1st Edition
Academic Standards in Higher Education Critical Perspectives and Practical Strategies
Academic standards in higher education are important but largely misunderstood. This book examines the notion of academic standards, explaining what they are, why they are important, and identifying the many myths that surround them.
Based on the lessons learnt from the UK-wide Degree Standards Project, which developed, piloted and evaluated a professional development course on degree standards aimed at external examiners, the book offers practical suggestions for ways in which higher education staff can develop a more sophisticated understanding of standards. It discusses the implications of rethinking academic standards for higher education policy and practice, through examples and case studies derived from research evidence, the Degree Standards Project and contributors’ own experience and expertise. As a broader approach to assessment literacy, this volume aims to develop readers’ standards literacy by challenging routine practices and proposing promising alternatives.
Written with a diverse readership in mind, this book is relevant to discipline-based academics, quality officers, academic developers, university leaders and managers, as well as policy makers.
1. Introduction
Ian Sadler, Nicola Reimann and Jennifer Hill
Part 1: Academic Standards Context and Concepts
2. Assuring Academic Standards: Policy and Practice in Context
Chris Rust and Berry O’Donovan
3. Academic Standards: The Complexities of a Contested Concept
Margaret Price and Berry O’Donovan
4. Academic Standards in a Globalised World
Jon Yorke
Part 2: Common Responses to the Social Construction of Academic Standards
5. The Role of Internal and External Moderation for Assuring Academic Standards
Andy Lloyd and Rachel Forsyth
6. External Examining: A Peer-Led System for Guarding Academic Standards
Margaret Price
7. Demystifying the Role of the External Examiner Through the Lens of Assessment Literacy
Emma Medland
8. Using Social Processes to Maintain Academic Standards: Social Moderation and Calibration
Nicola Reimann and Ian Sadler
Part 3: Practical Solutions
9. Strengthening Professional Development Provision for External Examiners: The UK Degree Standards Project
Geoff Stoakes and Erica J. Morris
10. Designing and Developing a Professional Development Course for External Examiners
Andy Lloyd and Rachel Forsyth
11. The Institutional Impact of the Professional Development Course for External Examiners: A Case Study
Amanda Pill
12. Lessons Learnt from the Evaluation of the Degree Standards Project
Joanne Moore
13. Working with Rubrics: Codification Plus Dialogue in Developing Shared Academic Standards
Pete Boyd and Jennifer Hill
14. The Need for Calibration in the Disciplines: A Case Study from Sport and Exercise Science
Ian Sadler and Matthew A. Timmis
15. The Need for Calibration in the Disciplines: A Case Study from Geography
Jennifer Hill, Helen Walkington, Ben Page and Stephanie Wyse
16. Making Holistic Pairwise Judgements: Comparative Judgment
Ian Jones
17. Taking Stock and Looking Ahead
Jennifer Hill, Nicola Reimann and Ian Sadler
Biography
Nicola Reimann is an Associate Professor in Academic Practice in the School of Education and the Centre for Academic Development at Durham University, UK.
Ian Sadler is a Reader and Subject Head in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
Jennifer Hill is Head of Learning and Teaching Innovation, and Professor of Higher Education Pedagogies at the University of Gloucestershire, UK.
“Efforts to demonstrate academic standards across universities amidst concerns about grade inflation often clash with attempts to use meaningful assessment aligned with learning outcomes. This book fills an important gap in the literature on this topic. It clearly outlines the issues and evaluates current practices such as the use of external examiners. But its greatest strength is detailing a range of strategies for improving existing methods, grounding formal descriptors of achievement, and developing consistency in assessment judgements within and across institutions. I’d highly recommend it, especially to those who think they don’t have a problem with academic standards.”
Sue Bloxham, Professor Emerita in Academic Practice, University of Cumbria, UK.
