# Update on 2025 plans for Competency Assessment

**Source**: https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/update-2025-plans-competency-assessment
**Parent**: https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/tags/assessment-and-feedback

**Published 26 February 2025**

**An ambitious pilot by a cross-faculty consortium of course convenors reveals there’s no ‘one-size fits all’ when it comes to exploring alternatives to standard grading.**

In an ambitious move to [explore alternatives to standard grading](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/competency-grading-unsw), a number of courses from across UNSW are introducing competency-based grading, as part of the Student Experience Program's reimagining of Assessment and Feedback at UNSW.

##### Recap: What is Competency Assessment and Grading?

In simple terms, it’s an approach to assessing students that focuses on whether students are competent in specific skills and knowledge, often without the use of numerical grading and its associated ranking (such as high distinction, distinction etc.). Criteria for competency are clearly defined, often in the form of detailed rubrics or guidelines, and feedback is designed to help students improve and progress rather than simply to justify the mark. However, there are a wide range of ways it can be implemented.

The Competency Assessment and Grading Working Group (chaired by Professor Elizabeth Angstmann and Associate Professor Helen Gibbon) has set out a framework of options to guide participating course convenors including successful ‘SY’ grading with hurdles, Competency ‘with merit’ grading and standard grading with competency hurdles. Course convenors exploring the new approach are tailoring the framework to best meet the challenges within their courses and student cohorts.

##### Why the shift?

Some common reasons for moving to competency include improvements to the student experience such as higher quality student participation, engagement and learning, improved wellbeing due to reduced anxiety around being ranked, and increased equity, especially for certain cohorts such as first-year students who are first-generation higher education students. Setting ‘hurdles’ for which students must reach a set level of proficiency within a certain number of attempts, creates a fertile environment for creative risk-taking, cultivates a growth mindset and ensures students meet the expected standard.

The drivers for change differ among the diverse range of courses and characteristics of students who are participating in the pilot. For high performing students who can tend towards being fixated on grades, a shift to competency can help to alleviate the stress associated with numerical grading and the associated intense competition with peers. Other courses are, by nature, competency-based and grading them as such helps to focus students on the content at each hurdle.

There are also potential upsides for teaching staff, such as reduced administrative work and fewer student integrity issues. Associate Professor Kerry Uebel who has been using a competency-based approach in the School of Clinical Medicine since 2023 reported a reduction in time spent moderating marks and responding to student appeals. “When a student appeals a grade, the examiner has available to them the specific information about why the student missed the grade, and no remarking is required”.

##### Implementation considerations

The change in approach is not without its challenges. A significant mind shift is required for staff embarking on the change and additional time to provide student feedback may be required in some instances. The flexibility of the approach also creates a quandary – how do you tailor the approach that’s right for each student cohort and course, whilst maintaining consistency that supports a coherent student experience?

##### What’s next?

While a few of the pilots commenced in 2024, the majority of pilots will take place in 2025. Sixteen pilot courses have just launched the new approach in Term 1 (and Semester 1 at UNSW Canberra) and more will follow in Terms 2 and 3 and Semester 2 – the group welcomes expressions of interest, and the contact details are at the bottom of the article.

As well as collecting student and staff feedback from the pilots to identify and understand the benefits and challenges of competency assessment and grading, the Working Group members are undertaking a due diligence review to understand any other potential impacts, such as impacts on processes that rely on the weighted average mark (WAM) for student awards and opportunities, program transfers and exchanges.

The findings will not only help the University to make an informed decision about the future application of competency assessment and grading, but they will also be published in a research study to share across the sector.

### Get involved

Find out more about competency assessment and grading [**here**](https://www.teaching.unsw.edu.au/assessment-methods/grading-giving-feedback). If you are interested in discussing this further, joining a training session and/or the upcoming pilots, please contact [**the team**](mailto:assessmentandfeedback@unsw.edu.au).

### See also

[Teaching students to value education rather than marks – competency grading at UNSW](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/competency-grading-unsw), written by Prof. Liz Angstmann, A/Prof. Helen Gibbon and Dr Ben Phipps

[Rethinking assessment: The shift from numerical marks to competency-based grading in clinical psychology](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/competency-grading-clinical-psychology), written by Dr Chien Hoong Gooi.

[Competency Grading in Fine Arts at UNSW: A Case Study](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/competency-grading-fine-arts), written by Dr Rebecca Shanahan.

[Who benefits from grading first year?](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/grading-first-year) written by Prof. Liz Angstmann.

[Programmatic Assessment: Are we there yet?](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/programmatic-assessment-are-we-there-yet) written by A/Prof. Priya Khanna and Professor Gary Velan.

Tags

*lens*[Assessment and Feedback](https://www.education.unsw.edu.au/tags/assessment-and-feedback)

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