Coursework submissions

Inspera

Summative assessments which are submissions will take place in Inspera, which is also used to deliver Digital exams at Oxford.

Book an Inspera support session: click for details 

Guidance can be found below 

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Inspera: navigation and Self-Help 

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Authoring in Inspera

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Administering a test in Inspera 

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Manual test creation and management 

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Group Submissions 

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Management of committees 

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The student experience 

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Students online submissions page has a QRG and short videos to demonstrate the process of uploading and submitting. 

A practice test template has been created in Inspera for administrators to set up and share with students. It will allow students to familiarise themselves with the process of submitting coursework and the ‘look and feel’ of the platform prior to submission. The template will replicate the details in a real test with one exception, that the similarity report functionality is removed.

The practice test is located in the ‘Deliver’ area of Inspera and instructions on how to enable it can be found in the Inspera self-help guide. Once activated, students will be able to see the test in their 'My Tests' area in Inspera and will be able to see a record of their submitted test using the ‘Archive’ tab, as they would in a real test situation, once they have submitted.  

The Manage Inspera Roles tab gives details about the various roles in Inspera and how to grant access to them.

 
Manage Inspera roles

There are two ways to access Inspera:

  • The student view (oxford.inspera.com)
  • The administrative view (oxford.inspera.com/admin)

Any user with an Oxford Single Sign On (SSO) can log on to the student-facing platform. Access to the administrative view of Inspera is restricted.

To log in to oxford.inspera.com/admin, you must have been assigned at least one Inspera role in relation to an assessment.

What is an Inspera role?

Inspera roles control what each user can do in Inspera, in relation to a specific assessment.

The four Inspera roles we currently use at Oxford are: author, planner, invigilator and grader.  

Who can assign an Inspera role?

Department administrators are responsible for assigning Inspera roles to themselves and to members of the Exam Board(s) they support. 

This should be done via the 'Manage Inspera Roles' task in eVision. When a role is added or removed within this task, it will take about 10 minutes for this change to take effect in Inspera. 

The task supports adding and removing roles in bulk, and provides the University with an audit trail of who has access to which assessments. 

Where can I find the Manage Inspera Roles task?

This task can be found under the 'Examinations' tab in eVision.

If you can't see this task and think you should be able to, please contact your Information Custodian. If you need to manage access for written examinations, ask for DEPT_INSP. If you need to manage access for submissions, ask for DEPT_INSP_SB. To manage access for both examinations and submissions, ask for both DEPT_INSP and DEPT_INSP_SB. 

You will only be able to manage roles in relation to the Exam Board(s) you support.

If an Exam Board you support is missing from the 'Exam Board' drop-down in the task, please contact taughtdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk for this information to be updated.

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Role Description
Author

As the Author for an assessment, you will have access to the Author tab in Inspera.

From the Author tab, you can create, edit and share questions and question sets.

Planner

As the Planner for an assessment, you will be able to access that assessment in the Deliver, Monitor and Grade tabs in Inspera.

From the Deliver tab, you have full control over the test created for that assessment. For example, you can change the length of the late submission period.

From the Monitor tab, you can view a student's progress and perform a range of actions (for example, attaching an additional document to a student's submission, adding an extension or removing a candidate). 

Invigilator

As the Invigilator for an assessment, you will be able to access that assessment in the Deliver and Monitor tabs in Inspera.

However, the actions you can perform will be limited in comparison to the Planner. 

In the Deliver tab, you can preview a test only after it has been activated by the Planner, and you cannot change the test settings.

From the Monitor tab, you can view a student's progress. 

Grader

As the Grader for an assessment, you will be able to access that assessment in the Grade and Monitor tabs in Inspera.

This is the role assigned to academic staff, to enable them to view or download scripts in Inspera. 

 

For a definition of the terms used above (e.g. 'question sets' and 'tests') and the different tabs in Inspera, please see the Overview of Inspera webpage

The video below walks you through the steps of how to use the 'Manage Inspera Roles' task in eVision.

 

Alternatively, a PDF guide to using the 'Manage Inspera Roles' task can be found here

Has the date of the examination, or deadline for the submission, been defined in eVision?

If the assessment is not visible it may be because the assessment review has not been completed by the Academic Records Office. Please contact taughtdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk for further guidance.

If it has not...

The eVision-Inspera integration will automatically create a test in Inspera for each assessment, but only after the date/deadline for that assessment has been recorded in eVision. 

Before this happens, you can still assign yourself a role for that assessment via the 'Manage Inspera Roles' task. The task will hold this information until a corresponding test is available in Inspera. It will then apply the given roles, and the test will then be visible to you in the relevant tab(s) in Inspera. 

If it has...

The process of adding or removing access usually takes about ten minutes to appear in Inspera, It can take longer if the eVision-Inspera integration is performing a large amount of actions at that time. Please log out of Inspera and check back later. Email student.systems@admin.ox.ac.uk if the role hasn't appeared after two hours.

