Integrating disciplinary practices to optimally deliver alternative assessments and embed graduate attributes in a Global Mental Health Master’s programme

The routes to optimising the authenticity of assessments in different organisational and disciplinary contexts have been ambiguous and challenging. This paper offers a case study of diversifying the assessments in a taught Master’s programme by integrating disciplinary practices to design alternative assessments. Embedding discipline-specific principles and perspectives was found to be key to achieving authenticity of assessments. This paper reports on a descriptive mixed-method study that the authors conducted to evaluate current students’ perceptions of and experiences with the diversified assessments in the programme. Overall, the findings demonstrate students’ acknowledgement of the importance of a diverse mix of assessments, especially in terms of fostering the development of several graduate attributes. The paper demonstrates that novel assessment methods can be introduced gradually to complement current curriculum design, with evaluations included to optimise the student learning experience. Garnering students’ perspectives of components such as workload balance, assessment fairness and assignment planning can highlight opportunities for enhancing the constructive alignment of the curriculum. Introducing innovative applied assessment methods can encourage students to become more cross-culturally aware and ethically conscious. Alternative assessments can be feasibly designed to promote many of the graduate attributes necessary to create ‘global students’ in an increasingly competitive and internationalised job market.


Introduction
In contrast to traditional assessment modes such as written exams, essays and reports, alternative assessments represent a problem-based approach to developing assignments that allows learners to apply creative and critical thinking to authentic, contextualised problems (Yorke and Harvey, 2005). This innovative approach to assessment entails encouraging the solving of complex problems, developing conceptual and analytic skills to prepare students for vocational success, and stimulating activ e learning, among others (MacAndrew and Edwards, 2002). Examples of alternative assessments include the creation of posters, infographics and other visual aids, of electronic, video and mobile resources, blog posts, portfolios and role -plays (Yorke and Harvey, 2005;Klenowski et al., 2006). Alternative assessments originated from the recognition of the need to 'contextualise assessment in interesting, real-life and authentic tasks' (Gulikers et al., 2006, p. 339;Birenbaum and Dochy, 1996;MacLellan, 2004), with the ultimate aim to motivate students to take more responsibility for their own learning and to utilise assessments as the foundation and catalyst for learning (Libman, 2010).
Despite the widely recognised pedagogic benefits of alternative assessments, their implementation in HE is often faced with uncertainty, practical difficulties, lack of educational leadership, and sometimes even outright resistance (Janisch et al., 2007;Murphy et al., 2017). Common barriers to the uptake and routinisation of alternative assessments have been administrative (for example, compliance with the often-lengthy institutional quality assurance approval processes), time and financial constraints, lack of student motivation, inadequate teachers' knowledge about alternative a ssessments, and the insufficient alignment between assessment structure, instruction and the curriculum (Janisch et al., 2007;Murphy et al., 2017). Additional challenges include varying perceptions of students and tutors about effective assessments and effective learning practices (McLellan, 2001), the degree of curricular embeddedness, appropriate assessment criteria and optimal instructional designs (MacAndrews and Edwards, 2002).
Furthermore, although research has demonstrated that alternative assessments tend to generally lead to higher student satisfaction and deeper, more useful learning (e.g. Swaffield, 2011;Fook and Sidhu, 2010), their introduction can also trigger uncertainty, anxiety, lack of self-confidence and frustration in learners (e.g. Keeling et al., 2013). It is, therefore, incumbent on Since 2018, the authors have embedded a cyclical model of curriculum enhancement in the MSc Global Mental Health programme which aims to collect, collate and build on student feedback. The authors conducted a small-scale qualitative investigation into MSc Global Mental Health students' satisfaction, perceived utility and engagement wi th a range of blended learning resources (Sharp et al., 2019). The assessment focus of this evaluation was partially motivated by the lower than desired Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) scores on fairness of assessments and fairness of marking of assessments. The findings revealed the need for a more systematic and explicit integration of the University's Graduate Attributes and the programme-specific intended learning outcomes (ILOs) into the assessment structure. In particular, the study highl ighted the need for a curriculum design and instruction that established clear, transparent links between individual learning activities, ass essments and the specific set of transferable skills and attributes that are being targeted by those assessments and learning activities. A diversified, authentic and constructively aligned assessment structure emerged as one of several key high -impact areas for future curriculum innovation aimed at improving students' learning outcomes and experience.
This study was also motivated by the relative neglect in the higher education literature of how to integrate discipline-specific principles and practices into an enhanced, alternative assessment structure (Coffey et al., 2011;Esterhazy, 2018), particularly within the design of summative assessments in the postgraduate teaching of psychology, psychiatry and related disciplines. The belief in the importance of such integration for maximising educational outcomes is rooted in the assumption that a disciplineappropriate implementation of feedback and assessment processes is instrumental in creating a community of learners that can confidently apply knowledge and skills to perform authentic tasks with real -world impact (Coffey et al., 2011;Esterhazy, 2018). Relatedly, understanding how to optimally embed professional practices into the curriculum is essential to sustainably stimulating the attainment of graduate attributes through assessment design. This requires bringing the often-implicit disciplinary context to the fore by designing assessment and feedback approaches that organically emerge fro m the very essence of the academic field that is being taught (Esterhazy, 2018). Encouraging students to clearly identify how the set assignments are inte rtwined with the core disciplinary principles and values is an important component o f a 'disciplinarily responsive' curriculum-defined as the responsiveness to 'the nature of its underlying knowledge discipline by ensuring a close coupling between the way in which knowledge is produced and the way students are educated and trained in the di scipline area'. (Slonimsky andShalem, 2006, p. 36, citing Moll, 2004, p. 7).
Global mental health is a relatively novel area of research and practice (Patel, 2014;O'Donnell, 2012). Unsurprisingly, few case studies are currently available into how to effectively deliver a global mental health curriculum with the use of pedagogic approaches and techniques that are congruent with the very 'substance' of this academic field. It is the current authors' firm belief that the experiential learning communicated in this paper could inform and inspire thoughtful efforts to enhance the assessment structure and the attainment of graduate attributes in a range of other disciplines and educational settings.
The main purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to demonstrate and rationalise the introduction of several alternative assessments in the Master's programme, which incorporated disciplinary practices, values and perspectives; and (2) to evaluate student perceptions of the utility of alternative assessments and of thei r relevance to employability. In addition, this study aims to provide useful insights into designing alternative assessments to ensure the optimal acquisition of both transferable skills and subject-specific (including theoretical) expertise.

