Student success at college is not just achieving high grades The National Forum for Teaching and Learning defines student success as the process by which students fulfil their potential and flourish at college and in society. This is a broader activity than simply achieving high grades. Psychosocial competencies are core to the definition of student success: these are the ‘soft skills’ or ‘non-cognitive skills’ that enable students to cope well with learning challenges, engage deeply in learning, and develop their identities as learners and as active citizens. Transitions are a key issue within this priority area, with transitions such as the move from school to college presenting both challenges and opportunities for students.
About this initiative
Strategic Use of Assessment for Success (SUAS) is an initiative between AIT-LIT which will enable a collaboration for student success, using Authentic Assessment for and as Learning. SUAS will use a data analytics tool (Power BI) to extract evidence from the National Survey of Student Engagement data, to guide decision making for targeted innovations to improve assessment practices. Through engagement with key stakeholders, this collaborative learning enhancement initiative (LEI) will identify and develop a range of supports to enable the use of best practice principles for assessment design. Current best practice will be also be captured for dissemination across our AIT-LIT Consortium. These approaches will inform the design of reliable and authentic assessment specific to disciplinary domains. It is envisaged that the collaborative initiative will lead to outputs that improve assessment policy at the Institutional Level and enhance assessment literacy for heads of faculty, academic staff and students. Depending on the evidence that emerges from the data, and the associated analysis thereof, initiatives may include:
• Review and development of enhanced assessment rubrics
• Review and development of enhanced feedback mechanism
• Development of resources and capacity for the design of continuous assessment and open book exams
• Preliminary review of literature and current practices in examination proctoring
Lead organisations
Affiliated organisations
Linked open educational resources
Initiative details
Funding programmes SATLE
Themes Student Success
Award year
2020Funding amount (€)
15000Contributors
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