The University of the World places a major priority on assessing both its process and its product. The structure of this assessment matrix will develop during 2014. Assessment frameworks will be developed student learning and institutional pedagogical mode.
Student learning – how are the learning competencies to be measured, not just to determine for the student’s learning benefit, but also for the external world to assess employment capability and if a student wishes to transfer into other higher education institutions.
Pedagogical mode – as a new method, there are great growth possibilities, and to find these and guide the university will be a series of experiments guided by its Institutional Review Board.
Much of what is being introduced, by their structure itself, will enable the assessment process. For example, one student puts forward his/her work and others in their cohort advise and critique – that is made rigorous is the professor’s job as he/she switches from an earlier role of doing the student assessments to now assuring that peer-mentoring contains adequate, fact-based informative response. Part of what is underway has been mentioned – that the teaching/coaching of a subject is a means of learning that subject – but also in this learning the processes of assessment.
The ability to assess, both the work of others and also one’s own work, will after graduation prove to be a foundational skill for work and life effectiveness. Learning assessment has traditionally not been a focus of learning until late in the academic ladder at post-baccalaureate stages.
The University of the World will utilize a portfolio mode of work assessment. Traditional tests will be a part, including those by faculty and experts to assess both knowledge and skills. Additionally, tests can be built into the technology, means of monitoring student engagement, verifying integrity of work, and objective quantifiable measures of skill abilities. Beyond tests, however, the portfolio will include papers and projects the student has completed, such as journal articles or work on blogs. The format is flexible, so in addition to written material it can also include video and audio artifacts. Additionally, utilizing but also going beyond assessment by professor with a grade or written evaluation, it will include assessments by peers and community.