Academic Standards in Higher Education

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.

• 1. IntroductionPart 1: Academic Standards Context and Concepts2. Assuring Academic Standards: Policy and Practice in Context3. Academic Standards: The Complexities of a Contested Concept4. Academic Standards in a Globalised WorldPart 2: Common Responses to the Social Construction of Academic Standards5. The Role of Internal and External Moderation for Assuring Academic Standards6. External Examining: A Peer-Led System for Guarding Academic Standards7. Demystifying the Role of the External Examiner Through the Lens of Assessment Literacy8. Using Social Processes to Maintain Academic Standards: Social Moderation and CalibrationPart 3: Practical Solutions9. Strengthening Professional Development Provision for External Examiners: The UK Degree Standards Project10. Designing and Developing a Professional Development Course for External Examiners11. The Institutional Impact of the Professional Development Course for External Examiners: A Case Study12. Lessons Learnt from the Evaluation of the Degree Standards Project13. Working with Rubrics: Codification Plus Dialogue in Developing Shared Academic Standards14. The Need for Calibration in the Disciplines: A Case Study from Sport and Exercise Science15. The Need for Calibration in the Disciplines: A Case Study from Geography16. Making Holistic Pairwise Judgements: Comparative Judgment17. Taking Stock and Looking Ahead