ABSTRACT
Assessment is the key driver for learning. It enables the certification of learning and can facilitate learning in its own right (Boud, 2000). While students have always learned strategically based on what they perceive as the assessment requirements of their course, increasing demands on their time mean that obtaining a qualification is the fundamental driver for growing numbers of learners. The introduction of student fees, reductions of grant assistance and greater costs of living mean that most undergraduates now juggle paid employment with their studies. Fewer turn up for lectures, particularly when their lecture notes are posted online, and there is less time to read books peripheral to the core subject matter that will be assessed. At the same time, the explosion in resources available on the internet and the resulting information overload forces many students to base their learning activities solely around the assessment requirements of their course.
