Integrating Alternative Assessment Options for Inclusive Learning in Higher Education

Ensuring an assessment method is appropriate for a diverse student demographic can be challenging, particularly when considering activities that are publicly assessed and may prove difficult for students with social anxiety, specific learning difficulties, and other short or long-term disabilities. Furthermore, the health and wellbeing of university students has been of growing concern in recent years; with the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent return to face-to-face study, and now the cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom further compounding students’ mental and emotional health.

This paper describes the proactive workflows that have been adopted in developing and integrating alternative assessment options for students. In particular, it discusses the methodology that has been adopted within higher education courses to provision students with defined options of alternative assessment where the original assessment may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition, whilst ensuring learning outcomes are maintained.