Diversification of the assessment structure in an MSc Global Mental Health programme
Since the academic years 2016-17, following a series of evaluations of student learning and satisfaction with the Global Mental Health MSc programme (See Sharp et al., 2019), the significance of diversifying the assessment structure has become apparent. A staged, collaborative process commenced that led to the gradual increase of the number and diversity of alternative assessmen ts in the programme.
In the most recent iteration of the programme curriculum (' Figure 1'), fifteen assignments contribute 120 Credits to the full -time MSc programme as part of seven taught courses (five 20-credit and two 10-credit courses). The assignments are completed over two semesters and the due dates are consistently planned to ensure there is always a minimum of one week between submissions. Seven different assessment types currently feature in the programme -including information sheets, campaign proposals, case vignette, oral presentations and podcasts. The oral modality was introduced into the summative assessments in the form of oral presentations and podcasts. Moreover, several of the newly introduced assessments (e.g. developing a campaign proposal and th e production of a pamphlet and a podcast) allow students to self-select topics or priority issues of interest that are directly relevant to their identities as learners, their cultural and ethnic heritage, and civic values. The newly introduced alternative assessments are detailed in ' Table 1', together with their corresponding dimensions of authenticity and target graduate attributes. The outcome is significant (functional) product that can be used in real-world contexts. Students have ownership of the specific topic of choice.
· Effective communicatorsincluding articulating complex ideas

Oral presentation
Giving an oral presentation (using PowerPoint) in front of a live audience (the class).
Performance-based; requires multi-modal communication (e.g. PowerPoint slides, verbally and in writing); contextualisation (students are required to critically assess the legislation in a specific country); discussion involving the class is encouraged following the presentation (collaboration and feedback). effectively for diverse audiences; · Confidence -including excellent interpersonal skills fostered within an internationalised community; · Adaptabilityincluding flexibly applying skills and knowledge to a variety of situations;

· Experienced collaborators Podcast
Recording a brief podcast on a given area of research or practice.
Involves an alternative (oral) mode of knowledge communication; As a practical activity, it can foster deeper engagement with the learning material (Sutton-Brady et al., 2009).

Poster
Creating an academic poster to communicate research findings.
The task challenges students to present complex information succinctly, effectively and accessibly; In the process, students are encouraged to reflect on what makes effective versus ineffective communication tools.

