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Online Examinations and assessment

SMIU-ONLINE EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSEMENT
Exam Assessment and Grading Criteria
For Grading the students, faculty shall not rely on online testing only. Make sure that we have at least two other methods of evaluation, such as papers, discussion participation, assignments or projects
The only change to exams is that they are digital. All existing assessment rules and processes apply to online exams. In the examination students will type rather than write their answers and submit answers digitally
The content, question formats, and the marking guide for the exam will be the same as they would be with paper exams except long question/answers which will be avoided as many students don’t have good typing speed. Further best practices are mentioned later in the document.
Alternate Assessment Options

  • MCQ’S
  • Open Book or it may be followed by viva
  • Close Book
  • Take Home Exams followed by viva
  • Writing Short Answers
  • Essay
  • Assignments
  • Explanation of a multiple-choice answer (students must explain why the answer they chose to a multiple-choice question is correct, or why the alternative answers are wrong)
  • Meaningful paragraph (given a list of specific terms, students must use the terms in a paragraph that demonstrates that they understand the terms and their interconnections)
  • Short-answer exam (rather than asking multiple-choice questions, make some questions short-answer, to require students to show their understanding of key concepts)
  • Quizzes
  • Series of quizzes, to be decided in start of semester.
  • Include several questions that relate directly to online discussions
  • Randomize the question and answer order and must be time barred. If you choose to randomize answers, consider not using answers such as all the above, both a and b are true, etc. The randomization may cause these answers to the invalid.
  • Students can submit their Master’s and PhD Thesis via e-mail to its Supervisor and DRC & viva on video conference / zoom.
  • Faculty have to choose amongst the above-mentioned options and inform their HOD’s that what sort of paper they want to take or finds fit for their course/s

    • Assessment Breakdown
    Below are the proposed Assessments type and Weightage for the different Nature of Examinations is given:

    Nature of Examinations Assessment Type Weightage
    Quizzes MCQ,s, T/F, Fill in etc. 10%
    Mid-term Projects, Quiz & Assignments 20%
    Assignments Assignments 10%
    Class Participation Class Participation 5%
    Project / Presentation / Case Study Project / Presentation / Case Study or any other 15%
    Final 1. MCQ’S

    2. Open Book or it may be followed by viva

    3. Close Book

    4. Take Home Exams followed by viva

    5. Writing Short Answers

    6. Essay

    7. Assignments

    8. Explanation of a multiple-choice answer

    9. Short-answer exam, etc.     		40%

    Online Examination System Protocols
    Thing to Do Before Exam
    Instructions for University

  • IT team to assist students throughout the process
  • IT team contact details are posted in the SMIU Official Website and Facebook page
  • Publishing of Student Guide Book and Online Demo of Examination Software at the University’s Official Website
  • This Online Demo enables students/faculty/staff to get themselves aware with SMIU Examination Software and its offered features. This will also help students to attempt their paper appropriately
  • IT to take security measures such as issue unique password to enter the online test
  • Ensure that candidates are only using applications like ‘Safe Browser’ to minimize use of ill means and to prevent printing, copying, going to another URL or accessing other applications
  • The IT team should assist students throughout the process to ensure they’re comfortable with the software and the online examination process
  • Online Exam Demos/mock to be taken by the faculty during the semester where students will have the opportunity to ‘get online-exam ready’, try the exam software, and have their questions answered, prior to final exam
  • Examination, Registration/Enrollment dates are published online at LMS

    • Instructions; For Students

  • Students must register/enrolled themselves through LMS before the last date
  • Students shall be able to use laptop/desktop or other communication device
  • Login to the LMS Portal with a user account at SMIU
  • Logging in to the exam software requires user account already used for LMS Portal
  • It is student’s responsibility to make sure to have an active user account before the day of the exam
  • It is students’ responsibility to contact the SMIU IT team in case of any difficulty before the last date of registration
  • Students shall remember to change their password if requested
  • Install a Web browser capable of accessing LMS (e.g Chrome, Firefox)
  • Confirm your LMS login details
  • Download software able to open PDFs (many browsers do this)
  • Download Word or other Word processing software

