UniSA is leading a project that could benefit transnational education programs offered by Australian universities around the world.
The project will develop a framework for the involvement of the whole teaching team, including partner organisation staff, in moderation practices for assessment in transnational programs. A key outcome will be a toolkit for the academic community which will support inclusive practice for quality assurance and quality control in the moderation of assessment in transnational education.
The two-year Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project has been led by UniSA with input from project partners Curtin University of Technology, Southern Cross University and Taylor's University College (Malaysia). The focus of their study has been on fair assessment in transnational education and has included 85 interviews and more than 100 online survey respondents.
"The project has uncovered how complex and challenging it becomes to locate shared understandings in transnational teaching teams," said UniSA's ALTC Project Officer, Saadia Mahmud.
"The project's findings support the fostering of relationships between the Australian and transnational education partner staff around expectations for assessment, and more broadly, academic standards.
"Such collaborative relationships between transnational teaching teams could decrease the risk to the quality of transnational education programs and heighten Australia's reputation as an international education provider."
The project is due to wrap up in October this year, and a research-based, online toolkit is currently being developed and tested before public release around that time.
"The online toolkit will assist with assessment moderation practices, setting out clear practices for the whole teaching team, including partner organisation staff," Dr Mahmud said.
UniSA has about 85 staff involved with transnational education. If any of those staff would like to be involved in trialing the toolkit, please contact Dr Saadia Mahmud.
