills Assessment at the notified time will be deemed to have failed this evaluation. The procedures relating to deadlines and extension are summarised below.

Extensions

The purpose of the extension process is to allow trainees to inform the course of circumstances that affect the length of time needed to submit and assessment and request an extended deadline. If a problem arises that prevents you from beginning, completing, or submitting a coursework assignment, a request for an extension, with evidence, must be submitted as soon as possible. Prior to this point, we assume you are 'fit to sit' and can work towards completing the coursework assignment. Extensions to deadlines are only given in extenuating circumstances and then only after consultation with the Chair or the Board of Examiners.

Trainees requesting an extension must normally make a formal application in a signed letter (this can be appended to an email). Normally requests should be submitted 2 weeks prior to the date of the deadline with supporting documentation (see point below) to the Chair of the Board of Examiners, with a copy to the Assessment Administrator. Please note that email requests are not accepted. We strongly encourage you to discuss any potential circumstances or issues that may be impacting on your ability to complete the required assignments and assessments in the lead up to the submission date/assessment with your Personal/Clinical Tutor in the first instance.

Extensions may be provisionally granted by the Chair of the Board of Examiners, where possible in consultation with members of the Programme Team. Final ratification of any extension will be made at the appropriate Board of Examiners' meeting.

Extensions will normally only be granted for up to two weeks past the deadline. Where the extenuating circumstances warrant a period of time greater than two weeks, the assessment will be deferred until the next assessment deadline, 4 weeks prior to the External Board of Examiners or a date determined by the Internal Examination Board.

Process under review and subject to change

Technological failures such as computer malfunction, accidental deletion of information, etc do not constitute extenuating circumstances.

Examples of extenuating circumstances are usually personal or health problems that we define as: 'Exception, short-term events which are outside of a trainee's control and have a negative impact on their ability. Extenuating circumstances must meet the following criteria:

1. Non-academic- Problems with the management of the degree programme or with academic staff should be dealt with via the Student Complaints Procedure

2. Out of your control- You could not reasonably have done anything to prevent them from happening

3. Impact- The circumstances had a negative impact on your ability to prepare for an assessment. (This must be recorded on your extenuating circumstances documentation)

4. Relevant- Occurred at the time of the assessment or in the period immediately leading up to the assessment.'

Extenuating circumstances in relation to:

• A significant illness should be of at least seven days and requires a doctor's certificate

• A declared disability should be because of:

  • A significant lack of access to agreed facilities to support coursework beyond a trainee's control

  • A significant worsening of scale or impact of an established disability

If a problem arises that prevents you from beginning, completing, or submitting a coursework assignment an extenuating circumstances letter with evidence must be submitted as soon as possible. Prior to this point, we assume you are 'fit to sit' and can work towards completing the coursework assignment.

It is important to note that a previous extension which has reduced the time between course assessment deadlines will not be considered acceptable grounds for an extension on a subsequent submission.