Making assessment and feedback tools easier to navigate and procure

Overview

Digital assessment is evolving rapidly. Financial pressures, growing expectations around accessibility and learner experience, and the emergence of AI-enabled technologies are reshaping assessment and feedback across further and higher education.

This project is helping colleges and universities navigate an increasingly complex market for assessment and feedback tools. Drawing on expertise from across Jisc, including digital assessment, AI, licensing, accessibility, interoperability and transnational education (TNE), it brings together research, pilot evidence, market insight and supplier evaluation activities to support informed decision-making.

Together with colleges and universities, we are developing a new assessment and feedback framework to make it easier to evaluate, pilot and procure assessment technologies. Due to launch at the end of 2026, it will provide a trusted, compliant route for procuring assessment solutions, alongside opportunities to test and assess emerging AI-enabled tools before purchase.

The challenge

Assessment and feedback technologies are developing at pace. New and enhanced tools are emerging across grading, authentic assessment, peer review, digital examinations, proctoring and originality checking.

While these developments create opportunities for innovation, they can also make the market harder to navigate. Institutions are often evaluating suppliers, negotiating contracts and reviewing technologies independently, leading to duplication of effort and increased costs.

As AI continues to reshape assessment and academic integrity, institutions also need confidence that new technologies support responsible, ethical and effective assessment practices.

Colleges and universities must also consider how technologies support accessibility, interoperability, security and academic integrity, while remaining flexible enough to adapt to evolving approaches to teaching, learning and assessment

Our approach

We are developing the framework in partnership with colleges and universities, drawing on sector engagement, requirements gathering and evidence from our marking and feedback pilots.

The framework reflects a growing recognition that many assessment, procurement and governance challenges are shared. Universities UK has called for a new era of collaboration to improve the efficiency and sustainability of higher education. By providing a shared route for evaluating, piloting and procuring assessment technologies, the framework will help institutions reduce duplication of effort, share insight and market intelligence, and engage more strategically with suppliers.

The new assessment and feedback framework will provide:

• Compliant procurement routes for high-value assessment and feedback tools
• Opportunities for collaborative pilots and evaluation before purchase
• Trusted evidence and insight to support decision-making
• The potential to reduce costs through aggregated demand
• Support for accessibility, interoperability and alignment with open standards
• Greater confidence in evaluating emerging AI-enabled technologies

Colleges and universities are shaping the framework through market engagement, evaluation activities and pilot projects, helping ensure it reflects sector priorities and future requirements.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Hannah Lawrence, licensing portfolio specialist at licensing@jisc.ac.uk.