    • On the Day of Exam
    Instructions; For Students

  • Students must be at the exam location prior 15 minutes before the exam
  • Try to Arrange a desk and suitable chair to work and a quiet room away from disturbances
  • Arrange computer, laptop or other device
  • Ensure reliable internet access
  • Try to have the device plugged in so you won’t run out of battery
  • Not to have food or drink on the desk. Please take care to ensure there are no spills if you choose to have a drink
  • Switch off or ideally put cellphones out of sight or reach as their presence can spoil concentration
  • Students must take permission by the software before access to the test
  • During Exam close all excessive programs that are running on the device to ensure that your device works smoothly during the exam

    • Instructions; For Faculty / IT team

  • Deliver one question at a time
  • Don’t release the test to students after the test has been completed
  • Utilize a plagiarism detection tool
  • Send an exam submission confirmation email to candidate once submission has been completed.
  • The exam software to submit the uploaded file automatically when the deadline has passed
  • When the exam end, submission will be locked automatically

    • RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FACULTY TO MAKE EFFECTIVE ONLINE ASSESSMENT
    Alternatives to Traditional Exams
    In planning assessments or assignments for a course, there are many other types of assessments that may be appropriate for different courses. If we are willing to think creatively about assignments that go beyond traditional exams or research papers, faculty may be able to design assignments that are more accurate reflections of the kind of thinking and problem-solving that makes students to engage in. In addition, these types of assignments can enhance students’ motivation.
    In developing creative assessments, it is supportive to think about exactly what instructor want to assess. The questions below will help them:

  • Do you want to assess your students’ attainment of specific content knowledge, or their ability to apply that knowledge to new situations (or both)?
  • Do you want to assess a product that students produce, or the process they went through to produce it, or both?
  • Do you want to assess any of the following?
  • writing ability
  • speaking skills
  • creativity
  • use of information technology
  • Is a visual component to the assessment necessary or desirable?
  • Is the ability for students to work in a group an important component of the assessment?
  • Is it important that the assessment be time-constrained?

    • To help them think outside the box in developing assessments of students’ learning, here are some alternatives to multiple-choice exams that can be used in many disciplines and contexts. They are organized based on what kinds of intellectual processes or skills they require.
    Alternatives that appeal students’ creativity:

  • Advertisement
  • Development of a product or proposal (perhaps to be judged by external judges)
  • Diary entry for a real or fictional character
  • Letter to a friend explaining a problem or concept
  • Brochure
  • Performance: e.g., a presentation to the class or a debate
  • Poem, play, or dialogue
  • Web page or video
  • Software/coding
  • Work of art, music, photography, etc.
  • Newspaper article or editorial

    • Alternatives that require analysis or evaluation:

  • Analysis and response to a case study
  • Analysis of data or a graph
  • Analysis of an event, performance, or work of art
  • Chart, graph, or diagram with explanation
  • Debate
  • Legal brief
  • Review of a book, play, performance, etc.
  • Literature review
  • Policy memo or executive summary
  • Diagram, table, chart, or visual aid

    • Alternatives that require work similar to what is required for a term paper, but that result in shorter documents:

  • Annotated bibliography
  • Introduction to a research paper or essay (rather than the full paper)
  • Literature review
  • Executive summary
  • Research proposal addressed to a granting agency
  • Scientific abstract
  • Policy memo or executive summary
  • Start of a term paper (the thesis statement and a detailed outline)

    • Alternatives that require only that students understand course material:

  • Explanation of a multiple-choice answer (students must explain why the answer they chose to a multiple-choice question is correct, or why the alternative answers are wrong)
  • Meaningful paragraph (given a list of specific terms, students must use the terms in a paragraph that demonstrates that they understand the terms and their interconnections)
  • Short-answer exam (rather than asking multiple-choice questions, make some questions short-answer, to require students to show their understanding of key concepts)

    • Alternatives that require assimilation of many skills and types of knowledge:

  • Poster (which could be presented to the class or a larger audience in a poster session)
  • Portfolio to demonstrate improvement or evolution of work and thinking over time
  • PowerPoint presentation
  • Reflection by students on what they have learned from an experience

    • OPTIONS TO ADMINISTER ASSESSMENTS

    Here are some options to consider when determining how to administer final exams remotely.

