Facilitating Programme-Level Assessment Working Teams to Develop Shared Rubrics Across a UG and PG Programme Portfolio in Business Education

Abstract

This chapter is a reflective study reporting on a College-wide common rubrics initiative in a Technological University (TU) in Ireland. Assessment and feedback are enduring issues for the higher education sector both in Ireland (as well as internationally). By addressing these priorities, we are focusing on the connected areas of marking practices and feedback processes in a College of Business. The chapter highlights the collaborative nature of an initiative on programmatic assessment design, its breadth of scope, and the high levels of support provided to staff and students through the design process. In particular, rubrics are the main focus of the chapter with an overview of Programme Learning Outcome (PLO) mapping provided as part of the context. Four interdisciplinary rubric working teams were formed across the College of Business to develop common rubrics in the areas of reflective practice, critical thinking, individual/group presentation skills and industry consultancy projects. This programme-based study differs from other previous work as it involves working on a consistent basis with the challenges of bringing cultures, practices and understandings of disciplinary teams together in a technological university context. Findings from our collaborative common rubric working teams showed the importance of avoiding designing overly complex rubrics and of focusing on the student's work providing evidence of meeting, exceeding, or falling short of the quality being looked for. It also highlighted the importance of rubric literacy as we were using qualitative language in all the target statements and advised staff to avoid subjective language in favour of explicit guidance. We proposed the need for a common language on ‘Teamwork' and on proceeding with this as a College-wide approachd a similar structure or focus, using the same marking rubric was recommended. We advised staff to work as a team to master the rubrics, and to ensure that their students had m. Future work can explore the use of AI tools which can automate the feedback process and provide lecturers with customised rubrics based on their specifications.