Performance assessment - Academic Matters

A professor and two students make a structure on a table.

Equity and social justice, Performance assessment, Students, Teaching and learning

GCSE and Higher results show worsening gap between richer and poorer pupils: pandemic assessment shows we should reconsider exams

Jan McArthur, Lancaster University

Online education, Participation and enrolment, Performance assessment, Students, Teaching and learning, Technology

Blank stares and black screens: The pitfalls of virtual learning and the challenges of post-pandemic education

Ari Gandsman, University of Ottawa

High-quality education requires active participation and engagement. Although the virtual experience implemented in response to the pandemic removed some barriers, it created […]

Online education, Performance assessment, Teaching and learning

Online and in-person exams both have problems – that’s now clear. Unis have a window of opportunity to do better

Christopher Charles Deneen, University of South Australia

Shutterstock The pandemic pushed universities to launch or accelerate plans for delivering examinations online. These forced transitions have often been painful, involving […]

Equity and social justice, Performance assessment

Gender pay gap: It’s roughly half-a-million dollars for women professors across a lifetime

Marcie Penner, Western University and Tracy Smith-Carrier, Royal Roads University

The gender pay gap for faculty in Canadian universities is significant and persistent. (Shutterstock) There are substantial, long-term impacts from the gender […]

Equity and social justice, Participation and enrolment, Performance assessment

High school grades matter for postsecondary study, but is pandemic assessment fair?

Don A. Klinger, University of Waikato; Corrie Rebecca Klinger, University of Waikato, and Louis Volante, Brock University

It’s possible that COVID-19 has created an opportunity to introduce more pass/fail grading options. (Shutterstock) As COVID-19 restrictions recede across much of […]

Equity and social justice, Performance assessment

Gender bias in student surveys on teaching increased with remote learning. What can unis do to ensure a fair go for female staff?

Kathy Tangalakis, Victoria University; Dianne Hall, Victoria University; Kate Kelly, Victoria University, and Natalie Kon-yu, Victoria University

Shutterstock Gender bias against female academics increased in student evaluations of teaching during remote learning, particularly among male students, our research published […]

Environmental sustainability, Performance assessment

Why universities are starting to re-evaluate their academics’ travel

Sal Lampkin, PhD, Massey University and Robert McLachlan, Massey University

Shutterstock/oneinchpunch As New Zealand starts lifting travel restrictions at the end of this month, academics may feel the need to catch up […]

Performance assessment, Students, Teaching and learning, Universities and the academic mission

Universities need to focus on students—not teach to targets—to help them succeed

Catherine Carroll-Meehan, University of Portsmouth and Harriet Dunbar-Morris, University of Portsmouth

Kate Kultsevych/Shutterstock The Office for Students, England’s higher education regulator, has outlined new proposals to ensure university students reach “acceptable outcomes” from […]

Equity and social justice, Free speech and expression rights, Health and safety, Performance assessment

Universities should no longer ask students for anonymous feedback on their teachers

Richard Lakeman, Southern Cross University; Deb Massey, Southern Cross University; Dima Nasrawi, Southern Cross University; Jann Fielden, Southern Cross University; Marie Hutchinson, Southern Cross University; Megan Lee, Bond University, and Rosanne Coutts, Southern Cross University

Shutterstock Editor’s note: This article contains language which some may find disturbing. Student evaluations, in the form of anonymous online surveys, are […]

Equity and social justice, Ethics, Performance assessment, Teaching and learning

Read the student survey responses shared by academics and you’ll see why Professor Hambling is justified in burning hers

Pema Düddul, University of Southern Queensland

Eliza Morse/Netflix If you’ve watched the Netflix sitcom The Chair you’ll remember the scene in which Professor Joan Hambling burns her student […]

Topic: Performance assessment

Blank stares and black screens: The pitfalls of virtual learning and the challenges of post-pandemic education

Online and in-person exams both have problems – that’s now clear. Unis have a window of opportunity to do better

Why universities are starting to re-evaluate their academics’ travel

Universities need to focus on students—not teach to targets—to help them succeed

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