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This study aims to report the design, development and evaluation of a digital quality assurance application aimed at improving and ensuring the quality of assessment programmes in higher education.

The application was developed using a design-based research (DBR) methodology. The application’s design was informed by a literature search and needs assessment of quality assurance stakeholders to ensure compliance with daily practices and accreditation requirements. Stakeholders from three study programmes evaluated the application.

As part of the development of the application, module- and programme-level dashboards were created to provide an overview of the programme’s outcomes, assessment methods, assessment metrics, self-evaluated quality indicators and assessment documents. The application was evaluated by stakeholders at the module and programme levels. Overall, the results indicated that the dashboards aided them in gaining insight into the assessment programme and its alignment with underlying assessments.

Visualisation of the assessment programme’s structure and content identifies gaps and opportunities for improvement, which can be used to initiate a dialogue and further actions to improve assessment quality.

The application developed facilitates a cyclical and transparent assessment quality assurance procedure that is continuously available to various stakeholders in quality assurance.

Development applications of assessment centres represent an emerging and exciting area for human resources practitioners interested in maximising the benefits of such centres to their organisations and the people who work in them. Five applications are emerging: the use of assessment centre feedback, in itself, as a management development tool; early identification of high potential development programmes; use of centres for diagnosing strengths/weaknesses and devising individual training and development programmes; service as an assessor and as a developmental experience; and the centre as a tool for organisational planning/development.

This article is about the assessment of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degrees that were developed in the UK in the 1990s. The article is based on a content analysis of the 16 DBA programmes in the UK at the end of 1999. It evaluates the assessment methods found against: the assessment of students’ achievement on traditional Doctor of Philosophy degrees (PhDs); the guidelines on the assessment of DBA candidates produced by the Association of British Business Schools; and the espoused intended learning outcomes of the DBA programmes themselves. The main conclusion is that there is a tension in the assessment methods employed by DBAs through their relationship with the traditional PhD. The tension is captured in the question: should programme developers follow the assessment methods of the “gold standard” PhD or should they use assessment methods that assess the learning outcomes of the DBA that distinguish it from the traditional PhD?

The purpose of this paper is to focus on issues of assessment in leadership and management programmes for mid career public managers. Drawing on experiences of such programmes from across Europe, the paper examines the potential conflict between traditional perspectives on academic study, with the typically‐associated focus on testing what has been learned, and the expectations and needs for competence and relevance for the work‐place.

The paper aruges that two key distinctions are crucial – on the one hand, between formative and summative assessment (i.e. between assessment and feedback during a programme to help participants learn, as opposed to assessment at the end of a programme to judge and determine if they have met the grade), and on the other, between participant‐centred and institution‐centred approaches (i.e. between commitment to collaborating with individual participants to ensure that their personal learning and development objectives are met, and a more traditional perspective reflecting a culture of “the institution knows best” and of concern to protect academic standards).

From the evidence gathered the conclusion is reached that, despite the claims made about the developmental objectives of such programmes, mostly, the assessment processes tend to accord with traditional academic perspectives, and give only limited weight to learning and skills for the workplace.

The paper argues for more emphasis on formative assessment and participant‐centredness and also for greater clarity about purposes in such management programmes. It advocates more imaginative and innovative learning and development approaches to mirror better the diverse realities and requirements of a public service organisational context.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of leadership development programme on enhancing leadership competencies of physicians in India. Assessment of leadership competencies of physicians is critical for designing suitable leadership development programmes. The previous studies of authors have revealed significant gaps in leadership competencies among physicians in India. Hence, authors have designed a programme incorporating various facets of health-care leadership and evaluated its impact on improvement of leadership competencies of top- and mid-career level professionals.

A six-day offsite residential programme incorporating a three-day component of leadership development was organized, in which 96 physicians participated. A mix of pedagogical approaches was used. A pre- and post-assessment of 30 medical leadership competencies was done using a self-administered questionnaire.

Majority of participants (69%) scored their competencies at Level 3 and Level 4 (Average to Good) with a mean score ranging from 3.20 ± 0.85 to 4.12 ± 0.71 in the pre-assessment group. In contrast, in post-assessment, this shifted to Level 4 and Level 5 (Good to Very good) in 72% with mean scores ranging from 3.8 to 4.24. Statistically significant differentiation was noted in pre- and post-assessment mean scores for all 30 competencies. The maximum improvement was noted in Competency 29 “Information management system planning and implementation”, whereas the least improvement was noted in Competency 12 “Holding self and others accountable and responsible for organizational goal attainment”.

The authors believe that this is the first study from India to assess effectiveness of leadership development programmes on enhancing medical leadership competencies demonstrating positive outcome. The findings of this study can provide a roadmap for designing of future medical leadership development programmes for physicians in India.