Campaign proposal writing
Students design an evidencebased anti-stigma campaign for a target population and mental illness of their choice.
Students have ownership of topic. Involves the creation of a product that would be professionally recognisable in a real-world setting.
All of the above.
· Investigative skillsincluding effective problem-solving and solution-finding; · Independent and critical thinking skillsincluding constructing meaning from various information sources, and applying creative and innovative thinking to solve problems; · Ethical and social awareness

Case vignette analysis
A case vignette is presented, and students are required to address three questions using evidence and their knowledge of human rights violations.
Requires the contextualisation of theoretical knowledge to a real-world case scenario; mimics real-world complexity in that it requires the critical assessment of legal, medical, ethical and cultural issues.

Scaling-up strategy (formative assessment)
Creating a scaling-up strategy to increase the access to one or more types of mental health treatments in a country or location of your choice.
Requires the contextualisation of theoretical knowledge to a real-world case scenario; mimics real-world complexity in that it requires a consideration of local and global barriers and facilitators related to scaling-up efforts.
The novel assessment structure was designed to embody core University graduate attributes, including transferable attributes such as articulating complex ideas to diverse audiences; demonstrating excellent interpersonal skills fostered within an internationalised community; investigative skills; adaptability; and collaboration. In addition, alternative assessments such as the case vignette analysis, campaign proposal and scaling-up strategy require students to mobilise and enhance their abilities to investigate problems and provide effective solutions, apply critical, imaginative and innovative thinking and ideas, and exercise ethical and social awareness.
The information sheet assessment, for example, was assigned to acquaint students with the challenges of communicating scientific information concisely to non-academic audiences (See 'Table 1'). This requires the 'translation' of academic terms into accessible language, without compromising the accuracy and quality of the communicated information. The campaign proposal ta sk, on the other hand, requires that students harness their theoretical knowledge of mental health stigma, socio -cultural dimensions of mental illness, and health policy in the design of a hypothetical anti-stigma campaign. This task involves a significant degree of learner ownership-for example-in the choice of geographical region and specific mental health problem. Also, this assessment commands critical reflection upon the various real -world factors (such as the cultural context) that are likely to influence the intended outcome of the anti-stigma campaign.
In addition to introducing new, alternative assessments, some of the traditional assessments (such as essays) were modified w ith the aim of increasing their 'authenticity' as forms of assessment. One example is the modification of some of the traditional essay assignments in the programme. Historically, the essay assignments in the programme tended to ask students to respond to a purely theoretical question (e.g. Critically discuss the strengths and we aknesses of the biopsychosocial model for mental health difficulties and the relevance of this model for Global Mental Health related initiatives. Support your answer with appropria te evidence.). More recently, however, the programme team has endeavoured to design essays topics to be more "authentic". In particular, some of the newly assigned essay-based assessments have tended to more strongly require the transfer of theoretical knowledge to real-world contexts. To demonstrate, a recent essay topic was based on a quotation from an indigenous person, followed by specific questions related to the subject matter.

