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.

By Eliza.Compton, 29 October, 2025

Five considerations for effective group work

Group of happy multiracial university students
Why struggle through setting and assessing group tasks when this teaching approach can present considerable challenges around communication and conflict? These insights offer ways to design tasks that will benefit both educators and students
Reading time
5minutes
By kiera.obrien, 27 October, 2025

Authentic assessment for inclusivity and employability

Students work together in a group
Designing an educational studies course for international learners meant rethinking assessment, from traditional exams to a more practical, student-informed approach. Here’s what worked
Reading time
3minutes
By kiera.obrien, 16 October, 2025

Three strategies to close the exam feedback gap

An exam in progress
Exams are still a common choice of assessment, but do they really offer the feedback students need? Here’s how to make exam feedback impactful
Reading time
4minutes
By Eliza.Compton, 29 September, 2025

Assessment tasks that support human skills

Head made of cogs and jigsaw puzzle piece
Assignments that focus on exploration, analysis and authenticity offer a road map for university assessment that incorporates AI while retaining its rigour and human elements
Reading time
4minutes
By kiera.obrien, 22 September, 2025

Turn AI from a magic box into a tool to be interrogated

A toy robot sits on a stack of books
Instead of ‘ban it or embrace it’, the AI Collaboration Toolkit offers a way for educators to frame AI as a collaborator, with ethical guard rails built in and an emphasis on the student’s thinking. Here’s how it works
Reading time
5minutes
By Eliza.Compton, 15 September, 2025

Old-fashioned methods to circumvent student overuse of AI? Maybe

Female college students working together in class
Higher education teaching faculty are exploring the use of old-school teaching and testing methods to prevent students from using artificial intelligence during exams and for homework. Is this a good idea? Cayce Myers takes a deep dive
Reading time
4minutes
By Laura.Duckett, 27 August, 2025

How IOs transform assessment – and how to implement them

A student speaking to a teacher in a bright office decorated wiht plants
Interactive orals shift testing from memorisation to meaningful dialogue, reducing anxiety and building confidence in diverse learners. Read how they increase inclusivity and how to implement them across disciplines
University assessment and quality assurance