This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative component, and the use of assessment rubrics. It also explores the extent to which entrepreneurship competence is referred to in school documentation and later assessed, and the tools and strategies used for such assessment.

This case study is part of a larger European research project promoted by Cedefop; in Italy it focused on six selected vocational IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeship schemes. It used a wide range of instruments to ensure triangulation and multiple perspectives: analysed policy documents and undertook online interviews with experts and policy makers. At VET providers' premises it deployed: analysis of school documents; observations of learning environments; interviews and focus groups with (in schools) teachers, directors and vice directors, learners and alumni (in companies) instructors, company tutors and employers, apprentices and alumni.

Assessment tasks were rarely embedded within fully fledged assessment programmes involving both formative and summative tasks, and assessment rubric for grading. Most of the time, entrepreneurship programmes lacked self-assessment, peer assessment and structured feedback and did not involve learners in the assessment process. Some instructors coached the students, but undertook no clear formative assessment. These findings suggest institutions have a testing culture with regard to assessment, at the level of both policy and practice. In most cases, entrepreneurship competence was not directly assessed, and learning outcomes were only loosely related to entrepreneurship.

One limitation concerned the selection of the VET providers: these were chosen not on a casual basis, but because they ran programmes that were relevant to the development of entrepreneurship competence.

At the policy level, there is a need for new guidelines on competence development and assessment in VET, guidelines that are more aligned with educational research on competence development. To ensure the development of entrepreneurship competence, educators need in-service training and a community of practice.

So far, the literature has concentrated on entrepreneurship education at the tertiary level. Little is known about how VET instructors assess entrepreneurship competence. This study updates the picture of policy and practice in Italy, illustrating how entrepreneurship competence is developed in selected IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeships.

I begin by examining some ways in which organisations have attempted to improve their recruitment and selection procedures to minimise bias and unfair discrimination, and focus on the assessment centre as a potentially useful technique in this respect, especially for managerial selection. I go on to examine the assessment centre in more detail, including its origins, construction and uses, before discussing the strong evidence for its validity as a selection and assessment procedure. I then describe some recent British innovations in assessment centre design and practice, especially in its use for management and organisation development purposes, before discussing some of my own recent research, in collaboration with Ivan Robertson and Usha Rout, on participants' attitudes towards the use of assessment centres for selection and development purposes, including gender differences in attitudes.

All educators should reflect on and assess the quality of their teaching and their learning programmes. Such reflection is the subject of this article. The focus is on higher education (HE) with particular emphasis on distance learning institutions. A particular educational programme is considered, namely a course‐work Master's degree in environmental education at a South African distance learning university. Sustainable living is one of the envisaged outcomes of this programme. This article gives a general perspective on quality assurance in HE. The views of a number of authors are discussed, with special reference to HE in the cultural diversity of South Africa. Various approaches and factors that influence learning assessment are discussed. The theme of sustainability as integrated in HE programmes is emphasised as one of the criteria that should determine quality in education programmes. It is concluded that, although programme assessment is a difficult process and necessarily contextualised, it is an important tool for ensuring quality teaching and learning. Programme assessment is a form of critical self‐evaluation that includes peer evaluation and evaluative input from students.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the qualitative research findings of the effectiveness of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service Programme Needs Assessment (PNA) in supporting decision making regarding selection onto high-intensity offending behaviour programmes.

Qualitative data analysis was used through the application of thematic analysis. Results were pooled using principles from meta-synthesis in order to draw conclusions as to whether the PNA was operating as designed.

Four overarching themes were identified, which have meaning in guiding decision making into, or out of high-intensity programmes. These were risk, need and responsivity, the importance of attitudes, motivation and formulation and planning.

The majority of data were collected from category C prisons. Generalisability of findings to high-intensity programmes delivered in maximum security prisons and prisons for younger people aged 18–21 years is limited. The research team had prior knowledge of the PNA, whether through design or application. Procedures were put in place to minimise researcher biases.

Findings suggest that the PNA is effective in guiding clinical decision making. Practitioners and policy makers can be assured that the processes in place to select into high-intensity programmes are effective, and aligned with the What Works in reducing re-offending.

This is the first evaluation into the effectiveness of the PNA designed to support clinical decision making regarding participant selection onto accredited offending behaviour programmes. Implications for practice have been discussed.

In preparing my thoughts on this subject I have purposely fought shy of presenting a highly technical review of assessment centre validity studies. Such a paper has already been presented by my colleagues in the USA. Their report is substantial and covers the major research in this area. Much of what is included in this article has roots in their paper. My intention here is to highlight some of the problems related to validating in‐company assessment centre programmes, the most significant studies, weaknesses found in the method and care to be taken in judging the results achieved.