Integrating disciplinary principles and practices from the field of global mental health
Core disciplinary practices and principles from the field of global mental health were embedded into the diversified assessment structure. As argued by Bath and colleagues (2004, p. 326), '[G]eneric skills are most effectively developed when they are embedded in curricula in ways that give them discipline -nuanced expression.'. This ensured the newly designed alternative assessments have adequate 'disciplinary substance' at their core -that is-that they reflected some of the foundational values and perspectives related to global mental health theory and practice (Coffey et al., 2011).
Leading researchers in the field of global mental health have emphasised the importance of learners' engagement with contextspecific learning resources (O'Donnell and O'Donnell, 2016 In accordance with such a commitment to increasing the pedagogic and employability value of the assessments, the Programme team ensured that the new assess ments allowed students to critically adapt and concretise their theoretical knowledge to a specific country or geographical setting . For instance, the scaling-up strategy assessment required that students consider a range of political, organisational and c ultural barriers and facilitators related to their priority mental health intervention of choice (See 'Table 1'). Such an assessment design also encouraged students to engage with, and incorporate, both core resources (such as peer -reviewed journal articles, edited books and international guidelines) and contextual resources (such as organisational reports, situational analyses, non -governmental reports, and others; O'Donnell and O'Donnell, 2016). In addition, this assessment also integrates activities that are highly relevant to capacity-building and training of health professionals and policy-makers-one of the key aims of global mental health (Patel, 2014;O'Donnell and O'Donnell, 2016).
Furthermore, the revised assessments, particularly the case vignette analysis for the module on human rights and international law and policy (See 'Table 1'), implicitly asks students to engage in mental health advocacy by identifying the human rights viol ations depicted in a real-world case and proposing strategies and interventions to ameliorate those injustices. Advocacy for equitable mental health is a vital commitment for global mental health academics and practitioners (Patel, 2014;O'Donnell, 2012).
Ultimately, the introduction of alternative assessments aimed to contribute to the internationalisation of the Global Mental Health curriculum in that it encouraged learners '[…] to develop the values, knowledge, attitudes and skills, dispositions and demo cratic principles which enable them to co-exist […] and to make a critically informed, responsible contribution to society.' (Robson and Wihlborg, 2019, p.128). Exposing learners to socially and culturally diverse curricular experiences offers invaluable o pportunities to help them foster global thinking and mindsets (Robson and Wihlborg, 2019). In the context of the Global Mental Health (MSc), assessments that 'invite' critical reflections on the global "forces" and local realities shaping mental health phe nomena, and that encourage students to envision ameliorative actions to addressing injustices in the mental health provision are particularly valuable. Assessments that challenge students to think politically, economically and socio -culturally by applying both Western and non-Western analytic lenses should be integrated. Such an approach to curriculum design is instrumental in creating 'global students'-students who graduate well-equipped to undertake relevant roles that help them make effective, ethical a nd sustainable contributions to society in a globalising world (Simm and Marvell, 2017;Killick, 2015).
All in all, in addition to the transdisciplinary dimensions of authenticity distilled by Gulikers and colleagues (2004; ' Table 1'), authenticity in teaching global mental health entails promoting students' mindfulness of the tensions between the global and the local contexts and encouraging them to critically reflect on key issues at various levels of analysis (e.g. cultural, geographic, political, historical, medical).

An evaluation study of student views of the assessment structure and utility
A descriptive mixed methods design was employed to obtain data on students' views of and satisfaction and engagement with the range of the assessments in the programme. Those data were elicited using an online questionnaire and a participatory workshop. The Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS) College Ethics Committee, University of Glasgow, granted approval of the project in May 2018 and extended it in February 2019 until August 2020. Informed written consent was required for both the online questionnaire and the workshop. The data were stored on the University systems with restricted access via passwords and local access. Confidentiality of the res earch participants was maintained as no names or matriculation numbers were recorded.

Materials and methods
A mixed-method approach was used generating quantitative and qualitative questionnaire data, as well as qualitative data from a participatory workshop. Survey-type methods such as evaluation questionnaires offer an ease of administration, can generate comparable data year-on-year allowing for quality assurance, and place a rela tively low burden on participants (Cohen et al., 2013). On the other hand, qualitative, including participatory, approaches such as collaborative workshops and focus groups are more student-centred and problem-focused, can promote student-staff collaboration and allow for probing into students' motivations, attitudes, emotions and beliefs in an authentic manner (Cohen et al., 2013;Fullana et al., 2016).
The questionnaire method was employed as an efficient tool to monitor the students' experiences and perceptions. The questionnaire results informed a richer, contextualised discussion in the workshop (See below). This approach had been implemented successfully with a previous cohort of MSc Global Mental Health students to establish their perceptions of new blended learning materials (Sharp et al., 2019). The questionnaire was used to gather information regarding views on the types of assessments and contained binary, Likert-type and open questions. Versions of the questionnaire had been developed and implemented previously with a focus on blended learning (See Sharp et al., 2019). Prior to its release, the questionnaire was reviewed by the Programme Director, the administrative assistant, a learning technology specialist and a teaching assistant who was also a programme alumnus. This ensured that the questionnaire items were reviewed by a team with diverse expertise to ensure they were neutral (non-leading) and clear. The questionnaire was distributed electronically via the Bristol Online Survey web platform to current on-campus masters students (22 in total). The questionnaire contained 17 response domains (some of which contained one or more sub-domains) and a total of 53 items. The questionnaire combined multiple -choice questions, Likerttype questions and open-ended questions in order to maximise the richness and clarity of the data. The questionnaire gathered student views of engagement with the curriculum structure, assessment and feedback practices, virtual learning environment, assignment completion and individual modules.
A total of 45 items targeted various aspects of the assessment design and structure (including formative and summative assessments, and feedback practices). Specifically, students were queried about the fairness, timing, level of difficulty, le vel of enjoyment, variation, and alignment with the curriculum of the assessments. In addition, students were asked to rate the extent to which they believed the assessments to be relevant to working life after completion of the programme. Lastly, respondents were asked which of the University's Graduate Attributes they believed were enhanced as a result of completing the assessments.
At the time of data collection, students had completed the following assessment types: information sheet, podcast, poster, or al presentation, campaign proposal, and essays. Due to the timing of this study, student responses could not be elicited regarding the case vignette assessment.
Following completion of the questionnaire, the students could self-nominate to participate in a structured workshop le d by a member of the programme team. The participatory workshop aimed to clarify, complement and expand the findings from the survey questionnaire. The volunteer students were engaged in discussion about the assessments in the programme using a combination of projective, generative and reflective methods, including visual prompt s (Cowan and George, 2013) and an activity which required the students to align the marking criteria to the associated grade points . The data used for promoting discussions and feedback were adapted from the questionnaire output and from basic programme analytics such as the number and distribution of assessments. Workshop participants were also presented with a comparative graph depicting the assignment breakdown in the programme between the years 2012 and 2017, and that from the year 2017 and onwards (e.g. ' Figure 1' and ' Figure 2'). These resources were used to prompt discussion about the usefulness of alternative assignments and the students' experience of completing these assignments.
To preserve the anonymity of the students, workshop participant characteristics were not recorded. The workshop was facilitat ed by a programme team member and an unrelated facilitator-both unknown to the students and not involved in teaching or mar king in the programme. A draft timetable of key themes to be considered during the workshop was created. Both facilitators made notes within the themes during the session and prompted for more detail or clarification as appropriate. These notes were collated and clarified by the facilitators following the session. This was used to minimise bias and increase transparency.

