What is the purpose of assessment? And other lessons from the QAA funded Competence-Based Assessment project
A hybrid event on the 18th of august 2025 at the University of Hull
Overview
Over the last year, the Competence-Based Assessment [C-BAss] team have used our QAA Collaborative Enhancement funding to travel across the country to ask lecturers and students two important questions: ‘What is the purpose of assessment?’ and ‘What makes it effective?’.
Using a mixture of social science research methodology and frank conversations, we have collated a landscape of responses that highlight important divisions in the university sector (along some unifying common ground). The data informs the C-BAss framework, a curriculum design approach that attempts to bridge these divisions and actively realign curricula with the complex needs of multiple stakeholders. The framework combines participatory research methods with competence-based assessment to ensure that programme outcomes are meaningful, relevant and valuable to students, employers and society.
In this symposium, the C-BAss team will share case studies from their journey into competence-based assessment and invite you to contribute to national discussions on how we can ensure assessment achieves its purpose; whatever you think that might be!
Who should attend?
Anyone with an interest in competence-based education and how it can be used to shift the focus of education from what students know to what they can actually do.
Anyone with an interest in the importance of assessment in the curriculum, and how we can maximise its value to students, educators and society.
Anyone who would like to improve the student teaching and learning experience at their institution
Symposium Itinerary
Runtime: 09:15 – 16:30 with a break for lunch
This is a free hybrid event, available to attend online via Teams or in person, where refreshments will be provided.
You can register for the symposium using this form, which will close at 9 am on the 114 August. In the form you can select how you wish to attend ( Once you have registered you will receive a calendar invitation. Full joining instructions for in person and online attendees will be sent the week before the event.
Opportunities to present
We invite anyone who has implemented competence-based assessment in their curriculum to share their experiences in the final symposium slot (15-16:30). This will focus on examples of innovative, competence-based assessment in a series of 6-minute talks.
This invitation is open to anyone working in Higher Education (including HE in FE) from any disciplinary background. We would particularly welcome submissions on assessment of competencies that are traditionally difficult to assess directly, such as professionalism, ethical decision-making, soft skills, graduate attributes and practical skills in authentic contexts.
If you would like to share your during this session, then please complete this form. The form requests answers to the following questions:
- Speaker details (please include job title, relevant post nominals and institution)
- Proposed talk title
- What degrees do you teach on?
- What competencies does your assignment assess (100 words)?
- How is the assessment designed to allow students to evidence those competencies (200 words)?
- How are the marking criteria adapted to the competence-based approach (100 words)?
- Why do you think the assessment ensures students develop the competencies that will help them achieve their aspirational futures (150 words)?
We particularly welcome talks that have evidence of impact on student employability or have been designed in collaboration with stakeholders (students, industry and society).
Successful applicants will have the option of having their assignment materials hosted on the Competence-Based Education website as examples of nationally leading best practice.
The deadline for submission is 10:00 on the 23rd June.