 

If your question isn't answered by the content on this page, please contact student.systems@admin.ox.ac.uk

If you need support with the 'Manage Inspera Roles' task, you can book a support session via the Inspera Support Bookings page (a service run by the Exams and Assessments team). When selecting a service, please click the 'Show more services' button to reveal the "Manage Inspera Roles task in eVision" option. 

SharePoint online

SharePoint Online Examining Sites have been created for each Exam Board  and provide areas for departments in which marking, exam board activities and paper setting can be completed in a secure environment. 

An extensive guidance document with links to key sections can be found by clicking on the link below.  

SHAREPOINT ONLINE EXAMINING SITES PAGE 

Videos are also available covering all the topics needed to get up and running with your site.

For any technical support with these please contact student.systems@admin.ox.ac.uk.

SpLD and mark sheets

Candidates with SpLD

Departments must ensure that markers are aware, during marking, of candidates with SpLD  where the Inclusive Marking Guidelines need to be followed. This information is available via the SpLD Status report in eVision and should be downloaded when giving the assessments to the markers. If preferred, a department can construct and use their own mark sheet but please ensure the candidate SpLD information from eVision is included.

It is no longer a requirement for candidates to provide the department with an SpLD form, nor is it permissible for a candidate to be asked to provide any further information.

If any candidate informs you that they have an SpLD and they do not appear on the mark sheet, please do refer them to their College in the first instance for this to be chased with the correct team.

 
Turnitin

Inspera Turnitin Guide: This will help administrators to see how and when Turnitin integrates with Inspera

The functionality to generate a similarity report is enabled as a default setting on all tests which either integrate from eVision to Inspera or on any tests created manually.

The University’s partner in this is Turnitin and a user guide can be found at the above link.  If you choose to disable this functionality you will need to do so before the Test is activated by going into the settings at the bottom of the screen on the set-up page.  Click Options, then security settings and untick the box.  This cannot be undone. Should you decide at a later date that you would like to add this functionality, then the submissions will need to be downloaded and run through Turnitin manually. The above user guide also gives instructions for this.

An Introduction to Turnitin:

Turnitin compares text submitted by a student with content held in its database. This includes:

  • internet sources (active and archived)
  • periodicals, journals, and publications
  • work previously submitted to Turnitin*

*work can be submitted to Turnitin and not saved to the repository

This comparison generates a Turnitin Similarity Report, which:

  1. Highlights text that matches another source
  2. Allows the user to compare the student’s submission and the source side-by-side
  3. Generates a similarity percentage.  

This is calculated by dividing the number of matching words by the total number of words in the document. The user can also apply filters to exclude (for example) quotes, a bibliography or small matches from the similarity report. Hidden text and suspicious characters are also flagged, as these can be used to evade similarity checkers.

Turnitin will generate a similarity report where a submission in Inspera contains at least 20 words of readable text, and is submitted to:

  • An essay question type
  • An upload assignment question type*

*This includes Excel, Word, PowerPoint and .txt files, as well as Adobe PDFs with readable text.

Coursework submissions policy

Taught Degrees Panel approved that all summative assessments which are coursework submissions need to be made via a University approved online assessment platform. In most cases the submissions platform will be Inspera, apart from the Department for Continuing Education who use Moodle and the Saïd Business School who use iSAMS).

The Submissions and Research Degrees team manages submission processes for both taught and research degree students and the administration of the University’s Higher Doctorates.  

Candidates can submit their work in one of the following ways:

  • Digital copy via Inspera
  • Digital copy via department online system (e.g. Moodle for Continuing Education and iSAMS for Saïd Business School) 

As per the above decision of the Taught Degrees Panel, submissions can no longer be submitted in hard copy unless explicit permission has been granted (see Changing Regulations for hard copy submissions below). The Submissions Desk in Examination Schools is closed and cannot accept any hard copy submissions.

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  • Assessment submission deadlines are published in the Examination Regulations and Course Handbooks.
  • You can access the central deadlines calendar ineVision.
  • The calendar will provide you with data on the deadlines and methods of submission for each assessment item.
  • Ensure that deadlines are entered as soon as possible into eVision each year, once course Assessment Reviews have been completed.
  • Our Quick Reference Guide has full details on this quick and easy process.

In most cases the submissions platform will be Inspera except for those departments who are using an alternative University approved online submissions system.

Information on Inspera can be found at the Online Coursework Submissions from Michaelmas 2021 page.

