(From left) Associate Professor Dr Glenda Crosling of Monash University Sunway campus, AKEPT Director Datuk Professor Dr Roziah Omar, AKEPT Board of Advisers Member Emeritus Professor Dr Azman Awang, Sunway campus Deputy President (Strategy) Professor Mahendhiran Nair and its Executive Director Mr Phang Koon Tuck. 

Leading scholars from Malaysia and the region have pointed out the importance of revisiting the meaning of assessment of student learning in higher education and to evaluate the validity and reliability of current practices as they relate to changes in the world today.

At the Educate12 conference jointly organised by Monash University Sunway campus and the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) of the Ministry of Higher Education, the theme, “Transformation in Higher Education: Assessing Learning Assessment”, focused on developing student assessments in order to enrich students’ learning and foster creativity among students.

The conference was organised in association with the International Islamic University of Malaysia, in partnership with other private and public universities.

Educate12 is aimed at improving the understanding on creative learning environments that support innovation driven societies.

At the opening ceremony, AKEPT Director Datuk Professor Dr Roziah Omar said that the reason the organisers had focused on assessment was because they believed that the quality of graduates was inextricably connected with how their knowledge and skills were assessed.

“The global revolution in technological applications and modes of  knowledge dissemination and transfer demand new and innovative methodologies of teaching and assessment to ensure that our graduates are outfitted with the latest cutting edge knowledge as well as skills required for them to excel in their careers,” she said.

Member of AKEPT Board of Advisers, Emeritus Professor Dr Azman bin Awang, when addressing the audience said that it was imperative to remember that the first mission of universities was the promotion of sound teaching, learning, and assessment.

AKEPT Board of Advisers Member Emeritus Professor Dr Azman Awan reminded universities that its first mission was the promotion of sound teaching, learning, and assessment.

Participants at Educate12 identified ways to enhance teaching and learning experiences for students in higher education.

This, he added, was the sole indicator of the quality of the nation’s graduates and future human capital.

“With increasing access to higher education, thousands of graduates are flooding the market each year, and it is no longer a luxury to ‘just have a degree’. Now it’s got to be value-added for the degree to be of any practical use, which is what employers are looking for in today’s graduates,” said Dr Azman.

The multiplicity of authentic learning assessment modes, he added, were especially relevant in this ‘Age of Intelligence’ which requires people to ‘know-how’, rather than ‘know-what’.

Monash University Sunway campus Director of Quality Projects and Educate12 chairperson Professor Glenda Crosling said that assessment was a powerful role as it drove student learning and the way they handled their studies.

The one-and-a-half day conference saw speakers from private and public universities as well as separate interactive workshops with participants.

The conference also identified key challenges and opportunities in assessments, and discussed several policies and strategies to enhance the teaching and learning experience for students in the Malaysian higher education.

“The theme of the conference is timely, as countries in the region are putting in place policies and strategies to become knowledge-driven and innovation-intensive economies,” said Professor Mahendhiran Nair, Deputy President (Strategy) of Monash University Sunway campus.

In his welcome speech at the opening ceremony of Educate12, Prof Nair lauded the National Innovation Strategy and National Higher Strategic Plan recently launched by the Prime Minister.

“These plans are to set a strong foundation for Malaysia to leap-frog to a high-Income, innovation-intensive and knowledge-driven economy,” he said.