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.

A stressed student prepares for an online exam. Assessment online brings a new set of problems for academics to be aware of

Are online exams better for student mental health?

Traditional exams under tightly invigilated conditions are highly stressful for students, but online alternatives bring their own issues, says Michael Priestley

Michael Priestley

Durham University

Preacher man. Academics need to drop the holier-than-thou attitude and sees themselves in their students when it comes to cheating

Professors, stop pretending that you never cheat

Academics should drop the holier-than-thou attitude and look at cheating from a student’s perspective if we want to understand and eradicate it, says Hamish Binns

Hamish Binns

Saint Louis University

Advice on digital methods of formative assessment which aid deep learning

Digital methods of formative assessment that boost learning

Diana Laurillard presents strategies for effective formative assessment when teaching online

Diana Laurillard

UCL

Investigating academic misconduct takes time and resources. The latter are sorely lacking and it is students who bear the brunt of the delays

We ignore the administrative load caused by cheating at our peril

The switch online has brought renewed scrutiny of misconduct, but without adequate resources, the real losers are our students, says Amanda White

Amanda White

University of Technology Sydney

Universities have been taking all the wrong cues when trying to measure engagement.

Forget everything you think you know about online engagement

There’s much interest in how many times students access the virtual learning environment or complete online tasks, but that only provides part of the picture, says Linda Kaye

Linda Kaye

Edge Hill University

A robot marks a book. Aritificial intelligence has been trumpeted as our saviour, but the truth is much more complicated.

AI has been trumpeted as our saviour, but it’s complicated

Time saved by lecturers on marking assignments could indeed be used to enrich teaching, but unfortunately many silver linings have a cloud, says Harin Sellahewa

Harin Sellahewa

University of Buckingham

Move marking online to reduce waste paper at your university

Greener assessment: transitioning to online marking

Universities should lead by example on sustainability issues, looking at what they can do to shrink their environmental impact. Here, Ling Xia and Yao Wu outline a project that could herald a major reduction in their institution’s paper consumption

Ling Angela Xia , Yao Wu

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Using anonymous polling platforms in online teaching to boost student participation

Anonymous polling platforms to boost student confidence, engagement and inclusivity

Students are often reticent to speak up in front of large groups online, but when offered anonymous ways to share thoughts and feedback, most are keen to participate. Christina Stanley explains how to put this to good use

Christina Stanley

University of Chester

A scantron sheet. Do we dehumanise students when we put them into spreadsheet rows?

Grades are dehumanising, but ‘ungrading’ is no simple solution

There is nothing ideologically neutral about grades, and nothing ideologically neutral about the idea we can neatly and tidily do away with them, says Jesse Stommel

Jesse Stommel

University of Mary Washington

Advice on redesigning assessment in the digital space, to test skills needed in future careers

Rethinking assessment in line with the changing world of work

Sarah Montano offers insight on redesigning assessment in the digital space to test the skills students will need in their future careers

Sarah Montano

University of Birmingham

Breaking online lectures down into chunks aids learning outcomes

Deter contract cheating in online assessment with a multi-pronged approach

The essay mills industry is booming in response to student demand. Irene Glendinning explains how universities must respond with a range of actions, not one quick fix

Irene Glendinning

Coventry University

Identifying the building blocks that make up your knowledge

Course learning outcomes: how to create them and align them to assessment

Paul Moss explains how to structure online courses to build students’ knowledge methodically towards set learning outcomes and skills that should themselves be used to shape assessment

Paul Moss

University of Adelaide

How to guide students to assess and feedback on their own work to improve online learning

Guide learning by activating students’ inner feedback

David Nicol explains how students can be guided to make comparisons and feedback on their own work, rather than relying on instructor comments, for improved learning outcomes

David Nicol

University of Glasgow

How to ensure your online assessment is accessible and relevant for all students

Assessing your assessment: creating inclusive and meaningful assignments

Online teaching has forced a major rethink of exams, so how can academics ensure they make the new-style assessments accessible and relevant to all students? Kimberly Wilder-Davis explains

Kimberly Wilder-Davis

University of Glasgow

Advice on how to spark remote students' creativity through innovative online teaching assignments

How to re-energise your online classroom and inspire creativity

Sparking creativity among students learning remotely through a screen can be challenging. Here, Constanza Pacher offers advice for shaking up ideas via online media

Constanza Pacher

MacEwan University

Using learning analytics to enhance digital teaching delivery

DIY learning analytics: using data to improve online teaching

Jennifer Lawrence explains how to use small-scale data analytics to monitor student progress and improve digital teaching delivery

Jennifer Lawrence

University of New England

How to design online assessment to promote academic integrity

Planning assessment to promote academic integrity online

Instructors can minimise the opportunity for academic misconduct through careful online assessment design. Sarah Eaton shares five approaches to online assessment that promote academic integrity

Sarah Eaton

University of Calgary

Advice on designing online assessment that reduces the opportunity or temptation to cheat

Design online assessment to prevent academic misconduct

Traditional proctored exams rarely work when teaching online so instructors must rely on careful assessment design to minimise the risk of cheating, explain Patrick Harte and Fawad Khaleel

Patrick Harte , Fawad Khaleel

Edinburgh Napier University

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

What is the secret to quality control in online teaching?

Four higher education professionals discuss what universities and faculty can, or should, do to ensure a top quality digital teaching across their institutions

Helen Carmichael, Joshua Fleming, David Lefevre, Gunter Saunders

University of Southampton, Office for Students, Imperial College London, University of Westminster

How to design online courses and assessments to minimise plagiarism and cheating

Fair assessment: tackling the rise in online cheating

The move to online learning has seen a big increase in academic misconduct such as plagiarism. Camilla Roberts explains how careful planning of online teaching and assessment can minimise cheating

Camilla Roberts

Kansas State University

Effective assessment of written work when teaching online

Efficient and effective assessment of written work remotely

Hear about some tried and tested methods for effective assessment of written work when teaching online from Sara Clarke and Katy Dumelle of Oregon State University

Sara Clarke, Katy Dumelle

Oregon State University

How to establish a robust quality framework to ensure top quality remote teaching

Establishing a robust quality framework for online education

How can universities monitor and guarantee the quality of their online courses? Here Geo Laws talks about how establish a robust quality framework for online teaching

Georgianna Laws

United States Distance Learning Association

Negotiated assessment boosts student engagement online and lowers the risk of cheating

Negotiated assessment in online teaching – the same learning outcomes measured in different ways

Authentic assessment is one of the biggest challenges associated with online teaching and learning. Here Katherine Baverstock explains why negotiated assessment engages remote students and lowers the risk of cheating

Katherine Baverstock

RMIT University

Using Blackboard learning journals as a form of online assessment

Translating creative assessment styles online: Blackboard learning journals

Traditional exams can inhibit students, while more creative assessments provide a forum where their talent and knowledge can shine. Madeleine Davies discusses a technique to offer creative assessments online

Madeleine Davies

University of Reading

How to ensure quality in digital teaching and learning

Expert Q&A: Ensuring quality online – every learner, everywhere

Penny Ralston-Berg, senior instructional designer at Penn State World Campus, discusses how to ensure quality in digital teaching and learning

Penny Ralston-Berg

Penn State University