Data analysis
The close-ended questionnaire responses were analysed automatically by the host online survey platform, Bristol Online Survey, and reported as percentages and counts (descriptive statistics). The open-ended questionnaire data were exported to Microsoft Excel and analysed by hand by the first and second authors using descriptive content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005;Vaismoradi et al., 2013). The qualitative workshop data were generated by note-taking by both facilitators and also exported to Microsoft Excel for qualitative content analysis.
Qualitative content analysis was used because it enables the generation of detailed, descriptive accounts that remain closely grounded in the original data -therefore minimising the risk of misinterpreting participants' responses (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005;Vaismoradi et al., 2013). The analysis followed se veral stages: (a) inductive line-by-line coding capturing the essence of the responses; (b) organising the codes into sub-themes based on similarity of meaning; and (c) developing higher-order themes that descriptively and parsimoniously summarise the underpinning codes and sub-themes and that correspond to the respective questionnaire or workshop items (Elo and Kyngäs, 2008). An example of the coding process is offered in ' Table 2': Table 2. Examples of the coding process for the qualitative data

Workshop Notes Codes Sub-themes Theme
The students really liked the formative podcast.

Benefits of formative assignments
Formative assignmentsbenefits and challenges Students felt that they did not gain additional learning from the class feedback and some highlighted that they only received feedback from one peer.
Formative group assignment -feedback scarce and not helpful

Findings
Questionnaire findings relating to the programme's assessment structure 17 (or 77%) of eligible students completed the online questionnaire. Of those, 7 (41%) were U.K. students, 2 (12%) E.U. stude nts, and 8 (47%) international students. English was the native language of just over half (53%) of the respondents. The data were cross-tabulated to undertake a comparison between the EU and UK students and the international students. However, no consistent patterns of difference were identified between those sub-groups of participants. Therefore, aggregated data only are presented in this paper.
While the questionnaire was designed as a comprehensive evaluation of the MSc programme, including its feedback and assessment practices, curriculum structure and timing, and the accessibility of the Programme's virtual learning environment (VLE), only the results pertaining to the programme's assessment structure are reported here.
Overall, the students celebrated the diversity of assessment types available in the programme (See 'Table 3'). The majority (n=16, 94%) of participants considered that the variation in assessment types offered within the programme increased their enjoyment of the courses. This variety was also considered by most students (n=14, 82%) to have supported the consolidation of their learn ing. A small proportion of the s tudents neither agreed nor disagreed with this statement (n=3, 18%). Three -quarters of the students (n=13, 76%) believed the skills being developed through the various assessment types would be relevant in future posts.
Almost three-quarters of students (n=12, 71%) reported that the various assessment types were equally as challenging to complete, however a few (n=4, 14%) did not consider the demands to be comparable (See 'Table 3'). One student highlighted that the variation in assessment styles introduced varying types of challenge. Another indicated that they found some more difficult, particularly if it was their first attempt at an assignment of this type . Some students revealed that despite their initial scepticism, they discovered great value in some of the alternative assessments such as the podcast and the poster:

