Welcome to the fourth Annual Evaluations and Assessment Conference sponsored by the Australian Technology Network Universities.

The purpose of this conference is to share expertise in the fields of assessment and evaluation. The Conference Organising Committee has invited three speakers to address the theme of how evaluation and assessment is making a difference to higher education. Professor Royce Sadler has an international reputation in formative assessment and evaluation and he will draw out the implications that a time of indeterminacy in higher education teaching and learning has for both of these fields. Regina Camara has been closely involved in the implementation of the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund and she will outline the implications Phase 2 of the allocation model will have on the measurement of teaching performance. Associate Professor Jan Orrell will address the difficult problem of developing assessment literacy and the kinds of policy support needed to impact on assessment practice.

This year the program includes 38 paper presentations by assessment and evaluation specialists from 24 institutions and 6 countries. The abstracts in this program have been reviewed by the ATN Teaching and Learning Committee to ensure that they present an idea, innovation or report that clearly focuses on evaluation and assessment, as well as describe the implications for practice. In addition, eleven of the paper presentations were independently peer reviewed for full publication. The full papers can be found in the accompanying publication “Making a Difference: 2005 Evaluations and Assessment Conference Refereed Papers” which can be ordered from the Institute for Interactive Media and Learning. A copy can also be found on this web site at http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/EAC2005/papers/

The program for the conference covers a wide range of topics related to evaluation and assessment. These topics have been arranged in thematic groupings to ensure that delegates can engage in discussions in their areas of interest. It is intended that the combination of invited speakers mixed with paper presentation on evaluation and assessment will provide something of interest for teaching academics and evaluation professionals alike. I trust the current program will ensure that the 2005 Evaluations and Assessment Conference is able to maintain its reputation for lively discussions and sharing good ideas. On behalf of the Conference Organising Committee I would like to express my appreciation to all the contributors to the conference for accepting the invitation to share their ideas and their experiences of evaluation and assessment with their colleagues.

Peter Kandlbinder
Conference Convenor