Use of Inspera for online submission is subject to the following conditions: 

  • Notify candidates at the start of the course, and in the course handbook, that submissions will be made via Inspera.
  • Remember that only the file submitted via Inspera constitutes a valid submission; no additional hard-copies may be submitted, for any purpose. Changes to course regulations must be clear that no additional hard copies may be submitted.
  • Electronic submissions must be received by the deadline.
  • Examinations and Assessments (E&A) team (or department for certain courses) will report late submissions to the Chair of Examiners, the candidate, and the candidate’s college office.
  • Before setting a deadline for a submission in eVision, departments must consult the E&A team to ensure all relevant operational matters have been addressed.
  • Ensure that necessary changes to course regulations have been made and approved.
  • All system problems affecting any batch of submissions must be reported immediately to the Proctors.

Remember that use of Turnitin, whether for all submissions or for a sample thereof, is subject to all academic and administration staff involved having attended the training course run by IT Services.

Where it is clear conversion to a digital submission would be unsuitable for the work for a specific assessment unit, that department may request that submissions be made instead directly to the department and this is subject to an application being made according to the processes outlined in the section below, ‘Changing regulations for hard copy submissions

  • Students should submit before the deadline, to their department.
  • Students will need to be provided with information regarding the requirements for their submission (e.g. number of copies, presentation requirements, etc.).
  • All submissions require a completed Declaration of Authenticity.
  • If a student has a Specific Learning Difference (SpLD), e.g. dyslexia, they should attach an IMG from with their Candidate ID to the front of each copy of the work they are submitting.
  • The Submissions team will send a notification of late submission of written work to the Exam Board. If you have been given devolved responsibility to send these notifications, then the Submissions team will not be involved in this process.

  • If submitted work is received after the designated deadline, the Chair of the Exam Board, the student and relevant college officer will receive an email notification of the late submission.

  • Students should consult their college office or senior tutor as a matter of urgency if they suspect they will be late in handing in work.

  • Information for students is given on the submissions webpage.

  • Further information for staff is available in the Examinations and assessments framework (EAF).

 

 

 

Where it is clear that conversion to a digital submission would be unsuitable for the work for a specific assessment unit, a request must be made under one of the following two types for provision for all students taking that unit (e.g. oversized architectural drawings or art portfolios); or the compressed file size exceeds, or is likely to exceed, 1GB, provision for hard copy can be made. Where hard copy is required for a specific unit, the process given under Type I requests should be followed. 

Where hard copy is required for an individual student, the process under Type II requests should be followed. All applications should be made to the Submissions and Research Degree Manager (taughtdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk). The deadlines for requests for this year are given below. The deadlines for subsequent academic years will be communicated in due course.

Type I requests

Type I requests relate to all submissions for a specific assessment unit. Departments are asked to identify any submission for an assessment unit(s) that is not appropriate for digital submission.  Hard-copy submission will only be approved where there are insurmountable practical barriers to online submission; preference for a hard-copy by markers is not a valid reason for retaining hard-copy submission.

The department will need to submit their request to retain hard copy submissions for the relevant assessment unit to Submissions and Research Degrees Manager (taughtdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk) by Friday of 10th week Trinity Term – Friday June 30th 2023.

Such requests will need to include:

  • The programme name.
  • The full assessment unit title and code.
  • The submission deadline.
  • The reason that hard copy submission is required.
  • Confirmation that the department understands that they will be responsible for the reporting of any missing or late submissions.
  • The name of the key contact who will be responsible for reporting missing and late submissions (if permission is granted for the retention of a hard copy submission, guidance on the reporting process will be provided by the Submissions and Research Degree Manager).
  • A copy of the current Examination Regulations for the programme with changes to provide for hard copy submission to the department shown using standard change notation (underlining for additional text, strike through for deleted text).
 

Type II requests

Type II requests relate to a submission for an individual student for a specific assessment unit. If a department identifies any students whose work for a particular assessment is not suitable for digital submission, a request will need to be made by the department on behalf of each affected student, to the Submissions and Research Degree Manager (taughtdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk) for permission for the affected students to submit in hard copy.

Type II requests will need to be made well in advance of the submission deadline. Such requests will need to include:

  • The student’s name, number and college (if applicable)
  • The programme name
  • The full assessment unit title and code
  • The submission deadline
  • The reason that hard copy submission is required.
  • Confirmation that the department understands that they will be responsible for the reporting of any missing or late submissions.
  • The name of the key contact who will be responsible for reporting missing and late submissions (guidance on the reporting process if permission is granted for the retention of a hard copy submission will be provided).

Hard-copy submission will only be approved where there are insurmountable practical barriers to online submission. If permission is granted, confirmation will be sent to the department by the Submissions and Research Degree Manager along with guidance on the reporting process.

Where approval has been granted to retain submission in hard-copy, the place of submission will be the department. The reporting of late and missing submissions will be the responsibility of the department concerned and guidance on the reporting process will be provided by the Submissions and Research Degree Manager.

Failure to provide adequate advice or students not following the guidelines on the preparation of their submission documents will not be accepted as a valid reason for reverting to hard copy submission. Such difficulties should instead be managed through improved communications, guidance and training.

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OX1 4BG

Coursework Submissions team: taughtdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk