University assessment and quality assurance

Strategies to improve university assessment for students and educators. Here, academics offer guidance on assessment design, covering formative, summative and diagnostic approaches, authentic assessment and how to give useful feedback. You will also find advice on exam preparation, ungrading, managing GenAI, preventing cheating and upholding academic integrity.

Exams must be used correctly in modern university teaching

Traditional exams aren’t dead – they just need to be used correctly

Knowing when to utilise traditional v authentic assessment methods – and the modern tools to build them – is a crucial part of the teacher’s role in 2022 and beyond

Beatriz Murillo Pancardo , Pedro de Jesús García Reza , Mariano Garay Peña

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Assessment and feedback as a participatory dialogue

Assessment and feedback as an active dialogue between tutors and students

Seven steps towards enhancing assessment and feedback as a participatory, social process that supports deeper learning, by Neil Lent, Tina Harrison and Sabine Rolle

Neil Lent, Tina Harrison, Sabine Rolle

The University of Edinburgh

Student diaries as a tool to improve the university experience

Do you really know what your students experience during their studies? It is more complex than many surveys suggest. Using student diaries may support deeper understanding to improve student experiences, as Dan Herbert explains

Dan Herbert

University of Birmingham

How data from digital learning tools can refine teaching

Digital learning tools enable educators to quickly collect and analyse student performance data in order to refine their teaching, as Paul Moss explains

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

How to negotiate the politics of mark agreement between tutors

James Derounian offers thoughts on how we can unravel the tangled and contested arena of mark negotiation between university tutors

James Derounian

University of Bolton

Image of people learning from one another

Tactics to ensure students engage with and learn from feedback

Students often perceive feedback as criticism and fail to take on board the constructive guidance. Rebecca Lewis explains how she encourages student engagement with her feedback

Becky Lewis

The University of East Anglia

In the loop: how formative feedback supports remote teaching

Weekly snapshots of how students see their own progress can help teachers adjust teaching methods in real time. An online tool piloted at Georgia Tech has helped fill a feedback loop lost during the pandemic

Jonna Lee , Meryem Yilmaz Soylu

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Why getting a PhD is just like building a Lego duck

Why getting a PhD is like building a Lego duck

Ben Marder provides a fun exercise that can impart important wisdom to help lessen PhD students’ anxiety over their progress

Ben Marder

The University of Edinburgh

Two people looking through assessment feedback

The potential of artificial intelligence in assessment feedback

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the way students receive assessment feedback. Elizabeth Ellis explores some of the ways in which AI can help students

Elizabeth Ellis

Arden University

We may never stop university students cheating but we should still encourage academic integrity

Zero cheating is a pipe dream, but we still need to push academic integrity

David Rettinger and Erica Price Burns offer key points for institutions to consider when creating systems that encourage academic integrity among students

David Rettinger, Erica Price Burns

University of Mary Washington

Please follow the following: user guidance tasks as assessments

Challenging students to create user guidance manuals relevant to their subject, explaining how something should be used or carried out, is an effective way to assess their applied knowledge, Russ Woodward and Nicola Pattinson explain

Russell Woodward, Nicola Pattinson

University Centre, Grimsby: The TEC Partnership

Videos and podcasts can be useful tools for assessment

21st-century assessment: improve and update the way you evaluate

Mariana del Sol González offers initial tips and guidance on how to update assessment methods in your classroom

Mariana del Sol González

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Image of medical students being taught using a mannequin patient

Assessing science students’ practical skills – can we learn from healthcare education?

Healthcare educators have developed effective ways to assess a range of practical skills in their learners. What can other science educators learn from their example?

Derek Scott

University of Aberdeen

Original essays written in seconds: how ‘transformers’ will change assessment

Artificial intelligence that generates original text will be both empowering and disruptive for students and higher education at large, say Mike Sharples and Rafael Pérez y Pérez

Mike Sharples , Rafael Pérez y Pérez

The Open University, Metropolitan Autonomous University

Academics must take personal responsibility for closing the awarding gap

Three immediate changes academics can make to close awarding gaps

Tutors have a responsibility to identify and bridge attainment gaps in their programmes and must work proactively to bring about positive impact for their students

Dean Fido, Louise Wallace

University of Derby

Grade inflation in universities can have many negative effects, says a Columbia student

I’m a Columbia student, and I don’t want my grade inflated

Normalising failure could improve students’ mental health, give them the freedom to learn more effectively and make them more resilient all at once, says Jacob Clay

Jacob Clay

Columbia University

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Campus webinar: What’s the future of higher education assessment?

