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Proceedings for 3rd CAA Conference 1999

Foreword (1999)

Proof of the importance of CAA is evident in this the Third Annual CAA Conference. The event has expanded this year and is now International, with participants and presenters from Europe and beyond. Contributions have been selected by a panel of experts from the UK TLTP 3 Project, the Evaluation and Implementation of CAA. In response to delegate feedback from previous events the number of workshops has been significantly increased, and these are included in the proceedings.

Context

The uptake of CAA is gathering pace in Universities and Colleges, bringing with it the scepticism often associated with any area suddenly ‘taken over’ by computers. Described as ‘Cyber-assessment’ by the THES (4 June 1999) the sceptics are now stirring up an energetic debate which is refreshing given the relative lack of debate about traditional assessment methods.

Any method of assessment will have its limitations but CAA has important advantages that serve the future of quality Higher Education well.

• Rapid feedback to students.
• Support for quality assurance procedures.
• Wider scope for formative assessment ensuring students are able to improve their learning and understanding.
• Assessment at the time the students needs it.
• Reduction in mind numbing hours of marking that can now be used for quality interaction with students.
• An objectivity that cannot be accused of favouritism, fatigue, stress, malice or other factors that are said to influence grades.

CAA clearly has its cynics, but then so did the method commonly associated with the ‘essay’ style assessment. CAA however, is something that can more easily have strict quality guidelines and standards applied in a way that would be difficult to achieve with large scale traditional assessment.

Purpose of the Conference

The technology for CAA is now developed well beyond the old multiple choice questions image, and we now know far more about how staff should develop their approaches to using this assessment tool well. Good CAA is a skilled activity requiring as much intellectual application and training as any other method. Its application within institutions requires careful planning and management, and responsibility spreads beyond the accountability of academic staff.

Clearly the technique has to be understood and handled well if we are to reap its advantages whilst maintaining and improving our quality and obligations to our students.

The purpose of this conference is to address this wide range of issues and to ensure the dissemination of innovative and good practice.