Course-wide Assurance of Learning Mapping

Strengthening assurance of learning in an AI-enabled era

 

Domain 1: Assurance

Project overview

The Curriculum Assurance and Learning Mapping (CALM) project is UOW’s institutional approach to assuring student learning in an AI-enabled environment. CALM will provide a structured, supportive process for Academic Program Directors and Discipline Leaders to map where Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) are taught and assured across programs, and to identify the key points that require strengthening to ensure integrity, validity, and alignment in an AI-enabled environment. By coupling guided workshops and one-on-one support with a streamlined digital mapping tool, CALM will surface strengths, gaps, and vulnerabilities, especially where assessment validity, authenticity, or integrity may be at risk due to AI-mediated practices.

Megan Smith, Educational Excellence (E²) Co-Lead - Course-wide Assurance of Learning Mapping (left)

Dr Alyce Mason, Educational Excellence (E²) Co-Lead - Course-wide Assurance of Learning Mapping (Right)

Contact: renaissance-program@uow.edu.au

Why this matters

As AI reshapes how students learn and produce work, universities must show that assessment remains a trustworthy indicator of individual achievement. CALM will directly address this need by shifting assurance away from unenforceable rules about generative AI and towards assessment design that inherently evidences a student’s learning. It will align with TEQSA’s expectations for demonstrable outcome assurance and management of AI-related integrity risks, providing UOW with a defensible, coherent method for evidencing standards at course level.

What the CALM Project delivers

• Identification of high-stakes assurance points and any gaps or risks (e.g., where current tasks cannot reliably evidence an individual’s learning).
• A full set of CLO assurance maps for all active courses, identifying strengths, gaps, and assessment points requiring redesign.
• An institutionally endorsed suite of assessment types suitable for assuring learning in an AI-enabled world, including definitions, criteria, decision guidance, and discipline-informed exemplars.
• A prioritised schedule for targeted redesign, directly informed by CALM outputs.

How it works

Beginning in early 2026, CALM will initiate a working group and series of focus groups for the purpose of establishing a clear institutional definition of “assessment that assures learning” and informing the design and development of a course-level mapping tool and implementation plan.

Throughout the year, UOW Educational Excellence, in partnership with learning and teaching specialists, will provide one-on-one CALM support sessions, practical examples, templates, and a streamlined online mapping tool and process. Completed course maps will be due by 1 October 2026 and endorsed by the Deputy Dean of each Faculty. These maps will be used to guide course-level improvement and assessment redesign, ensuring consistency and integrity across the institution.

Strategic outcome

CALM will establish UOW’s standard for how student learning is assured. It will build evidence of outcome assurance, strengthen integrity through design, and create a consistent foundation for course renewal.

Project timeline

Get involved

The CALM project will involve staff and students from across the university throughout 2026. There are several ways to contribute to the project, depending on your interests and availability.

CALM Assessment Assurance Working Group

In March the CALM Assessment Assurance Working Group, was formed with 45 members from across all UOW faculties. 

Between March–July 2026 this group will:

• Participate in approximately four working group meetings (e.g., one per month)

• Review examples of assessment practice and emerging sector approaches

• Contribute to defining assessment that assures learning in an AI-enabled environment

• Help identify criteria for what constitutes a defensible assurance point within a course
• Provide feedback on proposed assessment types and guidance to support course-wide assurance mapping
• Contribute disciplinary perspectives that help ensure the framework is credible and workable across UOW

More information: 

The working group will function as a cross-university academic sense-making and design group, bringing together colleagues from across faculties and relevant university areas to help shape UOW’s institutional approach to assuring learning. Through structured discussions, review of assessment examples, and engagement with sector insights, the group will contribute to the development of:

• a shared institutional definition of assessment that assures learning
• criteria and guidance for identifying key assurance points across courses
• a suite of assessment types capable of demonstrating students’ own learning in an AI-enabled environment.

Members may also be invited to attend optional sessions during the project period, such as discussions with visiting speakers, presentations of relevant sector work, or workshops exploring emerging ideas related to assessment and assurance of learning. The outputs of this work will underpin the CALM mapping process and inform guidance that supports course teams across the university.

To view the membership of CALM Assessment Assurance Working Group, click the heading below.

CALM Consultation & Other Participation Opportunities 

Throughout 2026 the CALM project team and Assessment Assurance Working Group will also engage colleagues and across the university through:

• Focus groups and interviews exploring assessment practices across disciplines
• Opportunities to share examples of assessment that demonstrate student learning
• Workshops and discussions examining emerging approaches to assurance in AI-enabled learning environments.

These contributions will help ensure that CALM reflects the diversity of teaching and assessment contexts across UOW.

More about how UOW can participate in these opportunities will be shared in the near future.