'Although I was skeptical about the posters and podcast now I can say I enjoy them I have learn a lot while doing it.'
In the open-ended responses, several students suggested that the class could benefit from additional guidance for the less familiar types of assessments such as the poster assessment. Indeed, several of the open-ended comments communicated concerns regarding the appropriateness of the poster format for complex essay top ics, as well as regarding the transparency and fairness of the marking approach. For exa mple, one student shared: Several interesting findings emerged when students were asked to identify the assessment types they considered to be most and least useful, time-consuming, enjoyable and difficult (See ' Figure 2' and ' Figure 3'). The anti-stigma campaign proposal was perceived to be the most useful in terms of developing valued transferable skills, while essays and academic posters were rep orted to be the least useful. For example, one student shared they historically enjoyed writing essays but had found the campaign proposal a novel and useful assessment format:

'I particularly enjoy writing essays, but doing the campaign proposal etc is a fun way to work with large amounts of work in a different way.'
Furthermore, the students found oral presentations and essays to be the most enjoyable to complete, and systematic reviews -the least enjoyable. Notably, however, one student expressed concerns that their 'nerves' inhibited their learning in the oral presentations. Creation of an information sheet was the least difficult assignment, according to the students, while the systematic review and the academic poster, were the considered most difficult assignments. Finally, the information sheet was rated was the least time-consuming, and the oral presentations and the critical appraisal-the most time-consuming. Three-quarters of the students (n=13, 76%) believed the skills being developed through the various assessment types would be relevant in future posts. For example, in a free text response, one student singled out presentation skills as ' definitely useful to many fields'. Another free-text comment indicated the student's positive attitudes towards the po dcast format:

'Podcasts are a unique assessment method (good to know how to do).'
Three (18%) of the participants were unsure if the variation in assessment types would be relevan t in their working life after they had completed the programmes. One student (6%) strongly disagreed that the various assignment types would be relevant in their later working life.
There were inconsistencies in students' perceptions of the consistent application of the marking criteria across courses. Forty percent (n=7) considered there to be consistency. Almost a third (n=5, 29%) of the students did not agree nor disagree that 'the marking criteria were applied consistently across the courses.' Five students (29%) indicated that they did not consider mark ing and feedback to be consistent across modules. Several students also expressed discontents with the usefulness of the feedback provided on the various assessments, which possibly affe cted their perceptions of the quality of the assessment structure in the programme: 'Feedback was at times vague or lacked any constructive criticism, making it difficult to know what to change/improve for future assignments.' The students were also queried about the extent to which they believed the various assessments in the programme facilitated the development of the University's Graduate Attributes (See ' Figure 2'). All of the University's Graduate Attributes were consid ered by at least three students to be enhanced by the variety of assessment types incorporated into the programme. The skills that the most students (65-88%) felt were supported by the programme assignments were "independent and critical thinkers, effective communicators, adaptable and ethically and socially aware". Between a third and a half of the students considered their skills as "subject specialists, investigative, resourceful and responsible " to be developed through these assignments. Less than a third of the responders considered their skills as 'reflective learners' or 'experienced collaborators' to be enhance d. The students' emphasis on

