The University of Notre Dame Australia Enables Agile Assurance of Learning at Scale

The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) partnered with Cadmus to support the design and delivery of authentic, learner-focused and integrity-led assessment at institution-wide scale.

Following a successful pilot in 2024, the University implemented a planned and paced rollout managed through central leadership, educator professional learning, and targeted implementation support. What began as a small pilot across nine courses rapidly expanded across the university, reaching more than 84% of the student population within the first year of implementation.

As assessment practices continue to evolve in response to generative AI, UNDA’s approach reflects a broader institutional focus on assurance of learning, authentic assessment, and scalable support for both educators and students.

Building assurance of learning across a diverse university environment

UNDA initially began exploring Cadmus while addressing challenges around assurance of learning, increasing academic integrity breaches, and the need for students to more transparently demonstrate authorship and integrity.

With approximately 70% of the University’s offerings comprising professionally accredited programs, invigilated assessment remains a critical component across many disciplines. At the same time, the University maintains a strong focus on assessment for learning and authentic assessment design.

Delivering equivalent assessment experiences across a highly diverse institution added further complexity. Programs are delivered across three campuses and distributed clinical schools, to students in urban, regional and remote locations, with some programs offered fully online.

UNDA needed a solution that could:

• Strengthen confidence in assurance of student learning across both long-form written assessments and tests and exams, including on-campus and online delivery
• Reduce risks to academic integrity while improving transparency of authorship
• Maintain manageable, scaffolded assessment workflows for educators
• Support scalable delivery across both small and large student cohorts
• Improve the student assessment experience through structured and learner-focused assessment design

In seeking a solution, UNDA aimed not only to strengthen assessment security, but also improve student engagement and the broader assessment experience.

From pilot to institution-wide rollout

UNDA introduced Cadmus through an initial pilot across nine courses, including both in-class tests and long-form written assessments across a range of cohort sizes.

Most participating courses implemented in-class tests using Cadmus with Respondus LockDown Browser, replacing predominantly online assessments previously delivered through Blackboard LMS. For long-form written assessments, Cadmus provided greater visibility of student progress, improved transparency of authorship, and a more scaffolded assessment environment for students.

The success of the pilot established the foundation for broader institutional adoption.

Following the pilot, UNDA began a phased rollout of Cadmus across coursework programs. Rather than introducing Cadmus late in programs, the University prioritised early-year courses so students could become familiar with the assessment environment early in their studies and continue using it throughout their degree.

The rollout progressed in stages:

2025 Semester 1 Phase 1 rollout prioritised:

• First-year courses introducing academic skills and philosophy
• Courses identified as higher risk for assessment vulnerability or elevated breach rates

2025 Semester 2 Phase 2 rollout prioritised:

• First- and final-year undergraduate and postgraduate courses

2026 Phase 3 rollout prioritised:

• Second- and third-year undergraduate and postgraduate courses

This sequential approach enabled students to progress through their programs with Cadmus as a familiar and consistent assessment environment.

Supporting educators through institutional change

Throughout 2025, Cadmus worked closely with UNDA to support educators transitioning into the Cadmus assessment environment through a comprehensive professional learning and implementation program.

Educator enablement at scale

• 17 educator workshops delivered
• 9 showcase and information sessions delivered
• 150+ targeted educator implementation sessions delivered

These sessions supported educators and central teams to:

• Design scaffolded assessments within Cadmus
• Implement secure LockDown Browser functionality where appropriate
• Align assessments with institutional learning and academic integrity goals
• Share discipline-specific examples and practice from early adopters
• Improve assurance of learning and the student experience through assessment design

Alongside institutional workshops and showcase sessions, Cadmus also worked directly with educators through tailored 1:1 implementation support.

These sessions helped course coordinators adapt existing assessments into the Cadmus environment, configure assessment workflows, integrate learning resources, and prepare assessments for delivery.

Cadmus and UNDA also developed supporting resources including faculty workshops, student and staff guidance materials, communication templates, and a dedicated knowledge hub to support the expanding rollout.

Measurable improvements in integrity and student success

Early implementations of Cadmus across selected courses in 2025 demonstrated strong improvements in academic integrity, student engagement, and learning outcomes, providing the foundation for continued institutional expansion across 2025 and 2026.

Across Cadmus-supported courses, UNDA reported significant reductions in academic integrity breaches between 2024 and 2025 comparative semesters, including:

• 54% reduction in an introductory first-year Nursing course
• 73% reduction in a first-year Core Philosophy course
• 47% reduction in a first-year Health Sciences course

Subsequent semesters have seen further reductions, particularly where assessment transformation and AI integration strategies were also implemented.

Student engagement and outcomes also improved:

• 10,050 students engaged in Cadmus-supported assessments in 2025, representing approximately 84% of the total student population
• 90.7% student pass rate across all assessment types
• 329.1% growth in unique students using Cadmus from 2024 to 2025
• 1.9% increase in pass rates for students working in Cadmus
• 1.7% increase in average grades for students working in Cadmus
• 100% of students who provided feedback reported a better understanding of assessment requirements

Scaling integrity-led assessment across the institution

Building on the strong foundation established in 2025, Cadmus adoption expanded further at the beginning of 2026.

Prior to Semester 1 commencement, 8,720 students were already enrolled in Cadmus-enabled assessments, representing more than 72% of the University’s student population. Importantly, the same level of adoption reached mid-way through 2025 had already been achieved before Semester 1 2026 had commenced.

Adoption now spans all Schools and Pathways programs across multiple disciplines, with educators continuing to expand their use of Cadmus across new cohorts, courses, and assessment types.

Cadmus is now being used across a broad range of assessment formats, including:

• Long-form written assessments
• Presentations
• Maths problems
• Computer coding
• Group work
• Quizzes and in-class tests
• Mid-semester and end-of-semester online assessments

At UNDA, Cadmus supports integrity-led assessment focused on assessment as learning through intentional assessment design within a scaffolded environment.

Through a coordinated rollout strategy combining institutional leadership, educator professional learning, and targeted implementation support, UNDA rapidly scaled assurance-focused online assessment across the university.

With adoption continuing to expand, Cadmus now forms part of the University’s broader strategy for assurance of learning in the age of AI.