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Project Submission and Feedback: How AI Marking Works

This guide explains how the AI marking tool assesses project submissions, expected feedback timing, automatic retries, grade meanings, resubmission, image requirements, and when to request an Expert Review.

Summary

Our Instant Feedback feature gives you the insights you need to master your skills and progress through your programme. Use this guide to understand how the process works, from your initial submission to Expert Review.

The Marking Process

When you submit your project, our dedicated AI marking tool assesses your work against the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) required for that submission. This is a specialised model built for grading, and it operates separately from the Atlas chatbot. Atlas can advise on submissions and help you ideate, but it shouldn't be used to check whether a submission will pass — only the AI marking tool assesses your work against the specific rubrics and evidence of KSBs.

Expected Timing: You'll typically receive feedback within 1–2 minutes, but it may take up to 24 hours.

Delays and Technical Retries

If your feedback doesn't appear immediately, our system automatically re-processes your work at the following intervals:

  1. 5 minutes after the initial submission.

  2. 20 minutes after the first retry.

  3. Every 6 hours thereafter.

Action Required: Please wait 24 hours before raising a support ticket. This allows the automated retry cycles to complete.

Understanding Your Grade

Your submission will receive one of the following grades:

  • Meets Expectations or Exceeds Expectations: You have successfully demonstrated the required criteria.

  • Needs More Work: One or more KSB criteria are missing. Use the specific feedback provided to identify which areas need further development.

Iteration and Resubmission

We encourage an iterative approach to learning. Once you receive your feedback:

  • Select your level of agreement and provide a brief reflection if prompted.

  • You can edit and resubmit your project as many times as you need to achieve the required KSBs and meet expectations.

  • If you're unsure how to reach a passing grade, discuss the AI feedback with your coach.

  • Your coach and the Support Team can see every iteration of your submission, along with all previous feedback.

Non-portfolio projects

Some programmes contain assessments that sit outside the portfolio, which supports Assessment Method 2 (AM2), the interview or presentation stage of your End Point Assessment (EPA). These extra assessments are used to practice presentation skills, review progress, or prepare for Assessment Method 1 (AM1), the work-based project.

Technical Requirements and Image Use

To help the AI marking tool analyse your work accurately, please follow these standards:

  • Images: Screenshots and images are encouraged, but please include no more than 50 per project submission. Having 50+ images across your full portfolio is fine.

  • Supported image formats: PNG, JPEG, WEBP and GIF (only the first frame of a GIF is processed).

  • Charts and Graphs: The AI may struggle with dense data or overlapping labels. If a human can't interpret the chart at a glance, the AI is likely to misinterpret it.

  • Complex Visuals: If a necessary but complex chart results in an incorrect 'Needs More Work' grade, use the 'disagree' function to escalate for human Expert Review.

  • Resolution: Blurry or low-resolution text and data can cause the AI marker to stall, so please check everything is legible after uploading.

Requesting an Expert Review

If you believe the AI has made a genuine error, you can trigger a human Expert Review by selecting 'Disagree' on the feedback form and providing a detailed explanation.

Important Note: Your project is locked during the human review. You can't edit or resubmit it until the instructor completes their assessment, which takes up to 10 working days.

Valid Reasons for Escalation

  • Missed Evidence: You received a 'Needs More Work' grade because the feedback says you missed a process, detail or KSB that you're certain is present in your evidence.

  • Technical Graph Detection: The AI failed to recognise a complicated technical graph or chart that's essential for addressing a specific KSB.

  • Inaccurate Passing Grade: The AI gave a passing grade for a KSB despite your evidence being incomplete.

Invalid Reasons for Escalation

  • General Preference: You'd prefer a human review over an AI assessment.

  • Grade Improvement: You received 'Meets Expectations' but want 'Exceeds Expectations'. In this case, discuss your work with your coach and resubmit for further feedback.

  • Technical Failures: Your submission failed or stalled because it contained images with an unsupported file format or with low resolution, making the content illegible.

Moderation and Continuous Improvement

Our AI feedback tool performs at a level comparable to human markers, and escalations to human reviewers are a critical part of our quality assurance loop. Any discrepancies identified during human reviews are tracked and relayed to our Product and Learning teams to improve the tool. We also conduct proactive moderation — comparing disputed projects with non-disputed ones — to ensure consistency and refine our models. Every piece of feedback you provide helps us improve the tool for all learners.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

Answers

Question: How long does project feedback take?

Answer: Feedback typically arrives within two minutes of submission but can take up to 24 hours. The system automatically retries stalled submissions, so wait 24 hours before raising a support ticket.

Question: Can Atlas tell the Apprentice whether a project will pass?

Answer: No. Atlas can advise on submissions and help with ideas, but only the dedicated AI marking tool assesses work against the rubrics and KSBs.

Question: What is the difference between AM1 and AM2?

Answer: Assessment Method 1 (AM1) is the work-based project element of the End Point Assessment (EPA). Assessment Method 2 (AM2) is the interview or presentation element.

Question: Why is a project locked after selecting Disagree?

Answer: Selecting Disagree triggers a human Expert Review by an Instructor. The project stays locked until the review completes, which takes up to 10 working days.

Question: How many times can the Apprentice resubmit a project?

Answer: There is no limit. The Apprentice can edit and resubmit as many times as needed to meet the required KSBs.

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