Editorial 5.1

We welcome you to the first edition of JUTLP for 2008. This special edition is focussed on meeting the needs of practice through an examination of changes in assessment at the institutional, faculty, course and subject level. The Special Edition was prompted by a roundtable 'Assessing student learning: Using interdisciplinary synergies to develop good teaching and assessment practice' in Sydney on Tuesday 6th September, 2007 sponsored by the Carrick Institute (now renamed the Australian Learning and Teaching Council). The forum hosted 45 people from around Australia and New Zealand to discuss strategies for improving assessment in the higher education sector. Participants, and those who expressed an interest in the Forum, were invited to develop papers and submit them for consideration in this special issue.