Workshop findings
Six volunteer students partook in the workshop. All six participants had also completed the online questionnaire. Several main themes were generated from the qualitative content analysis of the workshop data: formative assignments-benefits and challenges; perceptions about alternative summative assignments; programme structure and cohesiveness; choice in assignment topics preferred; engagement with the VLE; and attitudes towards the grade schedule.
One of the most significant findings that emerged from the workshop was that students desired a greater explicit degree of cohesiveness between the online learning resources and the summative assessments. For example, the students explained that sometimes they were at the end of their assignment before they realised that online resources were available which could have enhanced assignment preparation.
During the workshop, students were also asked for feedback on the questionnaire results that only 59% of respondents considered the timings between assessments to be appropriate (See 'Table 3'). Indeed, in the qualitative (open-ended) questionnaire responses, five students indicated that the assignment spacing was intense or stressful. Discussion around this topic was not very fruitful. The students engaged in the workshop indicated that they had anticipated the coursework requirements to be intense and challenging as it was a Master's-level programme. They concluded that these assumptions meant they did not consider there to be any issues with the timetabling. They highlighted that the submission timetable was transparent at beginning of each semester providing them the opportunity to negotiate their workload to meet deadlines. The small number of students, along with potential bias of a self-selecting participants, may have precluded richer insights into this topic from emerging.
In terms of the specific assessment design and types, it became apparent that students particularly appreciated the opportunity to choose a country/topic/population for assignments because it let them build their knowledge of a subject as the programme progressed. This meant that by the time they came to their dissertation, those students felt they already had a good understanding of their subject.
Several of the students questioned the appropriateness of the poster format and suggested that an essay format would have bee n more suitable for the topics of the respective modules. Furthermore, some workshop participants noted that the information sheet (See 'Table 1') was particularly useful as a first summative assignment as it helped them gather more confidence as they progressed through the programme.
Workshop participants' perceptions of, and experiences with, the formative assignments in the programme were particularly nuanced. They described activities such as podcasts and group presentations as 'enjoyable' and 'helpful' although some participants noted that completing all assignments (summative and formative) made for an 'intense' work schedule. This feedback about the number of summative and formative assessments creating undue stress at times echoes some of the open -ended questionnaire responses regarding the appropriateness of the timing between assessment deadlines (See 'Table 3').
Also, some participants felt dissatisfied with certain aspects of the group assignment as they felt the peer feedback they had received had not been particularly helpful and because they felt not all studen ts contributed equally.
During the workshop, clarification was also sought in relation to the questionnaire finding that students were split as to the fairness of the marking (See 'Table 3'). Several of the students felt more transparency in the assessment requirements and marking procedures was needed. Several students highlighted the need for clearer marking criteria for some of the newly introduced assessment types such as the posters. In the poster assignments, some students were dissatisfied with what they considered to be undue emphasis placed on the design of the poster, as opposed to its content, by the markers. To assist students in better understanding the University's grading schedule, a sort and stick activity was undertaken which required the students to align the marking criteria to the associated grade points. Students appeared to see this pilot exercise as a valuable activity. The programme team will consider the possibility of implementing similar activities in the classroom in future cohorts.
One of the workshop participants offered the piece of advice to future students, ' Trust the process'-referring to the different aspects of the programme (learning materials, assessments etc.) coming together 'very well' over its duration to foster students' learning. The authors believe this maxim captures the intent and logic of incrementally developing learners' graduate attributes by incorporating diverse assessment practices.

Discussion
This study demonstrated that diversifying the assessment structure in a Master's programme can be carried out incrementally -by gradually introducing novel alternative assessments and by increasing the authenticity of pre -existing traditional assessments (such as essays and written reports). A balanced and thoughtful mix of assessments is essential for not only optimising students' learning experiences and outcomes-within and beyond the classroom, but also for adequately responding to the ever -increasing diversity of student cohorts-which has been substantially expanded with the introduction of online-distance learning.
A key implication of the current paper is that enhancing the authenticity of assessments does not necessarily need to involve fundamental changes to the curriculum design. In fact, there exist multiple routes to authenticity, ma ny of which can be effectively achieved by modifying pre-existing pen-and-paper assessment modalities (such as essays and reports). As argued by Spence -Brown (2001, p. 463), '[…] authenticity must be viewed in terms of the implementation of an activity, no t its design […]'. As put by Forsyth and Evans (2019, p. 750), 'Assessments sit on an 'authenticity spectrum', with wholly decontextualised assessment at one end, and congruent or 'authentic' at the other […]'. Ensuring an optimal mix of assessment types i n a HE programme of study should be continually addressed and revisited, when necessary, by a flexible and responsive programme team (Hughes and Barrie, 2010;Green et al., 2009).
The findings from the student survey and workshop are encouraging in that th ey demonstrated students' acknowledgement of the important value of a diverse mix of assessments. Importantly, the majority of respondents recognised that the skills and attr ibutes developed through completing the assessments had relevance for their future professional realisation. The findings pertaining to the students' perceived difficulty level of the different assessments were somewhat more equivocal and highlight the need to provide adequate instructional guidance in advance of assessment submission, especially when introducing innovative assessment formats. In particular, the programme Team will endeavour to provide prospective students with exemplary coursework from past students for the different assessment types. In response to students' request for more clarity regarding the cohesiveness between the curriculum and the assessments, the programme Team introduced an 'Assignment Tips' rubric within the learning materials, which highlighted the relevance of individual learning activities for assessment preparation and success. It is hoped that this will mitigate some of the students' anxieties when approaching new assessment formats.
Notably, in the questionnaire, only 5 (29.4%) and 3 (17.6%) of the respondents believed being a 'reflective learner' and an 'experienced collaborator', respectively, were developed as a result of completing the assessments in the programme. Those findings seem to indicate the need to embed student reflection more thoroughly in the curriculum design in order to promote the development of graduate attributes and other core competencies. This could be achieved in several ways. Reflective writing, for instance, in the form of personal journals, logs or diaries, has been shown to facilitate subject learning, enhance metacogni tion, reduce academic anxiety, develop creative and critical thinking skills and foster career planning in university students (e.g. Frank and Barzilai, 2004). Reflective logs have also been used as an unobtrusive method to collect rich data about how students engage in and experience different academic activities including summative assignments (Frank and Barzilai, 2004). In addition, or alternatively, students can be encouraged to engage with the University's electronic portfolio platform -which can be used for storing achievements and tracking skills development, designing a personal development plan, and reflecting on achievements.
Marrying alternative assessments with student reflexivity is vital for the attainment of many graduate attributes, whereby '[…] students develop graduate attributes because they are relevant to their sense of self, and they are subsequently aware of the skills they have gained during their studies and can articulate them explicitly to employers […]' (Hill et al., 2016, p. 158).
With regards to developing students' collaborative skills, students engage in formative group tasks such as a delivering a group presentation and writing a blog critically appraising a research paper. The results from the current study, however, indicate the need for a more focused and systematic approach to introducing collaborative learning activities, including summative and formative assignments, in the programme.

