The Solar Project

The Solar Project is an important e-assessment development project not only for the Scottish Qualifications Authority but also for the Further Education (FE) sector in Scotland. It has and will continue to provide exciting opportunities for colleges to use e-assessments to impact positively on the learning experience of Scotland’s learners.

The project began with the support of funding from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) which has since been enhanced with funds from the MSHNP Project. The main output has been the development of more than 600 summative e-assessments across a range of Higher National awards. The first of these assessments are already being piloted in Scottish colleges and there have been a series of training programmes delivered to support colleges - particularly with administration, scheduling and reporting.

We expect that this project will pave the way for increased use of summative online assessment to support delivery of HNs in FE in the longterm. Training staff from FE and SQA to ensure that they are able to participate actively in this process is an important output of our project.

The current phase of the project from 2006 to 2007 will continue that activity but with an increased focus on demonstrating and evaluating the impact on students’ learning. The project is supported by the Solar Project Reference Group which brings together representatives of Scotland’s colleges and support agencies to provide an overview of the project activities, with particular responsibility for ensuring that the project activities contribute to the delivery of an improved learning experience for students.

If you want to know more about how your college can access the assessments, access info on what assessments are available or you have ideas for new e-assessment developments then visit the project website at: www.sqasolar.org  , or contact: solar@sqa.org.uk  .