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1. Upcoming Deadlines and Dates
3rd August - TEIs to submit their updated T9: Staff CV Summary Table - please ensure you download the latest version of the form from this page.
3rd August - Deadline: TEIs to submit Common Awards Management Committee membership lists and quoracy arrangements, as well as dates for upcoming CAMCs.
3rd August - Deadline: TEIs to submit Common Awards policies, to include the following:
NOTE: Please use track changes in all policy documents
21st August - Deadline: CIS new account request closes for staff starting at the beginning of the academic year
7th September - DU Overarching Board of Examiners (Summer)
2. Durham University Board of Examiners (Overarching)
In preparation for upcoming TEI Boards of Examiners meetings, please see below for the list of documentation/data reports required by the University following each Board:
Confirmed module marks for continuing students (Moodle report V5 January marks ALL Boards) should be returned in January 2027, following all TEI Boards.
If you need any support in relation to using Moodle for Exam Board reports, please contact the Moodle Helpdesk at helpdesk@support.commonawards.org
Please also note that the date of the next Overarching Board meeting has been changed. The meeting will now take place on Monday 7th September. Outcomes from the meeting will be communicated to TEIs within two weeks of the meeting.
3. TEI Attendance – Durham Board of Examiners
TEIs are reminded that they are very welcome to send a representative from their TEI Board of Examiners (normally the Chair) to observe the meetings of the overarching Board. Up to three TEI BoE representatives may attend each board. This can be a good way for TEIs to discover more about how the overarching Board works, and to see how we handle decisions about their students.
Please contact the team if a representative from your TEI Board of Examiners wishes to attend the September Board of Examiners meeting, which will now take place on Monday 7th September.
The winter Board of Examiners meeting will take place on Tuesday 1st December.
4. Conversion of Marks
TEIs are reminded to follow the policy for marking summative assessments where a standard Common Awards assessment criteria grid is not used. This includes any assessments which use quantitative marking – e.g., where the mark given is simply a count of the number of correct answers in a test – which can include for example biblical languages tests or multiple choice tests. Such marking does not directly refer to the qualitative descriptors in Common Awards assessment criteria grids.
The policy requires any TEI which marks any piece of summative assessment other than by using one of the standard Common Awards assessment criteria grids to offer a statement of how the TEI believes this would yield an appropriate overall mark – that is, how the TEI ensures that the mark ultimately given for the work will be comparable to the qualitative descriptors found in the assessment criteria grids. This statement should be shared with the Common Awards Team and would be available to the TEI’s external examiner, ensuring transparency concerning the approach being taken. Equally importantly, the need for a statement will ensure that the relevant tutors have carefully thought through the issues.
The policy also requires that when conversion is going to be applied to marks – i.e., when the quantitative marks from a test are converted into different marks that sit in the relevant qualitative bands – students should be informed about this in advance. It is important that there is transparency with students over the assessment processes that are being applied to their work.
The full details of the policy can be found here, and should be read in conjunction with the policy on converting test scores into marks.
If the policy applies to any new or existing assessments that your TEI will be offering from 2026-27, we would be grateful if you could provide the relevant statements to us as soon as possible. Thank you.
5. Durham IT accounts for new staff
Information has been sent to TEI key contacts regarding how staff new to Common Awards, or those without an account, can apply for one. New accounts will be activated from 1st September 2026 and not before this date.
Details of each TEI key contact can be found here Contact Details - Durham University
6. Communication – Common Awards/TEIs
Each TEI has a key contact(s) who is the liaison between Common Awards and TEI staff. Please could we request that, where possible/appropriate, queries are directed through key contacts to ensure that they are aware of conversations involving students.
7. Admissions/Return to Study
Please note that if a student is returning to study to top-up a previous award (eg Diploma to BA), a concession will be required if their last modules were studied in the academic year 2019/20 or before.
8. Common Awards Student Guide 2026/27
The guide was created in response to the Common Awards Student Survey feedback, to help improve students’ understanding of the Common Awards partnership, the relationship between their TEI and the University, the role of the University in their time as a Common Awards student, and any key information they may find useful. The guide is intended to complement induction information already shared by TEIs.
We would be grateful if you could make the Guide available to your students. Whilst it has been written as an introduction to Common Awards, it may still be useful for your continuing students as well as 2026/27 new starters.
9. APN Process
TEIs are reminded that the APN process must be followed if a student is to be withdrawn from a programme for non-engagement. Details of the process can be found here
The decision to withdraw the student from the programme should be made by the TEI’s Board of Examiners (or by Chair’s Action) and reported to the University in the minutes of the meeting. TEIs should also provide a Withdrawal Form to the University within two weeks of notifying the student.
The TEI will inform the student of the decision in writing. Where the decision is that the student should withdraw, the letter will include information on the academic appeals procedures. TEIs should be aware that records kept by the TEI may be used in the consideration of an academic appeal.
10. Update on the Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Policy Consultation
Thank you to all TEIs who took the time to engage with and respond to the recent consultation on the draft Common Awards Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Policy template and associated processes.
We received a range of thoughtful and constructive feedback, covering matters such as the relationship between sexual misconduct and broader harassment policies, differing governance and employment structures across TEIs, alignment with existing institutional policies and procedures, theological and contextual considerations, operational implementation, and the degree of flexibility required to accommodate local circumstances while meeting regulatory requirements.
We are currently reviewing all responses in consultation with Durham University's Student Conduct Office, as the owners of the University's student conduct policies and the team responsible for ensuring compliance with OfS Condition E6 from a University perspective. The feedback received will be discussed with colleagues in the Student Conduct Office to determine the most appropriate way forward and to ensure that any proposed approach is both compliant with regulatory requirements and workable across the diverse contexts of our partner TEIs.
Once these discussions have taken place, we will update TEIs as soon as possible. This may include a proposed way forward and revised documentation, or, should further work be required on particular aspects of the framework, a further period of consultation to ensure that the final approach is appropriately informed by partner feedback.
We are grateful for the engagement shown by TEIs throughout this process and will keep partners informed as the work progresses.
11. Partnership Renewal Process 2026
TEIs should recently have received information from the Common Awards Team regarding the 2026 Partnership Renewal process, which will support the extension of individual validation agreements in line with the anticipated renewal of the Common Awards Overarching Service Contract.
The process has been designed as a lighter-touch, exceptions-based exercise, building on the evidence already provided through the 2023/24 partnership renewal process and ongoing quality assurance activity. Completed Partnership Renewal Forms are due by 18 September 2026.
If you have not received the documentation, or if you have any questions at all about the process, timescales, requirements, or completing the form, please do not hesitate to contact the Common Awards Team. We would be very happy to discuss the process with you and arrange a meeting if that would be helpful.
12. Further Information
The Common Awards calendar for the academic year 2026/27 is now available here.
With thanks,
Common Awards Team
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