ok academic standards

ok academic standards

Exploring Academic Standards in Higher Education

1. Introduction to Academic Standards

The term “academic standards” is used in several ways in higher education. In one sense, academic standards for qualifications can be seen as the requirements that learning outcomes should meet if they are to be judged as meeting the requirements for the award of the qualification. In the context of higher education, learning outcomes are typically associated with the European Qualifications Framework for Higher Education and the associated cycles. When used in this sense, the term relates to the standard that the qualification embodies. This usage of academic standards for higher education relates to the judgments made by an external examiner on the summative evidence over which they have oversight. These standards will normally be judged with reference to grading schemes.

There is also a usage of the term “academic standards” that refers to the standard that learners should reach in terms of academic practice in their specific academic disciplines and that is expected of them prior to being admitted to study for higher education qualifications. In many systems, this is a de facto requirement, as entry qualifications are established for entry to specific higher education programs. This usage will be reviewed briefly in this paper, simply to put into context the broader aspects of the academic standards that are the primary focus of this paper – academic standards as embodied in qualifications themselves. However, before doing so, and as an introduction to the main focus of the paper, a brief review will also be made of some of the typical critiques of quality and standards in higher education, focusing on particularly those aspects which relate to “academic standards.”

2. The Importance of Academic Standards in Higher Education

Institutions of higher education stand, first and foremost, for education. They play a vital part in shaping the outlook of the age. The standards maintained and the claims made by these institutions must therefore be subject to scrutiny. They are responsible to the societies they serve for the inculcation of certain values to be borne as marks of critical scholarship; due regard for empirical evidence; tolerance; humanity; integrity; a sense of justice; particularly in guaranteeing the free exchange of ideas, and concern for the welfare of students. The existence of a democratic society depends on a recognition of the inherent worth and the mutual respect of all its members. These are not simply the social and political desiderata of an ordered society, but have a much broader significance as educational aspirations and the values which have to be considered.

Most of the values necessary for a free and ordered society are both integral to the educational process. Research of the highest quality and the restructuring of the highest values are not bound by methods which are of universal application, neither are they best advanced in subject areas which cut across traditional academic boundaries. Consideration of all these aspects of academic standards poses two questions. The first is primarily ethical and concerns the maintenance of the high standards and the essential values of universities, but there can be no secure and lasting prosperity for the universities unless their activities make a full and proportionate contribution to social, cultural, and economic advance. That is the second question and is primarily a practical one. The universities must be responsive to the changing needs of society without sacrificing their basic functions and values. They are part of the world and not apart from it.

3. Implementing and Assessing Academic Standards

In order to provide some support for the growing number of concerns about academic standards, higher education institutions need to be explicit about their expectations and then provide frameworks and support for their achievement. Clarity is necessary about what the standards are and what students can expect from their experience in the higher education system, but support is also necessary for the standards to be achieved. This support might come from providing educationally effective advice and guidance prior to arrival or through clear drafting of course materials. But given the importance of academic support in promoting retention, it is also likely to be about providing appropriate support for students during their studies. Legitimacy is necessary if students are to value the standards, so they need to recognize as well-motivated the challenges which are set for them. Feedback should be timely and helpful.

The validation process is an effective form of early feedback, or points at which any processes to help students reset their goals could be initiated. Assessment of learning should be academic in nature and well-integrated into the teaching and learning process. This is an important priority when the risk of experiencing little other than the assessment element is so acute. Promotion of key skills is an important part of the higher education experience, though any standards framework should ideally be supported by sector-wide benchmarking of statements of the standards they will seek to achieve. Development in standards should be rigorously self-evaluative.

4. Challenges and Future Directions in Academic Standards

A range of challenges exist for the development of a more explicit academic standards framework in terms of day-to-day operation at program and institutional level and in terms of resourcing and national constraints. These difficulties are not limited to Australia, although they may take somewhat different forms elsewhere. There is copious research to suggest that the use of assessment as a powerful policy lever can run counter to principles of good assessment design, particularly when high stakes are involved. As employers and students see more advantage in being calibrated for their performance in a vocational context, the importance of meeting the twin aims of university education will probably continue to decline in public esteem.

Without clear support from the public money that represents the necessary political will, the promotion and demonstration of teaching quality and academic standards cannot be expected to compete successfully against the pressures to innovate or expand student numbers during times of change and uncertainty. There is some likelihood that tensions within the sector about the primacy of knowledge and understanding will intensify, as different stakeholder groups develop different lines of expectation and argument. That may be less problematic if institutions are able to trade on the strong associations shown in research between high overall student satisfaction and high employment outcomes – although those relationships are not necessarily causal.

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