Sustainable Online and Digital Assessment Practices in Higher Education: the case of an English University during the COVID19 pandemic

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the approach taken to online and digital assessment by an English university during the Covid19 pandemic. We explore this case because of the institutional investment in changing its assessment approach during the pandemic. This approach is explored against a sustainability model for learning technologies adoption, specifically looking at level 1 - financial support; level 2 - instructional and technical support; level 3 - institutional ownership; level 4 - institutional impact; and level 5 - stakeholders’ ownership. This will hopefully help academics and institutions to both reflect on past experiences and think forward about the sustainability of their online and digital assessment strategies. We argue in this paper that higher education should be looking at the electronic management of the assessment process in a more sustainable way. This paper concludes by recommending institutions to embrace the efforts made during the pandemic and rethink how online and digital assessments can be managed over time to encourage authentic learning.