HEA: priorities, themes and developments

1. HEA: priorities, themes and developments Dr Erica Morris (Academic Lead, Assessment and Feedback)

2. About the HEA • National body for enhancing learning and teaching throughout the UK • Works in partnership with HEIs; student bodies; academic and professional staff; sector agencies and organisations • Committed to improving the student learning experience by: • raising the status of teaching • adding to the body of knowledge relating to pedagogy • enhancing professional teaching practice • facilitating networks and communities of practice

3. HEA areas and services • Specialist support for discipline areas • Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences, Health and Social Care; STEM • Leadership of cross-cutting, strategic themes, including • Assessment and Feedback, Employability, Flexible learning, Students as Partners • Services and activity • Accreditation and recognition • Change programmes • Workshops and seminars series • Research and evidence • Informed policy and practice

4. Assessment developments • Grade Point Average programme of work • October 2013 – July 2016 • Pilot involving 21 higher education providers • Exploring the potential use of GPA as a possible complement to, or replacement for, the degree classification system • Testing a pilot GPA scale • Exploring arising operational issues www.heacademy.ac.uk/gpa

5. A Marked Improvement • Transforming assessment in higher education (2012) • Assessment standards: a manifesto for change (ASKe) • Annotated resources • Unpacking, re-casting six tenets • Assessment for learning • Ensuring assessment is fit for purpose • Assessment review tool • Stimulus questions • Evidence, actions www.heacademy.ac.uk/assessment

6. Assessment developments • Transforming assessment pilot scheme • March 2013 – May 2014 • Eight higher education institutions • Using and testing assessment review tool • Informing changes in departmental and/or institutional assessment policy and practice • Improved assessment review tool and complementary resources www.heacademy.ac.uk/assessment

7. HEA work in employability • Promoting and disseminating good practice • Conferences and workshops • Pedagogy for employability (2012) • Considers models, perspectives • Case studies • Impact study of this resource (2013) • Guide has influenced staff awareness and understanding of employability development www.heacademy.ac.uk/employability

8. HEA work in employability • Defining and developing your approach to employability (2013) • Framework for higher education institutions, promoting discussion and shared understanding • Process to develop a strategy • Considering interpretations of employability • Translating into practice • How to engage students and staff • Monitoring process www.heacademy.ac.uk/employability

9. Forthcoming events • Nurturing talent – developing a professional mentoring scheme(2 April 2014, University of Leeds) • Sharing best practice in relation to learning: HEARing the student voice(16 April 2014, University of Manchester) • Meeting employers needs by developing graduates as critical thinkers(24 April 2014, Kingston University) • Excavate to innovate: ‘unearthing’ students’ and tutors’ perceptions of employability to energise work based pedagogy(30 April 2014, University of Northampton) • HEA Annual Conference(2-3 July 2014, Aston University) • Assessment in Higher Education Conference (24-25 June 2015, Birmingham)

10. Follow-up • Website:details of events, resources and fundinghttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/employability • Mailing list: sign up through My Academyhttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/my_academy • Assessment:assessment@heacademy.ac.uk • Employability: employability@heacademy.ac.uk • GPA: gpa@heacademy.ac.uk

11. References and resources Academic integrity resources – www.heacademy.ac.uk/academic-integrity Assessment Standards Knowledge exchange(ASKe) – ww.brookes.ac.uk/aske/ ASKe (n.d) Assessment Standards: a Manifesto for Change; Feedback: an Agenda for Change. Available from: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/aske/Manifesto/ ASSET website on enhancing feedback – www.reading.ac.uk/asset/ NUS (National Union of Students) (2010) NUS Charter on Feedback and Assessment. Available from: http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/asset/news/6010/FeedbackCharter-toview.pdf Re-engineering assessment practices (REAP) in higher education – ww.reap.ac.uk Sambell, K., McDowell, L. and Montgomery, C. (2013) Assessment for Learning in Higher Education. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. The Higher Education Academy (2012) A Marked Improvement: Transforming assessment in higher education. Available from: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assessment

12. A Marked Improvement: tenets • Assessment for learning. • Ensuring assessment is fit for purpose. • Recognise that assessment lacks precision. • Constructing standards in communities. • Integrating assessment literacy into course design. • Ensuring professional judgements are reliable. HEA (2012) Pilot scheme: application of assessment review tool; informing further development of tool and resources.

13. Assessment for learning model Adapted from Sambell, McDowell and Montgomery (2012, p5)

14. Assessment for learning model • Represents a shift away from assessment merely as testing, evaluation, or of learning. • Key principle: ‘all assessment…should contribute to helping students to learn and to succeed’ (p3). • Based around a holistic approach and needs to be applied as such. • Six guiding assessment principles. Sambell et al (2012)

15. Authentic assessment • ‘Emphasise authentic and complex assessment tasks.’ • Engaging and meaningful. • ‘Original’ assignments. • Reflecting real-world activities. • Student and graduate employability. Sambell et al (2012)