Notes:

A number of issues are raised by the above analysis. Firstly, while the location of the principles in the different quadrants (and centrally) in Figure 2 helps clarify some important issues it also requires some qualification. Earlier it was noted that each principle could shift its position relative to the engagement-empowerment dimension depending on how it was implemented. However, the clustering of these principles in the lower-left quadrant helps highlight the important role of the teacher in structuring learning in the first year. Taking care of this group of principles is essential if students are to learn what is required in university study.
A second issue concerns the separation of the academic and social dimensions in Figure 2. This separation is artificial and is intended primarily to highlight the relationship between these dimensions. In reality, academic and social experiences are interwoven in the life of all first year students. For example, Billet (2001) argues that all learning occurs within social organisations or communities.
A third point is that good assessment practice in the first year is not about implementing each principle in isolation. Research within the Re-engineering Assessment Practices project (www.reap.ac.uk) has found that integration and empowerment are significantly increased where many principles are operative in the same assessment design (see Nicol, 2006).