Drawing Courses

Guidelines for submission for formal assessment

Look at OCAs Student Support Guide Assessments and how to get qualifed, available
to download from, OCAs student website: oca-student.com. This will tell you about the
assessment process. Also look out for videos and other tips on assessment that are
posted on weareoca.com. Look out for updates on these guidelines on oca-student.
com
Digital Submissions
Please note that all written work (tutor reports, learning logs and blogs do not have to be printed out, if they
are submitted digitally) submitted for assessment MUST be submitted digitally as well as printed out and
submitted on paper along with the rest of your submission. Digital work should be submitted to assessment@
oca-uk.com, clearly stating your name, student number, the course name and what the digital work attached
is (eg critical review, essay etc) This is a requirement and is to enable OCA to carry out plagiarism checks on
work, and a requirement of our validation with the University for the Creative Arts.
If you are submitting an entirely digital portfolio on CD or a USB stick, or entirely via a blog, only a sustained
piece of writing (such as an essay or critical review) needs to be sent to assessment@oca-uk.com as well as
printed out and submitted for assessment in hard copy.
If you are submitting work on a USB stick or a CD please ensure you check it thoroughly for viruses before
you send it in.
Presentation
Include a clear content list with your assessment submission. All your work must be clearly labelled, stating
which assignment it relates to and with your name and student number on every item you submit. Where
there is a clear link between project work and your learning log, or blog, this should be clearly labelled or
cross referenced in some way.
All work should be presented fat in an A1 portfolio mounted on black or white card (thin card is fne, it does
not have to be mounting board), unless it is a canvas. Canvases can be removed from stretchers but must be
packed fat. The professionalism of your presentation is important and will lose marks for poor presentation.
Students may consult with their tutor if they feel unsure about what to include in their submission based on
their strengths and weaknesses and also for guidance on presentation methods.
Requirements at each level
Pre-degree course: Preparing for Higher Education
Note that students submitting for assessment of this course will gain an OCA certifcate with marks, rather
than credits towards a degree.
Final work and supporting studies from all fve assignments. Send the fnal pieces for each assignment,
plus some supporting studies.
Also send the best of all the other work you did on the course, up to a maximum of ten drawings plus
some supporting work.
All work should be labelled with your name, student number and course name on the back. Include all
sketchbooks and your learning log.
If you are submitting a blog, you must submit a link to your blog, listed clearly on your contents list.
Level 1
Final work and supporting studies from all fve assignments. Send the fnal pieces for each assignment,
plus some supporting studies.
Also send the best of all the other work you did on the course, up to a maximum of ten drawings plus
some supporting work.
All work should be labelled with your name, student number and course name on the back. Include all
sketchbooks and your learning log.
If you are submitting a blog, you must submit a link to your blog, listed clearly on your contents list.
Level 2
Final work and supporting studies from all six assignments. Send the fnal pieces for each assignment,
plus some supporting studies.
Also send the best of all the other work you did on the course, up to a maximum of ten drawings plus
some supporting work.
All work should be labelled with your name, student number and course name on the back. Include all
sketchbooks and your learning log.
If you are submitting a blog, you must submit a link to your blog, listed clearly on your contents list.
Critical review (send both digital and physical copies)
You must also submit copies of all your tutor report forms. If your tutor has annotated your written work,
then you must submit the annotated version of the written work as well as the fnal version.
Important note about Assignment one for level one courses.
Although Assignment one is not formally assessed component of the course, the assessors do want to see it,
so that they gain a comprehensive view of your development. So, if you are applying for formal assessment,
do send assignment one in with all the others.
Your overall submission may not weigh more than 20 kg in total.
Any submission in excess of 20 kg will incur a surcharge for additional postage and admin. All essays and
reviews must be sent physically AND digitally. They must be emailed to the following address at OCA:
assessment@oca-uk.com. The email must be headed with your name and student number. OCA checks
students work with a software plagiarism checker.
It is a requirement you purchase an A1 lightweight plastic portfolio. The best are polylite portfolios made of
lightweight sturdy corrugated plastic. These portfolios are spacious and boxlike with plastic catches that can
be taped up. These are generally robust and spacious enough for all student requirements as well as cheaper
to post. They are also cheaper than other portfolios. We do not recommend using leather or leatherette
portfolios which are heavy, nor the use of plastic sleeves which create refection on work.Transporting any
work that is too big to go in a plastic portfolio, either because its too thick, too long or wide, or 3D in nature,
should be boxed separately and securely, labelled and added to your contents list.Please do not wrap up
work in your own makeshift portfolios, since this often involves OCA having to re-wrap and repair them, and
they are often heavier to post.
Clarifcation on presentation of work when studying multiple courses
If you are studying more than one OCA course at the same time, you must ensure that your work on the
courses you are studying do not overlap in any way. You must keep separate learning logs, demonstrating that
the research you do is specifcally for each of the courses. It is essential that when you present your work for
assessment that it is clear which work relates to which course. There must be a discrete set of work for each
course so that the assessors are clear what they are assessing.
Students cannot present the same piece of work for marks on two different units. However, if a students is
studying two units at the same time and doing general sketchbook work for example, to support both units,
this person can submit the sketchbooks for both units as evidence of background research.
About assessment at OCA
The assessment process involves your work being marked by one assessor and then moderated by another
assessor. The average amount of time spent reviewing each submission at assessment is 45 minutes, but this
may increase at level 3 (HE6).
The assessment process is validated by an external examiner who observes the assessment and reviews a
sample of the submissions.
The resulting marks are provisional. The marks are then confrmed by an exam board convened by the
validating university, UCA.