The University of Debrecen is a participant of the PETRA project (Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Azerbaijani Universities) with the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, University of Applied Sciences Vienna, Austria, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. The aim of the project is promoting of teaching and learning excellence in Azerbaijan Universities, by supporting the professional development in higher education and, in the academic community. For this reason, the program wants to enhance the usage of technology and innovative forms of teaching, to provide support for designing courses and for choosing and using diverse approaches in assessment. The purpose of this study is to identify the possibilities of promoting the professional development in higher education and to explore the theoretical landscape: the roles and implications of the professional development. This paper explores the connections between the reflective behaviour of the teachers and their assessment methods and wants to provide new approaches to assessment in the context of the institutional strategies of the higher education. This paper argues for innovative forms of assessment such as the portfolios in teacher preparation or the group-based assessment forms - as methods of promoting higher quality learning. The study investigates the ways towards the autonomous assessment in the higher education, using self-assessment and peer assessment.