Limitations of the current study
Several methodological limitations of this small -scale descriptive case study must be taken into consideration when interpreting and applying the current findings to other educational settings. First and foremost, the study's generalizability is highly compromised by its small sample size (N = 17 survey respondents). Despite that a significant proportion of the current participa nts were international students (47%), future evaluations of the utility of alternative assessments should aim to capture more culturally and geographically representative samples.
The data collection methods used in the current study also merit critical evaluation. Although the collaborative approach use d to design the survey and workshop aimed to minimise the researcher bias, some (implicit) biases may have been inadvertently introduced by the researchers, who were also members of the programme team. Furthermore, the workshop was not audiorecorded but instead two note-takers recorded the discussions that took place. This has likely compromised the fidelity of the data generated from the workshop participants.

Conclusion: Creating 'global students' by embedding 'authenticity' in the Global Mental Health Master's Programme
The aims of the paper were to share the educators' experiential insights into transforming the assessments in a taught MSc Global Mental Health programme by incorporating alternative assessments underpinned by a strong disciplinary foundation , as well as to report the findings of a student evaluation of the various aspects of the assessment structure in the programme, including their perceived usefulness and relevance to a range of graduate attributes. Qualitative and quantitative data gathered using self-report and participatory methods revealed that, overall, while the majority of students recognised the multifaceted value of the diversified assessments, some expressed scepticism and concerns. The findings indicate that maximising their pedagogic and professional value is contingent upon enhancing the transparency and quality of the marking and feedback practices; optimising the cohesiveness between assessments and core curriculum; ensuring no graduate attribute is left behind ; and ensuring a good 'fit' between assessment format and instructions, substantive assignment topic and intended learning outcomes.
Among the next steps for the programme team are a replication of this evaluation covering the most up-to-date assessment structure, evaluating the newly introduced formative assessments, as well as incorporating a class activity focused on increasing students' understanding of the marking process. The programme team are also committed to continuing to explore tactics for embedding principles and practices inherent to the discipline of global ment al health within various components of the curriculum.
In conclusion, assessing the degree of authenticity of curricula should take into consideration the values, scope and peculiarities of the subject field in question. Global mental health is inherently a cross-cultural field of study and practice, which has internationalisation, cross-disciplinarity and an awareness of global politics, discourses and knowledge flows at its core (Patel, 2014). This poses significant challenges to creating a truly global and international curriculum (Simm and Marvell, 2017;O'Donnell, and O'Donnell, 2016). It is the programme team's hope that aforementioned assessment innovations have helped develop some of the values and perspectives that are characteristic of ethically aware and socially responsible 'global students'. For instan ce, assessments such as the campaign proposal and the case vignette, as well as some essays asking students to reflect on quotes from indigenous people, for example, explicitly encourage students to consider the socio -cultural context surrounding the issues under question (e.g. wellbeing, mental illness, stigma). Those assessments therefore aim to help students increase their cross -cultural awareness, ethical consciousness and empathetic understanding of others' worldviews. In the context of the entire curriculum, the programme team believe the current mix of assessments also facilitate learners in nurturing a 'more nuanced awareness' (Simm and Marvell, 2017, p. 470) of the impact of Western ideas on framing experiences of health and well -being.