Educational change: a designer's journey

In this thesis I argue that there is inertia in the higher education system in Australia that works against change and then identify through literature the pressures that arguably contribute to, or are responsible for, this inertia. I make the case for employing visual design and design thinking to promote improvement and change in the system. This approach is documented through a relevant section of my educational innovations and interventions implemented over a ten-year period. The examples focus on criteria-based assessment and the development of graduate attributes and include the design, development and commercialisation of an award-winning online assessment system.