Improving educational evaluation for a sustainable future : Academic Learning Centre staff perspectives on quality assessment

Regional universities are vital to the economic prosperity and sustainability of regional areas. However, while they provide educational opportunities to a more diverse cross-section of Australians than their city counterparts, they also struggle with much higher attrition rates. While some causes of attrition are outside of universities’ control, academic failure and loss of academic confidence can be partially mitigated through quality 1st year assessment tasks and supports. However, it remains unclear exactly what diverse first year students in the regional university environment may require to achieve assessment success. This paper reports the results of a focus group study with staff from a multi-campus regional university’s Academic Learning Centre (ALC), whose role is to provide first year students with academic support and assessment help. Part of a funded equity project, the focus groups explored why students seek assessment help from the ALC and identified the characteristics of assessment tasks and supports which improve diverse students’ chances of experiencing academic success. Findings indicate there are many aspects of current practices which could be improved via more comprehensive assessment peer review processes and staff professional development, identifying specific aspects to consider when evaluating assessment and specifying areas where systematic professional development is needed. The paper will also share some examples of how the ALC team are trying to move to more proactive model of supporting student learning through assessment.