A panel of teaching and learning experts from Campus+ institutions around the world discuss how can institutions create evaluations that are fair, robust and credible

Campus team

Campus

An image representing the possible outcomes from REF: good, bad and mixed

The good, the bad and the way forward: how UK universities should respond to REF results

How should UK universities respond if their REF results are good, bad or offer a mixed picture? New pro vice-chancellor for research Heather Widdows shares her advice

Heather Widdows

University of Birmingham

Image of a researcher examining a slide through a microscope

Don’t let the REF tail wag the academic dog

Institutions should resist the temptation to use the REF as a tool for competition and self-promotion and, instead, approach the results in ways that support sector-wide efforts to improve research culture

Marcus Munafò

The University of Bristol

Working back to front, by writing feedback before students have submitted, can help when teaching large cohorts

Why you should write feedback to your students before they’ve submitted

Starting at the end seems counterintuitive, but anticipating student strengths and weaknesses and automating your responses comes into its own for large cohorts

Andy Grayson

Nottingham Trent University

Think differently. University students bring different things to the table so academics should use differentiated instruction to reach them all

Students are different, so why are you still teaching them all the same way?

We know that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t really work. Adriana Plata-Marroquin and Leticia Castaño offer tips on implementing differentiated instruction

Adriana Plata-Marroquin , Leticia Castaño Sánchez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Woman perched on a pile of old books representing the traditional view of history teaching

Teaching history in the 2020s: how can Subject Benchmark Statements help?

The QAA’s Subject Benchmark Statements can help guide the teaching of specific disciplines. Elaine Fulton explains how to use the recently updated statements to enhance history teaching in a decade fraught with challenges

Elaine Fulton

University of Birmingham

A lecturer marking dozens of assignments

A step-by-step guide to designing marking rubrics that will save hours of time

Designing marking rubrics that provide guidance but with enough flexibility for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in multiple ways is a difficult balancing act. Paul Moss explains how it can be done

Paul Moss

Adelaide University

A resource offering simple approaches to tackling cheating in exams

A (very) simple solution to cheating

If lecturers cannot eradicate cheating in exams, they should find ways to harness it to encourage deeper study while educating students about the risks of misconduct, explains Roy Ying

Roy Ying

The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong

Advice on applying quality assurance to digital teaching in higher education

How to ensure effective quality assurance for digital teaching and learning

How university teaching staff can ensure that their digital teaching maintains the same quality as their on-campus face-to-face delivery, by Tim Thompson

Tim Thompson

Teesside University

Advice on delivering efficient and effective feedback that helps students learn and

Making feedback effective for your students and efficient for you

Effective feedback is vital to aid students’ learning and progress but must be managed in a way that is realistic for professors’ workloads. Loïc Plé shares his tips

Loïc Plé

IÉSEG School of Management

Advice on instilling democratic principles into your assessment methods

Democratic assessment: why, what, and how

Divya Bheda shares five ways educators can embody democratic principles through their assessment practices to help students learn civic-minded values and behaviour

Divya Bheda

ExamSoft

Advice on how to use different styles of assessment to enhance learning outcomes

Constructive use of varied assessment methods

Layal Hakim explains when and how to implement different types of assessment throughout a course in order to support learning

Layal Hakim

The University of Exeter

Advice on using unique datasets in online exams to deter cheating among students

Online exams are growing in popularity: how can they be fair and robust?

Nicholas Harmer and Alison Hill share advice on using unique datasets to deter student collusion in online exams

Nicholas Harmer, Alison Hill

The University of Exeter

Checklists are just one method by which university academics can encourage students to assess their own learning

How to plan an online learning-friendly assessment

Maribell Reyes explains how to create comprehensively designed learning assessment strategies for an online course

Maribell Reyes

Tecnológico de Monterrey

University students can benefit from immersive experiences such as carrying out real-life tasks in a virtual reality factory

Answering common questions about immersive experiences

Not sure about introducing extended reality? Gabriela Sánchez Castillo offers insights into developing immersive experiences that are useful for assessing real-world skills

Gabriela Sánchez Castillo

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Advice on creating multiple choice question exams that provide a fair and effective way to assess student progress

How to structure a multiple choice question exam

Anthony Evans explains how to arrange a multiple choice question exam to provide a fair evaluation of students’ understanding, aid their learning progress and minimise cheating

Anthony J Evans

ESCP Business School

Insight on where disruptive innovation needs to be welcomed into university classrooms to improve higher education for more students

Disruptive innovation in the classroom: making higher education more accessible to a large population

Elizabeth Langran outlines three areas of university teaching where disruptive innovation should be actively encouraged to boost accessibility and engagement for wider student populations

Elizabeth Langran

Marymount University

Speech bubble representing constructive criticism, feedback to students in creative fields

