The Maldives National University (MNU) has strengthened efforts to promote academic integrity, fair assessment, and effective student feedback through a professional development training session on Turnitin, equipping academic staff with essential digital assessment skills.
The training focused on the effective integration of Turnitin within Moodle, highlighting how digital assessment tools can support transparent grading practices, consistent academic standards, and more efficient management of student assignments.
Academic staff were introduced to key Turnitin functionalities, including assignment configuration, grading options, originality reports, and GradeMark features. The session explored how these tools can assist lecturers in reviewing student submissions, identifying potential concerns about originality, and making informed assessment decisions while upholding academic integrity.
A central component of the programme was the development and application of assessment rubrics to strengthen fairness and consistency in marking. Participants explored practical approaches to creating rubrics, importing assessment criteria prepared in Microsoft Excel, and applying structured grading standards to student work.
The training also highlighted the importance of meaningful feedback in improving student learning outcomes. Through online grading and inline commenting features, lecturers explored ways to provide clear, constructive, and targeted feedback, helping students better understand assessment expectations and areas requiring improvement.
Beyond strengthening technical competencies, the session reinforced the importance of responsible technology use in maintaining academic quality and accountability. It emphasised that originality reports should inform academic judgement rather than serve as automatic indicators of plagiarism, supporting a fair and evidence-based approach to evaluating student work.
The initiative reflects MNU’s continued emphasis on quality education, digital literacy, academic integrity, equitable assessment, professional capacity development, and lifelong learning. By strengthening academic staff’s ability to use digital assessment tools effectively, the training supports more transparent, inclusive, and student-centred assessment practices across the university.
