To support the success and progression of our learners, and prepare students for their professional careers, we will move towards more authentic forms of assessment that facilitate attainment of graduate qualities and job-ready skills.
The Authentic Assessment Project will undertake a programmatic review of our approaches to assessment and how we prepare our students for the future workforce. Our assessments will be relevant to industry, to prepare students for their careers as future leaders and innovators. We will ensure that through our industry advisory groups, in support of our programs, our assessment is validated against future employer requirements. Students will be critical partners in this project.
We will focus on high quality assessment rather than high volume assessment, and there will be far greater utilisation of situational assessment (in laboratories, studios, clinics and simulated workplace settings) rather than traditional assignments and final exams.
Authentic Assessment Project Plan (PDF)
A key priority action of the University’s Academic Enterprise Plan 2021-2025 (AEP), is the Authentic Assessment Project (AAP), which supports the recognition of and movement towards more authentic forms of assessment, instilling graduate qualities and job-ready skills within our students (AEP Action 2.2).
The project will be delivered across four streams, each led by a separate working group, which will run concurrently as summarised below. All project streams will commence in early-mid 2022.
Achieving the objectives of the AAP will require a shared understanding of authentic assessment – examples of authentic assessment, the role of feedback in authentic assessment, and promoting academic integrity in the design of authentic assessments. The development of an Authentic Assessment network will provide scope to support skill and resource development, sharing of best practice within UniSA and nationally and internationally, and increasing opportunity for recognition and reward through our existing grants and awards scheme and UniSA’s Professional Experience Program (PEP).
Key deliverables of Stream 1:
Stream 1 has interdependences with AEP actions 1.4 – Teacher Development Programs, 1.10 – Unstoppable Grants and Awards, and 2.1 – Enhanced Student Learning Experiences.
Assessment25 will lay the foundation for how we capture and share information about our assessments, both internally as part of our review process, and externally to our key stakeholders – students and industry.
A key deliverable of this stream, which will contribute to and form the basis of the implementation strategy (refer to Stream 3), is Assessment Scenario statements. These statements will be a form of self-assessment of course assessments led by Academic Unit Teaching & Learning Strategy Groups (TLSGs), with support from Academic Unit Deans of Programs and the Stream 2 working group. Assessment Scenario statements will articulate the authenticity of each assessment within a course across a program, making the connection between assessment and professional competencies explicit to both the student and teaching staff (this includes academics and casuals).
Key deliverables of Stream 2:
The implementation stream contains the actions required to communicate and support academics in achieving the aspiration of the AAP within our courses and programs. The AAP implementation model will be influenced by stakeholder consultations with staff, students, alumni, program advisory groups, and industry representatives. This will ensure high-quality assessments linked to the needs of our students and industry.
Key deliverables of Stream 3:
To better guide our decisions and achieve the key objectives of the AAP, we will work to review and align existing policies, procedures and statements. This will ensure the University-wide investment towards more authentic and contemporary forms of assessment become embedded in practice.
Key deliverables of Stream 4:
Policy review will be informed by benchmarking of equivalent policies from across the higher education sector, in addition to staff and student consultation.
Achieving the objectives of the Academic Enterprise Plan (AEP) and the Authentic Assessment Project (AAP) will require a shared understanding of authentic assessment.
What actually is Authentic Assessment and should it also include authentic feedback? And are there any existing processes in place for Authentic Assessement?
The Provost & Chief Academic Officer will sponsor and maintain oversight of the Project. Associate Professor Sheridan Gentili, Director: Teaching Innovation Unit and Professor Lin Crase, Dean of Programs (Accounting & Finance) will lead the project and report on progress to the Academic Enterprise Oversight Committee. Project support will be provided by the Project Officers in the TIU and the Office of the Provost & Chief Academic Officer.
The Authentic Assessment Project Steering Group (AAPSG) will have overall responsibility for managing the Project activities across each of the four streams. This will include activity schedule, communications and consultation, and preparing the key project deliverables.
The AAPSG Terms of Reference (pdf) outlines the core responsibilities of the group and memberdship composition.
If you have any general queries regarding the Authentic Assessment Project, please call phone 8302 7849.