How educators can help creatives cope with constructive criticism

John Hitchings offers advice for giving helpful feedback and supporting students studying in a creative field

John Hitchings

Arden University

Advice on designing worthwhile multiple choice questions for higher education assessment

Creating worthwhile multiple choice questions for higher education assessment

Multiple choice questions are often frowned on as an assessment tool in higher education. But when well constructed, they offer a clear and transparent way of evaluating student progress, as Anthony Evans explains

Anthony J Evans

ESCP Business School

Using immersive tech, such as augmented reality, can revolutionise assessment in universities

Using technology to revolutionise the way you evaluate

Even amid the great shift online, assessment methods have often remained mired in the traditional system, says Monica Francesca Contrino

Monica Francesca Contrino

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Advice on improving the design and delivery of more inclusive assessment using digital tools

Inclusive pedagogy: using multimedia as a tool to enhance and transform assessment

Rachel Challen outlines key steps to enhancing the design, direction and delivery of assessment using digital tools

Rachel Challen

Nottingham Trent University

Advice on implementing ungrading to improve student learning outcomes

Feedback rather than ranking: how to start ungrading in order to improve learning

Katharine Johanesen explains how to replace traditional grading with self-assessment and feedback throughout a course in order to improve learning outcomes

Katharine Johanesen

Juniata College

Education and grades are often in direct conflict in higher education, so it might be time for a messy divorce

Education and grades are often in direct conflict – it’s time for a messy divorce

Universities don’t do a very good job of credentialing, and the process actively harms students and their learning, so why do we persist? asks Danny Oppenheimer

Danny Oppenheimer

Carnegie Mellon University

Advice on using peer assessment to encourage deeper student learning

Recommendations for incorporating and guiding peer assessment in the classroom or online

Claudia Hernández and Karla Banda offer practical advice on how to incorporate and direct productive peer assessment among students

Claudia Janeth Hernández Cardona, Karla Margarita Banda Martínez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Advice on practical considerations when ungrading

So, you want to take the grades out of teaching? A beginner’s guide to ungrading

Susan D Blum shares her key recommendations for anyone wishing to remove grades from their teaching, in order to focus their students’ energies upon learning

Susan D. Blum

University of Notre Dame

Practical and authentic assessment is crucial for students hoping to show employers what they're capable of

How to make sure assessment practices are as authentic as possible

We all want employers to be confident that students have the skills to do the job. And these skills still require assessment, it’s just done a little differently, says Paula Reilly

Paula Reilly

Arden University

University lecturers should use reverse grading to turn the grading process on its head

Turn the marking process on its head by using ‘reverse grading’

Davita Günbay explains how reversing the narrative between ‘what I got’ and ‘what I was given’ can help learners engage and take responsibility for their learning

Davita Günbay

Near East University

Advice on designing assessments that encourage students to show off their learning in authentic ways

Assessment design that supports authentic learning (and discourages cheating)

Catherine Wehlburg shares tips for creating a learning environment and assessment design that encourages authentic learning and reduces the temptation to cheat

Catherine Wehlburg

Athens State University

Advice on designing and delivering more authentic, equitable and transparent assessment and feedback

Equity, agency and transparency: making assessment work better for students and academics

Carol Evans explains how to design assessment and feedback practices that are authentic and deepen students’ learning and confidence in the long term

Carol Evans

Cardiff University, University of Southampton

Teaching students to self-assess their written work as a crucial academic skill

Vivid language: teaching online students to assess writing

Audra Spicer explains how online classes can provide opportunities to make student self-assessment visual, engaging, immediate and comprehensible

Audra Spicer

Colorado State University Global

Advice on using campaign based assessments in higher education

Putting the case: campaigning documents as assessments on vocational degrees

Russ Woodward looks at the merits and practicalities of using campaign-based assessments on vocational higher education courses

Russell Woodward

University Centre, Grimsby: The TEC Partnership

Medical training has had to adapt quickly to the shift online

How to deliver healthcare education in a hybrid world

Hannah McGee explores solutions to address the unique challenges that universities face in preparing healthcare students for frontline roles

Hannah McGee

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Advice on using top-down and bottom-up approaches to create a collaborative staff training programme

Fostering collaboration in staff training through a top-down and bottom-up approach

Gustavo Espinoza-Ramos explains how pairing top-down and bottom-up approaches to staff development can promote collaborative learning among university staff at all levels

Gustavo Espinoza Ramos

University of Westminster

Beware the academic undead this Halloween

Fear the zombie student apocalypse

Andy Farnell argues that non-assessed courses could free universities, and the academic undead, from increasing spiritual depletion and a lifeless pursuit of certificates

Andy Farnell

Visiting professor

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