Collaboration in the Assessment Process: An Initial Evaluation of Collaboration on an Undergraduate Business and Management Course

It is often claimed that collaborative approaches to assessment improve student performance and help students to develop key transferable skills. There are, however, considerable difficulties associated with the introduction and management of such approaches. This article utilises the author's experience of introducing collaborative assessment on an undergraduate business and management course. The article focuses on the role of values, and how both student and lecturer values can have a significant influence on their attitude to such forms of assessment. The paper concludes by suggesting that we should attempt to obtain a more in-depth understanding of student and staff values, and try to address these when introducing collaborative assessment. It also suggests that an incremental approach might be adopted in order to foster commitment, help create a culture of co-operation, and facilitate an action research approach that enables those involved to learn from their experience.