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A total of 12 collaborative projects, including over 70 universities and colleges, will receive £4 million over three years to run pilot projects that will test and evaluate measures of learning gain in English higher education.

‘Learning gain’ is defined as the improvement in knowledge, skills, work-readiness and personal development made by students during their time spent in higher education. 

This definition arises from research commissioned by HEFCE, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Higher Education Academy, which conducted an evaluation of the range of approaches currently used to measure learning gain, both in this country and around the world [Note 1].

On the basis of the research, five broad approaches have been identified, which will now be tested and analysed through the pilot projects:

1. Grades – measuring the progress in students’ achievement by comparing the difference between grades at two points in time. This could include using a standardised measure (such as the grade point average), or using a set of grades (standardised or not) to predict future grades.
2. Self-reporting surveys – asking students to report the extent to which they consider themselves to have gained knowledge and developed skills, through a survey administered at a number of points throughout their degree programme.
3. Standardised tests – measuring the acquisition of certain generic or specialised skills, through a test that could be administered to students either as part of their formative or summative assessment for their degree, or as an additional exercise alongside the course.
4. Other qualitative methods – including encouraging students to reflect on their learning, acquired skills and remaining skills gaps, and to facilitate a formative exchange between students and their tutors.
5. Mixed methods – using a combination of methods and indicators to track improvement in performance, for example through a combination of grades, student learning data and student surveys.

A panel including representatives from universities and students recommended 12 projects for funding, listed in the table below, from the 49 bids received. The pilot projects will use a range of methods to explore questions about learning gain, including:

• what different approaches could be used to measure learning gain
• how robust and useful the data and other evidence arising from these approaches are, for example for supporting students and improving learning and teaching
• Which methods and approaches have the potential to be scalable for use across the sector.

Madeleine Atkins, Chief Executive of HEFCE, said:

‘I am delighted by the sector's response to the Learning Gain call [Note 2]. This has enabled us to ensure that a very wide and representative range of institutions will be working with us on learning gain. The outcomes from this work have the potential to support measurement and indicators at institutional and even national level, but also crucially to improve learning and teaching practice in universities and colleges for the benefit of students.’ 

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said:

'This research shows there is a wide range of approaches to measuring learning among students in higher education. Understanding the methods and the results from these pilots will help assess teaching quality and excellence and ultimately provide better value for all students.'

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