A case study demonstrating an initiative to use formative assessment as a retention tool for new learners with the Centre for Community and Lifelong Learning (CCLL) at the University of Wales Newport.
For some new learners the demands of both engaging with academic rigour and managing subject-specific theoretical content proves overwhelming. A lack of confidence in their ability to construct formal academic submissions coupled with the looming of assessment deadlines serve as disincentives that resulted in non-attendance non-submission and ultimately failure of the modules on which they were enrolled. In order to combat perceptions of failure two five-credit Level 4 (first-year degree level) modules grounded in formative assessment named Engaging with HE and Assignment Research and Planning were created and validated by the institution.
