Painting courses

Guidelines for submission for formal assessment

Look at OCAs Student Support Guide Assessments and how to get qualified,
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.

Work should be presented flat in an A1 portfolio mounted on black or white card (thin card is fine, it
does not have to be mounting board), unless it is a canvas or the work is bigger in which case ensure
that you find a way of packaging the work so that it does not get damaged. You can get A0 portfolios
for example. Canvases can be removed from stretchers but must be packed flat. 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.
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.

Level one course (HE Level 4)

10-15 paintings or final work
Carefully selected preparatory work including notes and sketchbooks
Your learning log or blog url

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.

Level two courses (HE Level 6)

10-15 paintings, drawn from the best work on this course
Selected preparatory work and sketchbooks
Your learning log or blog url
A 2,000 word critical review on a painter or movement, this should be submitted as a sixth
assignment, but you should be working on this along side your other work (send both physical
and digital copies).

Level three course (HE Level 6)

10-15 paintings, drawn from the best work on this course
Your preparatory work including notes and sketchbooks
Your learning log or blog url
A 3,500 word critical review (send both physical and digital 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 final version.

Guidelines on submitting work to your tutor for review (not for assessment).
Package up your work from the section of the course you have completed. This should be sent in an
A1 portfolio plus a box if necessary. Tutors are keen to see your sketchbooks but please do not submit
more than ONE sketchbook each time you send work to your tutor for review. This can be inserted
into the portfolio when you send it to your tutor. You should also include the relevant section of your
learning log, unless you can email this to your tutor. If you keep a learning blog, please provide the
url to your tutor.
Please note that assignments sent to your tutor for review should weigh no more than 5 kg. This
includes the weight of the portfolio and sketchbook. If your work weighs more than this there will be
a surcharge for postage and administration to return your work.

It is a requirement that you purchase an A1 lightweight plastic portfolio. The best are polylite
portfolios made of lightweight sturdy corregated 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 reflection 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 3 D 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.

Clarification 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 specifically 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 confirmed by an exam board convened by the
validating university, UCA.