Academic Standards in Higher Education

“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.

“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.

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.