Following the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to the HE sector, our Student Partnerships in Assessment project aims to support Advance HE member institutions around the globe to engage in conversation about getting started with embedding student partnerships in assessment.
We invite all Advance HE member institutions to engage in dialogue about assessment in higher education, with a particular focus on the benefits and challenges of embedding students as partners in the development of assessment.
Member institutions will be contacted directly by Heads of Membership for staff and student representatives to take part in a series of synchronous and asynchronous online events, discussing contemporary and diverse thought leadership about embedding student partnerships in assessment. The outcomes of these discussions will facilitate a series of outputs, accessible to all colleagues at Advance HE member institutions.
The Student Partnerships in Assessment initiative is an Advance HE member benefit and is open to colleagues at Advance HE member institutions. Information on Advance HE membership can be found via the link below.
Project objectives
The overarching aim of the initiative is to support member institutions to engage in global dialogue and share best practice with one another about working with students as partners for developing assessment models and practices within higher education institutions. The project will:
- Share thought leadership from across the sector globally to contextualise the concept of students as partners in assessment
- Discuss contemporary barriers to and opportunities for embedding equitable student partnerships in assessments
- Explore the impact of current challenges, globally and regionally, on assessment and engaging students as partners
- Share practice as examples of engaging students as partners in assessment
- Provide a series of ‘What works’ outputs for getting started with embedding students as partners in assessment
Project outputs
The programme outputs will comprise a series of resources including guides and podcasts from students and sector colleagues, which share best practice for getting started with embedding student partnerships in the development of assessments in higher education. Outputs will be released following the live events, and will be available to all Advance HE member institution colleagues.
- Recorded live sessions: The 90-minute live webinars hosted by Dr Cathy Bovill in April and Prof Kelly Matthews in June will be recorded. While breakouts will be hosted under Chatham House rules and therefore not recorded, the content of the video will include the opening, introductory plenary, an international panel discussion and closing remarks with next steps.
- Executive Summary: We will publish a high-level report of the programme summarising the primary focus and outcomes of discussion over the three-month member benefit. The report will contain an overview of the programme, the most salient discussion points that members engaged in and a concluding remarks.
- Podcasts: We will produce ‘In Conversation’ podcasts featuring Dr Cathy Bovill and Prof Kelly Matthews discussing the theme of student partnerships in assessment with expert voices internationally. Colleagues from member institutions can access the podcasts in their own time and listen to rich, globally-informed thought leadership on the theme.
- Guidebook: We will publish a brief guidebook detailing a set of core principles and practices for getting started with Student Partnerships in Assessment, informed by the global programme. This guidebook will include linked resources collated from our partner stakeholders’ work in Student Partnerships in Assessment.
More information on project outcomes will become available in due course. Please register your interest in being contacted about these outputs below.
Webinar Recordings
Session one
Watch the provocation from Dr Cathy Bovill and the panel discussions from the Students Partnerships in Assessment webinar.
Session two
Watch the second session of our Student Partnerships in Assessment webinar, hosted by Kelly Mathews, Associate Professor, Curriculum, Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation at the University of Queensland.
Podcast Recordings
Episode one
In the first episode in this podcast series, Dr Cathy Bovill, Senior Lecturer in Student Engagement at the University of Edinburgh, is joined by Jason Bunting, Education Officer at Queens University Belfast, Joanna Tai, Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University, and Moonisah Usman, Lecturer at the University of Westminster who share their views on what students as partners practice can achieve and the enablers and barriers to partners in assessment.
Episode two
In the second episode in this podcast series, Kelly Mathews, Associate Professor at Queensland University is joined by Dr Jennifer Fraser, University Director for Student Partnership and Principal Lecturer at the University of Westminster and Oisín Hassan, Programme Manager at the National Student Engagement Programme, who share their views on the theme of student partnerships in assessment.
Student Partnership in Assessment (SPiA)
The Student Partnerships in Assessment (SPiA) Connect Member Benefit Series was coordinated by Advance HE through the Spring-Summer of 2021 to support Advance HE member institutions around the globe to engage in conversation about getting started with embedding student partnerships in assessment.
This guide is informed by the contributions of a global community engaging with this initiative and features some overarching principles for SPiA, which current thinking on assessment and partnership, and how those principles can be applied in practice with examples from institutions across the world and useful resources.
