CNV3-I2-8-Higher Education

There is a visible change emerging in the manner of evaluation & assessments of students in higher education .We must realise that the profile of the current generation i.e Gen Y (whom I often refer to as the fast food generation ) is one who is restless, seeks results in the short run  & lives for TODAY. Further with powerful & real time attractions & distractions like Social Media & WhatApp & such, I feel attention spans & retention spans have decreased considerably and this impacts the learning process drastically.

Thus, I strongly feel that the traditional examinations system which has been in existence since yesteryears needs to undergo a sea change. The entire examination system should focus on assessment of the understanding and not testing the memory or ability for rote learning. Hence in institutions of higher learning, we must use a multiplicity of methods to ensure more focused and meaningful evaluation processes. Today, there is an increasing emphasis on the job learning projects, presentations, case study discussions and even internships being used more often as an approach to assessment. Many institutions of higher education use methods such as online quizzes, multiple choice questions-based exams answered via online learning platforms such as Moodle & such. The positive trend is that dependency on one single classroom-based examination at the end of the academic term is on the decline. This we notice a trend where multiple exams are used to assess the understanding of the subject knowledge and concepts. Use of presentations, book review, best practices analysis & case study discussions as a method of evaluation too are on the rise.

I strongly feel that institutions of higher education must change the approach to assessment and performance measurement drastically. They must respond to the need of the hour and conceive & use multiple ways to measure the student performance. Since one methodology would not suit all measurement processes as the subjects being tackled are diverse, we need to create an array of such assessment tools. Learning Management Systems & tools like online quizzes can help a great deal to make the assessment implementation smooth. The approach here is that those who teach may not evaluate and vice versa. This could lead to the evaluation mechanisms being more robust & tamperproof thus improving the quality of both delivery and understanding. The eternal dilemma that a professor faces too could be eliminated; as he now only needs to be a GOOD teacher and not a POPULAR teacher. Thus, they can insist on highest level of discipline & commitment from the students & ensure maximum learning.

We should institute several such measures that are proving to be very meaningful and effective.

• The weightage for term end exams would be maximum 40 percent; this would ensure that regular evaluation processes such as online quizzes, presentation would be on the rise.
• Organising seminars, conferences, co-curricular events would be given sufficient weightage.
• Live projects with industry of duration ranging from two weeks to a month could give the students first-hand learning and also be used as an assessment technique.
• Active participation in industry associations like CII, BMA could be given due credit as part of the evaluation processes.
• Excellent Performance in inter collegiate events & seminars could also be given weightage.
• Many faculty members encourage students to do joint research on various important areas and these could be a good way of assessing their competence and capability.
• Another effective tool would be peer based teaching and evaluation processes .In every group there are students who have specific areas of expertise such as presentation skills ,power point skills , research skills , report writing skills , accounting packages skills , versatility in MS Excel and such .We can create processes wherein such identified experts could coach those who realise that they need to improve themselves in an certain domain. Both the student teacher and the student learner could be evaluated on the impact of this learning activity and this could be institutionalised over a period of time. This is akin to the concept of train the trainer to further train more trainees. This also adds tremendously to the self-confidence of the students and also helps the weaker students cope up without feeling threatened.
• Another specific innovation could be the application of the above on an individual basis. Each senior student could be allotted a buddy whom he/she would mentor for one term. He/She would impart at least one skill to the mentee and also learn one skill from the mentee. We must emphasize here that this activity could encompass any areas related to academics, co-curricular or even extra-curricular activities .thus over a span of 4-5 months , student help each other to acquire new skill sets .every new term could bring in new buddies and thus over a span of two years, a student would fine-tuned his skills  from four peers and also helped develop four of them ..this entire process could be institutionalised and become a great learning tool and this impact could also be assessed & due credits given.

We must also realise that the above steps would increase the workload of the teaching fraternity BUT this could be an opportunity to create a new cadre of evaluators thus making the assessment processes more unbiased & transparent. However, the above must be implemented on a consistent basis and thorough follow up be initiated consistently to make a shift in the evaluation processes.

Easier said than done, BUT CERTAINLY worth the effort.

Prof RSS Mani has been a founding faculty member of ITM too. He leads several initiatives for institutional development including industry academia interface, faculty development, collaborations, new initiatives & CSR projects. He is highly regarded in HR circles as a guru, mentor & an out of the box thinker. Besides, he is a career counsellor par excellence and has helped thousands groom their careers.

Prof RRS Mani

VP-Institutional Development, ITM Group of Institutions