    Alter the exam to lessen the need for invigilation

    There are several strategies we can pursue to offer a final assessment without a need for invigilation

  • Open book exams, perhaps with more difficult questions that would require use of online resources or higher levels of thinking
  • Changing to or adding question types such as short answer or essay.
  • Alternative Assignments can allow for better assessment of higher order thinking than traditional exams. Consider developing an opportunity for students to write an essay, work through a set of clinical vignettes/articles or problems, create a mind map about a topic, develop a presentation about a topic.

    • Option 2: Invigilator using a videoconferencing tool

    Many exams can be safely invigilated through videoconferencing tools like Zoom/MS Teams

    1. Create the exam in campus’s learning management system (LMS) to be sent to students at the start of the exam.
    2. Schedule the videoconference, leaving time at the beginning for instructions and for working through any technology issues. During setup, both Zoom and WebEx have options you can select to automatically record the session for later review.
    3. Communicate clear instructions to students. For Zoom/MS Teams conferences, you can request for students to share their screens so that invigilators can observe (and record) whether students are using unauthorized resources on their screen. Zoom has “raise hand” options that allow students to unobtrusively request your attention.
    4. For exams with a large number of students, both Zoom/MS Teams have options for breakout rooms. Breakout rooms allows to create sub-sessions of the larger video-conference which allows invigilators to enter or exit in order to better observe or record small groups of students.

    No videoconference based invigilation solution will be able to fully replicate the security of a testing center or in-person invigilation. As such, we might also consider having students sign an academic integrity statement and/or employ a plagiarism checker for longer essay questions.

    BEST PRACTICES BY UNIVERSITIES


    S. No.     		University Classes Assessment /
    Online Exam Type    		 Systems Uni, are Using
    1. Harvard Zoom Open Book and
    Take home Exam    		 Zoom
    2. Cambridge CLMS Take home Exam CLMS
    3. Oxford VLE Take Home Exam VLE and Moodle
    (Virtual Learning Environment,
    same as LMS)
    4. Citi VLE Take home Exam VLE and Moodle
    (Virtual Learning Environment,
    same as LMS)
    5. Metropolitan VLE Weblearn Take home Exam D2L Brightspace
    6. Durham VLE and e-tutorials Take Home Exam DUO (like Skype)
    7. Kansas University LMS Online proctoring LMS, Blackboard
    8. LUMS LMS _ LMS
    9. IBA LMS Take Home Exam LMS and ERP Portal
    10. NUST MS teams/
    Google meets    		 _ MS Teams

    Most of the universities are using Learning Management Systems like Moodle/Sakai for other assessments like quizzes, MCQ’s, assignments and etc.

    BEST PRACTISES AND METHODS OF CONDUCTING ONLINE EXAMS

    HARVARD UNIVERSITY

  • Statistics - Introduction to Stochastic Processes
  • Open-note and open-book
  • Economics
  • Open-note assessments

    • NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

  • Undergraduate Studies In Mathematics
  • Canvas, a web-based learning management system, a platform for online exams. Students using Canvas encountering three primary online exam formats: essay exams; exams that have been converted to a series of smaller quizzes; and exams given online in combination with tools that lock down students’ web browsers so they cannot look up outside information or leave the exam until it is submitted


    • London Metropolitan University

  • Fine Arts-MFA
  • Assessment will include the production of online project documentation (including an online evaluative report, online project proposal and annotated research material).
  • Fashion Marketing and Journalism-
  • Reports, essays, Online group work and individual portfolio work.

    • BPP University

  • Law, Business and Technology
  • E-Assessment by using software inspera

    • Kansas University

  • Most of the Departments
  • CODL partners with a third-party company, ProctorU, taking online proctoring exam

    • INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION - IBA

  • Consumer Behavior

    • Take Home examination.
    Business to Business Marketing
    Open book/case studies.
    NUST & FAST

  • Theory of Programing Language
  • Block Chain
  • Social Network Analysis
  • E-Assessment followed by viva

    • Bahria University

  • English
  • Statistics

    • Google doc/Open Book & Take Home
    SZABIST

  • Marketing Management
  • Statistics
  • Assignments / Take Home / Open book