Quality policy and the role of assessment in work-integrated learning

This paper examines higher education quality policy developments internationally (U.K.,U.S.) and in Australia with respect to the role of learning standards and assessment in work-integrated learning. Whilst remaining located primarily within the Australian higher education context, the paper briefly identifies some of the more influential global drivers and identifies how they play a significant role in shaping national agendas. The second part of this paper traces the development of quality policy in Australian higher education with respect to learning standards, and in particular it focuses on the policy intention to develop 'direct measures' of learning, which, it is argued, is potentially detrimental to work-integrated learning (WIL). The third part of this paper analyses key tensions associated with learning standards in terms of the assessment practices used to warrant them, identifying specific challenges in the context of WIL. The final section of the paper draws together these issues, identifying a number of implications and opportunities for the assessment of WIL in the current Australian quality policy environment.