Managing the shift to programme-level assessment: structural barriers, stakeholder experiences and mechanisms of sustained transition

Abstract

Programme-level assessment (PLA) has gained traction in higher education policy and practice, yet examples of successful implementation remain limited. This systematic review synthesises 28 empirical and conceptual studies to examine the structural and governance factors shaping PLA implementation across institutional and disciplinary contexts. The findings are presented thematically, examining institutional architecture, stakeholder experience and transition mechanisms. Three main arguments are developed: that implementation failure is primarily architectural rather than cultural; that programmatic assessment and Integrated Programme Assessment (IPA) are analytically distinct models with structurally different capacities to address the architecture problem and that mechanisms which sustain successful transition work by redistributing the cost-benefit asymmetry of implementation rather than by asking individuals to absorb it. The evidence base remains heavily concentrated in health and professional education, and findings should be applied to other disciplinary contexts with caution.